Uncertainty over Chase Dollander’s elbow injury was hanging over the Rockies like a dark cloud. Friday, the bad news came like a cloudburst.
The club’s prized right-hander is likely facing surgery to repair the ulnar collateral ligament, most likely Tommy John surgery.
“Itap looking like surgery on the UCL,” manager Warren Schaeffer told reporters in Las Vegas. “Nothing is set in stone, but thatap the way itap trending.”
As trends go, that’s about as bad as it gets. The Rockies, once again, have the worst starting rotation in the majors, owning a 5.88 ERA heading into Saturday night’s game vs. the A’s in Las Vegas.
Dollander, selected out of the University of Tennessee with the ninth overall pick of the 2023 draft, was supposed to author Colorado’s bright new chapter. But for all of his 100 mph firepower and talent, Dollander’s big league career had a rocky start.
As a rookie last season, he posted a 2-12 record with a 6.52 ERA, including a 9.98 mark at Coors Field. It was a bitter taste of reality for a pitcher that many in the organization believe can become the best pitcher in franchise history.
One reason for belief is a mentality that seems to prepare Dollander for success and the ability to cope with failure. As The Denver Post’s Troy Renck wrote during spring training, “Dollander believes the worst season of his life will be the best thing that happened to him.
“I will take the lessons I learned from it through the rest of my career,” Dollander said, looking back on Colorado’s 119-loss debacle. “I think if you don’t take it personally, you are not in a good spot. I definitely did. No. 1, we are too good to be getting tossed around like this. And No. 2, I am too good to be getting tossed around like this.”
But now Dollander’s career is being flipped upside-down. He is scheduled to be examined by Dr. Keith Meister next Friday. Meister, based in Texas, is an orthopedic surgeon and a specialist in elbow reconstruction. If Dollander undergoes surgery, he’ll be done for the rest of this season and most of next year. An internal brace procedure usually means a 12 to 14-month recovery. If Dollander requires a full elbow reconstruction, there’s a chance he’ll miss the entire 2027 season.
Either way, it’s a huge blow and presents a Mount Elbert-sized challenge for the Rockies’ front office.
More than seven months ago, in a suite at the Cosmopolitan Hotel on the Las Vegas Strip, Paul DePodesta made a light-hearted but prophetic statement.
“I’ve used this phrase before, but I’m a bit of a sucker for a challenge,” DePodesta said with a laugh.
The Rockies’ president of baseball operations was less than a week into his new job when he made that quip during Major League Baseball’s general managers’ meetings.
“I have been part of (a rebuild) a number of different times,” DePodesta continued. “And I actually really enjoy it. I love winning — don’t get me wrong, thatap ultimately where I want to get to — but building that, getting to the winning, is incredibly gratifying. So that was absolutely part of the attraction.”
Now, however, DePodesta and Co. have to figure out how to handle this glitch in their blueprint. The Rockies have some intriguing pitching prospects, including lefty Sean Sullivan (who made his debut Friday night), and right-handers Gabriel Hughes, Eiberson Castellano and Jackson Cox. But there is no pitcher in the system that has Dollander’s talent or wow factor.
DePodesta, general manager Josh Byrnes, and their lieutenants must work a trade like the one that landed right-hander German Marquez. He was acquired in one of the best deals in franchise history.
In January 2016, former GM Jeff Bridich engineered a trade for Marquez and reliever Jake McGee from Tampa Bay in exchange for outfielder Corey Dickerson and minor-league infielder Kevin Padlo.
Marquez debuted in late 2016 and made 29 starts in 2017 (4.39 ERA). In 2018, at age 24, he blossomed into a star with one of the best seasons ever by a Rockies starter. He struck out 230 in 196 innings and finished with a 3.77 ERA. Over his final 14 starts, Marquez struck out 124 in 93 innings, posted a 2.61 ERA, and had six double-digit strikeout games — including four 11-K games in September as the Rockies qualified for the playoffs and came one win away from unseating the Dodgers from the National West throne.
The Rockies look like they are at least two seasons away from being a playoff contender. Without Dollander, that timeline gets dicey — unless DePodesta and Co. can work some magic before the Aug. 3 trade deadline and during the offseason.
