The Rockies announced they’ve non-tendered right-hander Cal Quantrill and second baseman Brendan Rodgers. Both players are now free agents and the club’s 40-man roster count drops to 38.
Quantrill, 30 in February, once seemed like a rotation building block for the Guardians but this is now two years in a row in which he’s lost his roster spot after a tough season. From 2020 to 2022, he tossed 368 innings for the Guards with a 3.08 earned run average. His 18.4% strikeout rate wasn’t amazing but he limited walks to a 6.7% clip and kept the ball on the ground 42.7% of the time.
But in 2023, shoulder inflammation limited him to 19 starts with a 5.24 ERA. His strikeout rate, which was already subpar, slid to 13.1%. The Guards designated him for assignment and flipped him to Colorado for minor league catcher Kody Huff.
The Rockies installed Quantrill into their beleaguered rotation, with Germán Márquez and Antonio Senzatela both recovering from Tommy John surgery. They avoided arbitration with Quantrill by agreeing to a $6.55MM salary. He went on to serve as a steady presence in the rotation but with fairly unexciting results. Over 29 starts, he logged 148 1/3 innings with a 4.98 ERA. His 44.4% ground ball rate was around league average but his 16.8% strikeout rate and 10.5% walk rate were both well below par.
MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected Quantrill for a raise to $9MM next year, his final season of club control, but it seems the Rockies were uninterested in bringing him back at that price point. Marquez and Senzatela should be healthy for 2025, joining a rotation that figures to also include Kyle Freeland, Ryan Feltner and Austin Gomber, while prospect Chase Dollander is waiting in the wings.
Quantrill will now look for a change of scenery. Though the recent results haven’t been amazing, the Coors Field effect will naturally factor into how he’s viewed, with some clubs hoping to engineer a bounceback by moving Quantrill away from the mountains.
As for Rodgers, he was once a third overall pick and top 100 prospect but he has failed to live up to that hype. He has taken over 1800 plate appearances to this point in his career and has a batting line of .266/.316/.409. That translates to a wRC+ of 86, indicating he’s been 14% below league average overall.
The reviews of his glovework have been mixed. Outs Above Average has given him a -5 mark for his career. He was above average in 2022 and 2023 but then dipped back down again this year. He does have 12 Defensive Run Saved in his career but in eyebrow-tilting fashion. He’s been below average by that metric in most of his seasons but had a massive +22 grade in 2022, a mark that looks like a clear outlier.
Swartz projected Rodgers for a $5.5MM salary next year. Like Quantrill, he could only be retained for one more season before he was slated for free agency. Rather than pay Rodgers in that range for 2025, they will move on, sending him to free agency while they look for alternatives at second base.
Colorado could give some runway to prospect Adael Amador, but he will be only 22 next year and has just 10 major league games under his belt so far. Perhaps they can find a placeholder to take that spot in the meantime, either someone better than Rodgers or simply cheaper. Players like Gleyber Torres, Adam Frazier, Amed Rosario and others are available in free agency.