Wednesday Rockpile: Rule-5 protections loom over the Rockies roster

Colorado Rockies news and links for Wednesday, October 16, 2024

The Colorado Rockies will have to make many decisions this winter as they try to reconstruct and rebuild their way to contention. They have already settled their first matter of business, extending Bud Black to serve as the manager for one more year, bringing to the table the next pressing matter they will have to address in one month.

The 40-man roster deadline will occur in a little under a month. Teams across the league will assess prospects who are Rule-5 Draft-eligible and whether to protect them on the 40-man roster or risk losing them to another team.

There are numerous players in the Rockies organization that are eligible with many returning names and several newcomers.

Rockies MiLB Report on X provided a full list, consisting of 39 players, below.

As we can see, many players are eligible to be taken in the Major League phase of the Rule-5 Draft and the Rockies simply don’t have enough room to protect them all if they wanted to, leaving the puzzle a little interesting.

Position players to protect?

The question of what players the Rockies will protect is tough to gauge. The Rockies spent the latter part of the 2024 season adding players that would be eligible, such as Drew Romo and Luis Peralta, to the big league roster to get ahead of the curve. Still, that was two players in a vast ocean of unknowns.

Zac Veen, however, doesn’t appear to be in any danger of being subject to the Rule-5 Draft. The 2020 first-round pick for the Rockies has dealt with injuries the past couple of seasons but showed glimpses of progress when he was on the field. He finished the year in Triple-A where he batted .220/.281/.476 in 21 games. Strikeouts were a problem as he had 24 against seven walks in the short Triple-A sample size, but he displayed some power by clubbing six home runs and driving in 16. He’ll likely need some more seasoning in Triple-A but the Rockies still seem confident he can contribute at some point, perhaps in 2025 if he stays healthy.

Beyond Veen, the position player picture becomes a little harder to predict. In the outfield, for example, the Rockies already have a surplus of outfielders they deem part of the future. That leaves of lot of the eligible players in limbo. Several of the players on the list seem no closer to joining the big league club while others are young and haven’t spent much time past High-A if at all. It’s hard to tell if teams would take a gamble on other players to stash on the bench for the entirety of the regular season. Willie MacIver might be the best option to be taken by a team looking for a 28-year-old catcher who can produce on both sides of the ball, but are the Rockies willing to lose a depth piece like that?

Pitchers to protect?

There are 17 pitchers eligible to be selected and the Rockies are likely to make it their prerogative to protect as many as possible that make sense.

Yujanyer Herrera, acquired from the Brewers in July, is an interesting case to be added in the fact that he’s 21 and has yet to pitch above High-A. On the other hand, he had an excellent year in the minors with a 3.04 ERA in 22 games, including 12 starts. It wouldn’t be a surprise if the Rockies added him and moved him along a bit quicker in 2025.

Herrera represents the plethora of starters that the Rockies will have to make some gambled choices. A majority of the pitchers haven’t pitched much past High-A, which could hopefully deter teams from taking them in the Major League portion of the draft. Still, there is a risk of losing them if they aren’t added to other minor-league protection lists for the other portions. Several players were key parts of the NWL Championship Spokane Indians and present promising arms that the Rockies will certainly have to keep on eye on.

Making room

Of course, in order to protect some of these players space has to be made on the 40-man roster itself.

As it stands the Rockies currently have 39 active players on the 40-man roster. Daniel Bard, Dakota Hudson and Germán Márquez are on the 60-day injured list with Márquez being the only one expected to be added back to the 40.

That leaves the Rockies with some decisions to make roster-wise once the offseason officially starts after the World Series. Bard is the only pending free agent while Jacob Stallings has a mutual option that is sure to be declined but both parties are interested in a new deal.

The Sword of Damocles likely hangs over some veteran players who didn’t perform well in 2024. Jake Bird and Justin Lawrence both regressed greatly in 2024, leaving their status in a younger bullpen that much more in question. The team is also hoping to add some veterans, specifically a closer of some sort, to the pen which makes a tight waistband even tighter for Rule-5 protection.

The team can only try to trade away players for prospects that aren’t in need of protection. Brendan Rodgers, Cal Quantrill and Austin Gomber fit the bill of trade candidates this winter while the Rockies may have to decide between fourth outfielders Jake Cave and Sam Hilliard.

There is a lot of fat to be trimmed from the roster as the Rockies take the first step of roster shuffling this offseason. The 40-man deadline will be here before we know it along with the tender/non-tender deadline. Decisions loom large over the Rockies in the coming weeks and months.

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The Rockies have three Gold Glove finalists | Purple Row

In case you missed the news, it was announced that the Rockies have three Gold Glove finalists once again. Ryan McMahon (3B), Ezequiel Tovar (SS) and Brenton Doyle (CF) each make a return from 2023. Doyle looks to defend his title while Tovar hopes to crack through in his second year. McMahon is a finalist for the fourth consecutive year but is up against notable defenders Nolan Arenado and Matt Chapman.

Affected by Altitude Episode 134: Guess Who’s Back | Rocky Mountain Rooftop

In this new podcast episode of Affected by Altitude, Evan Lang and I talk all about the Bud Black extension and our thoughts on the decision.

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Arizona Fall League

Surprise Saguaros 6, Salt River Rafters 4

The Salt River Rafters had four runs on six huts, but a pair of errors and a rough fifth inning resulted in their third loss of the season. The Rockies only had two horses in the race as Ryan Ritter and Skyler Messinger served as the DH and first baseman respectively. Ritter went 0-for-3 with three strikeouts and a walk while Messinger went 1-for-1 with two walks and a stolen base.

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