The Colorado Rockies acquired an excellent relief pitcher late on Wednesday as they traded future prospects for a distinguished pitcher. The Rockies will lose Jose Gomez, J.D. Hammer, and Alejandro Requena. Colorado will pick up Pat Neshek, a right-handed relief pitcher most recently of the Philadelphia Phillies.
Neshek's contract details
Neshek was mentioned in a lot of trade rumors in recent weeks. For the Colorado Rockies, this a pretty clear rental. Although they could look to sign Neshek to an extension, he is projected as an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.
Neshek is currently 36 years and, according to spotrac, his base salary is $6.5M for the season. As a relief pitcher, he doesn't log a lot of innings, however when on the mound this season he has been very effective.
Neshek's ERA is 1.12 in 43 appearances this season. He was the Philadelphia Phillies' representative at the 2017 All Star game earlier this month. In 40.1 innings pitched he has given up just 5 walks. What makes him an excellent fit in Colorado is his tendency to strike hitters out. He has 45 strikeouts in those 40.1 innings this season. With Coors Field in Denver yielding a lot of homeruns to hitters, a pitcher that isn't allowing a lot of contact should do relatively well in the hitter-friendly ballpark.
Neshek has been a quality reliever for quite some time. He has a career ERA of 2.76 and a career WHIP of 1.02. However, he brings absolutely no starting-pitcher potential with him in the trade. He has appeared in 466 games in his career with no starts. In those 466 appearances he has 423.2 innings pitched, less than an inning per appearance.
He is a match-up pitcher that can be used to get a strikeout in a tough situation. While he isn't exactly a workhorse, he is the type of pitcher that can get a team out of a jam in the late innings.
The #Rockies have acquired RHP Pat Neshek from the Philadelphia Phillies. pic.twitter.com/xf3bWwdz8Y
— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) July 27, 2017
What did the Rockies lose?
The Rockies gave up Jose Gomez as the highlight of the three players.
Gomez is a shortstop in the minor leagues, currently playing for single-A Ashville. His offense appears to be fine for a shortstop, but Gomez faced a tough challenge in the Rockies' system. How could he crack the big leagues with Trevor Story just 24 years old and established as a major leaguer? Furthermore, the Rockies have 20 year old Brendan Rogers in double-A baseball. The Rockies offloaded a shortstop, and two pitching prospects, that may or may not amount to much in the years ahead.
While the Rockies made a move to compete this season, the problem is that it might not do anything to change their fate. Teams have just over 60 games left in their schedules and the Rockies are facing a 13.5-game deficit in the NL West.
The chances that Colorado have of catching the Los Angeles Dodgers are slim at this point. The Rockies clearly appear to be heading toward the NL's Wild Card game along with Arizona. Adding an arm didn't do much to change that, however it could help them get home-field advantage in that game. That being the case, with the parity in baseball in almost any one-game scenario you could only hope to be mild favorites. The Rockies are in a tough spot as they don't seem able to avoid the coin-toss Wild Card game and there's no guarantee that upgrades will pay off in a single game. However, if Colorado do make the divisional round then they look better with Neshek in the bullpen than they did 24 hours ago.
