Rockies right-hander Germán Márquez landed on the 15-day injured listing final month as a consequence of elbow irritation. Supervisor Bud Black tells Manny Randhawa of MLB.com that Márquez gained’t be capable of make it again to the mound this 12 months. As Randhawa relayed on X, the righty’s ulnar collateral ligament is ok however he has a stress response in his elbow and gained’t be capable of throw for six to eight weeks. Since there’s simply over seven weeks remaining within the common season, he gained’t be coming again this 12 months.
2024 will finally go down as a largely misplaced season for the righty. He underwent Tommy John surgical procedure in Could of final 12 months and was capable of come off the injured listing in July. He made only one begin, permitting three earned runs in 4 innings, earlier than going again on the IL.
At present’s information is considerably constructive within the sense that the righty’s UCL isn’t affected and he can have a standard offseason in preparation for 2025. However it’s additionally lower than best for him to be going into subsequent 12 months with simply 4 innings thrown this 12 months. Ideally, he would have had the final couple of months of the schedule to compile a good workload to construct off subsequent 12 months, however that gained’t be potential now.
The Colorado rotation has been a difficulty this 12 months, to place it mildly. The membership’s starters have a collective 5.45 earned run common, worst within the majors. That’s not essentially a shock, between the same old challenges of pitching at Coors Area and the harm points the membership has had. Along with Márquez, Antonio Senzatela has additionally missed all the season so far as a consequence of his personal Tommy John surgical procedure restoration. He’s slated to start out a rehab project tonight. Kyle Freeland additionally missed a few months as a consequence of an elbow pressure and has solely made 12 begins this 12 months.
With Márquez unable to come back again this 12 months, the group is unlikely to get again on monitor anytime quickly. Simply as we speak, one other domino fell as Ryan Feltner was positioned on the 15-day injured listing with a proper shoulder pressure, although it’s not but recognized precisely how a lot time the membership is anticipating him to overlook.
It’s theoretically potential to think about the group being in higher form subsequent 12 months with with full and wholesome seasons from Márquez, Senzatela and Freeland. The Rockies signed all three of these pitchers to extensions as they envisioned that trio as their rotation core. Márquez was within the closing season of his deal final 12 months when he went below the knife, however he and the membership subsequently reunited on a second extension that goes by way of 2025.
The prolonged absence from Márquez complicates issues considerably. He solely tossed 20 innings final 12 months, that means he’ll be going into 2025 with simply 24 innings thrown within the earlier two seasons. That might result in difficult questions on how you can deal with his workload subsequent 12 months. He did toss 975 1/3 innings from 2017 to 2022 with a 4.38 ERA, tossing between 162 and 196 innings in every full season of that stretch in addition to 81 2/3 frames within the shortened 2020 marketing campaign, nevertheless it’s truthful to surprise if his elbow will permit him to easily bounce again to that stage.
There are different inquiries to be answered as properly. As talked about, Senzatela will likely be rehabbing and will get some main league begins below his belt earlier than the season ends. Freeland has been off the IL for about six weeks now and appears wholesome aside from a blister he’s been coping with currently, however he may end with an ERA above 5.00 for the second straight season. Although to be truthful, his .348 BABIP and 62.4% strand charge is likely to be clouding issues this 12 months. His 4.13 FIP and 4.24 SIERA recommend a sunnier outlook.
Cal Quantrill figures to be within the combine since he has another arbitration season left and wasn’t traded previous to the deadline. He has a 4.56 ERA over his 23 begins this 12 months. Feltner is having a good season and will likely be a part of the calculus as properly, so long as this shoulder harm doesn’t linger into subsequent 12 months. His even 5.00 ERA doesn’t look nice however his .321 BABIP and and 62.9% strand charge are each on the unfortunate aspect. His 20.1% strikeout charge is a bit low however his 7.3% stroll charge and 45.4% floor ball charge are each strong, which is why he has a 4.30 FIP and 4.26 SIERA. Austin Gomber, like Quantrill, may be retained for another arbitration season and is having respectable marketing campaign with a 4.66 ERA in 21 begins.
Although this 12 months has been tough, the membership arguably has six respectable starters readily available for its 2025 rotation between Márquez, Senzatela, Freeland, Quantrill, Gomber and Feltner. Baseball hardly ever permits golf equipment to observe a script, nonetheless, and the image will undoubtedly change between from time to time. The newest on Márquez already places a little bit of a wrench of their plans, although ideally issues will progress properly after his upcoming shutdown interval.
