In the past couple of Novembers, the first projections I tend to seek out for the upcoming season come from the Bill James Handbook.  I find this book to be a good prep book for the off-season, it's a quick resource for splits, line stats, defensive numbers, and also a basic projection for pitchers and hitters.  They don't seem to be as detailed as PECOTA or ZIPS, but since no projection system is perfect, it's a fun tool to assist in forecasting for '08.  

So this evening I thought we'd look at how the guys at Baseball Info Solutions see how a couple of our catcher suspects shape up for the coming year.  While the projections give games played, homers, etc. for guys, I will only include: batting average/ on base percentage/ slugging percentage, and then OPS.  I'm not a huge fan of OPS, but it is handy in this case, and most all of you understand it's use as a rough evaluation tool.  So let's start with the one we know the best:

Yorvit Torrealba

.251/.315/.388     .703

Yorvit had a career year of sorts, and BIS sees him as basically repeating his "successes" of last season.  However, his OPS is projected to be the lowest of the four primary targets.  I tend to find this ironic in that he's also likely to rake in the most money of the four this off-season.  Defense and personality make a difference, and his top rating is defensible.  Torrealba is an excellent backstop, capable of blocking most everything and has proven himself with a young pitching staff.  

While those traits are valuable, it's easy to place too much stock in them while ignoring other factors.  For one, the CS% was miserable, and it's possible he won't return to past heights.  Torrealba is no longer young, and in a physically demanding position, he has little time to properly heal his throwing shoulder while also building up strength to handle a larger load of games.  Age, injury history, and positional hazards are all concerns about his long term success at controlling the running game.  

That basically boils Torrealba down to a guy that works well with pitchers, blocks balls, but relies heavily on Coors to support his offense, may struggle to control the running game, and has an injury history that should give teams pause before handing over a big contract.  There's still value here, but for a team like Colorado, with a very limited budget, they simply cannot allow sentimentality to supersede good judgment.  Simply put, 7 million over two years is too much for this guy, now 15 million over three?...

Paul LoDuca

.283/.331/.395     .727

One of the biggest ironies of the off-season is the Mets inclination to improve on LoDuca with a younger, but less fancy version of LoDuca in Torrealba.  Keep in mind that park matters in these projections; BIS is assuming that all players will return to last year's teams in determining their `08 line. So LoDuca would get a bump from Coors on these numbers, while Torrealba would lose some should he head for Shea.  

Basically, we have the same player here as before.  Like Torrealba, LoDuca is not the most disciplined hitter, nor one blessed with tremendous gap power.  However LoDuca is more consistent in the average department, inflating the rest of his line.  Defensively, the similarities are more real.  Both are excellent at blocking balls in the dirt, are noted as good pitchers' catchers, and really struggle to control the running game.  Before you try and sell me on Torrealba's superior game calling skills, note that his catcher's ERA is almost identical to LoDuca's (and on top of this, this number tends to vary from year to year like ERA, which minimizes the value of game calling anyways).  

I also tend to believe that the risks associated with LoDuca are overstated.  Sure his age is a factor, but he doesn't appear to be significantly declining offensively, and we aren't talking about 2009 either.  If he can be had for double Yorvit's `07 contract, he'll be a good buy for Colorado, and may even represent an improvement at the position based on his superior offensive skills.

Jason Kendall

.275/.369/.335     .704

His edge over Torrealba in OPS is an insignificant .001 at first glance, but when you factor in Coors, it may become slightly more noticeable.  Kendall has one additional offensive tool that is intriguing, plate discipline.  Torrealba's power isn't so great that the drop in SLG from him to Kendall will make a difference, but Jason advantage in OBP could have more ramifications on adding runs over the course of the season.

However, there is a major red flag with Kendall.  The first is that he's already shown some evidence of bottoming out offensively, as he did in Oakland.  As an undersized catcher at age 34 and an offense built on patience and contact, if the batting skills erode, teams will just pound the strike zone, and the OBP will flee with the batting average.  He's at the point in his career that if it goes again, it may not come back this time, and after watching this happen to Finley, it could be even more concerning should it happen to the "everyday catcher."

Defensively, there isn't much to see here.  Kendall doesn't throw out base runners, but did have the best catcher's ERA of the four and proved durability by catching the most innings of the group by a large margin.  He's not a great backstop, but not terrible either.

Kendall's a high risk, moderate reward signing.  If the contact skills stay in tact, and he realizes a Coors bump, we could be talking about a .300/.390/.360 hitter that could be used at first, second, or the bottom of the order.  Yet, if the contact skills fade, he will be the worst player on this list, and may be a big drain on the Rockies' `08 hopes.  So long as the Rockies' employ a short leash with Kendall, there's some intrigue, but there's little middle ground here.

Michael Barrett

.262/.319/.424     .743

Note that of all the catcher's listed, Barrett's line stand the most to gain from shifting the projection out of Petco to Coors for half the games.  Barrett has the most upside on this list, and is my preferred free agent option.  I should also note that should the Padres offer Barrett arbitration, the Rockies won't pursue him (and Barrett likely would accept arbitration as the best way for him to get a big `08 pay day).

Barrett's season last year was bitten hard by the BABIP bug, and at 31, he's young enough to re-establish himself offensively.   None of the catcher's on this list can boast the same peak offensive season as Barrett posted in  an injury shortened 2006.  It would not be unsurprising if Barrett hit .300/.340/.500 in Coors next season and be one of the team's top offensive performers.

I'm not going to lie to you and tell you he isn't a bad defender, because he is.  However, I will tell you that most concerns are overblown.  Barrett is a poor backstop and has had problems in the past with handling power stuff.  He allowed three times as many passed balls as Torrealba, but don't blow this out of proportion.  If Torrealba allowed one passed  ball over a month's worth of games, Barrett would allow three passed balls over that same span.  Barrett is also poor at throwing out base runners, but even that number may have been slightly skewed by catching traditional green lights in Young and Maddux.  That doesn't excuse his CS%, but when the upside of these four is 19%, what does it matter.  For as many people that criticize Barrett for his squabbles last season, you can find plenty of baseball guys that vouch for Barrett's baseball aptitude, from Maddux last year, to Buck Martinez at the WBC (lauding Barrett for his work ethic, desire to learn, and already high perception of the game).  Again, Barrett's catcher's ERA is almost identical to both LoDuca and Torrealba, so if you think he's a poor game caller, it doesn't bare out in his staff's performance.

Again, let's be honest, he's a weak defensive catcher, and the weakest of the four.  Yet let's not blow this out of proportion to the point we are comparing him to a coach pitch catcher.  With the likely loss of Matsui to free agency and the insertion of an inferior player in his stead (I still see Stewart at second as highly doubtful, more likely Carroll/Q/Barmes/Nix), this team has to find a way to replace offense, and if he comes at a reduced rate, Barrett may actually be one of the better sticks on the market.  So long as the team finds a way to give Barrett time off when Jimenez is on the mound, and works Barrett in more as a bat off the bench when he's not catching, he could be the most valuable of the four by a wide margin.  He's not worth the risk if our draft pick is involved, and he can't be asked to go at it alone, but if you buy into BABIP, there is a significant amount of upside here.

So that wraps up the list of "most often associated with Colorado" catchers.  It's not a group of world beaters, but at the same time, it's not a group of significantly different players, and should each play exactly to there projections and defensive qualifications listed above, they may all end up with roughly the same overall value next season.  At that point, the best buy becomes the cheapest buy, and as tight as money appears to be (a topic for another day), that may be the best route for the club...

...yet there is this other guy out there.  His projection line looks like this:

.274/.370/.435     .805

That's a pretty significant improvement over the four above.  From what I can tell, he might be the cheapest of the four as well.  Again, this would be an upside play, and there is risk associated with this guy as well, but simply based on this projection, it would be worth looking into this mystery catcher as our `08 starter...

With both players homering yesterday, I thought now would be as good a time as ever to bring this up:  when it comes to the young shortstops in the system, I'm a Nelson guy.

Hector Gomez, as rox girl points out, has received a crazy amount of recent press, and was rated one spot higher in Goldstein's Top Ten.  While I'm very excited to see where Gomez goes with his talent, for the time being, I'm picking Nelson ahead of Gomez for the time being, and will deliver my case with a few points:

-Nelson was considered one of if not the top high school hitter in the 2004 draft.

That's not to say Americans are better than international ball players, but it's more a statement of Nelson's pedigree and can explain the recent upswing in his talents.  In Goldstein's recent top ten, he talks about how things suddenly can "click" for toolsy players, where they start to add production to their athleticism and not turn back.  For Nelson, that looks as if this is the case in the second half of this year.

First half:  .260/.330/.389
Second half:  .314/.390/.607

From that standpoint, Nelson might be the organization's best offensive player in the second half of the year.  With that type of pop, Nelson is starting to add performance to his projection as a middle order hitter.

-Nelson has already passed the "McCormick Threshold" and improved his performance.

This may not be completely fair to Gomez, because he hasn't had the opportunity to prove himself outside of Asheville, but for Nelson doing it, he should still earn credit.  You could make the case that Nelson should be docked for not making gains in Asheville, but since prospects should have more emphasis placed on their performance at higher levels than the lower ones, and the most recent season compared to past ones, Nelson has redeemed himself this season.  

The concern with Gomez is that he not having near the success away from McCormick, and his current pop may be more park than skill.  Still, he's very young, and still projects well down the line.  I'm just willing to give more credit to the guy who has shown progress away from McCormick.

-Nelson has a more polished skill set.

Gomez' phenomenal raw tools have drawn all kinds of comparisons to the elite players of the league.  Yet, when you're this raw, these comparisons come more often.  Before we really know what Gomez can be, we need to start to see some refinement in his plate discipline.

Nelson has already begun to show a mature approach at the plate.  His walk rate is a healthy 10.1%, his K rate is an acceptable 17.2%, and he has improved both of those numbers from last year while at a higher level.  Because of these gains and their current levels, we already have a rough idea of the type of hitter Nelson will be, and where he can fit in the lineup.  That expectation is a hitter with solid contact skills, good patience, and above average pop for his likely positions.  Where Gomez has the chance to blow these numbers out of the water if he reaches some of the comparisons thrown his way, he could just as well fall short with his missing plate discipline.  Young players like Gomez can make big strides in this department, but for the time being, I'm siding with the safer bet to have a refined approach at the plate.

-Nelson is relatively close to the big leagues.

Though it's possible Nelson takes the minors step by step and makes his Rockies' debut in 2010, there are signs that his arrival could come much sooner.  For starters, if he has finally "clicked" in the second half, than he'll carry his big performance to the Double A level.  As soon as you establish yourself in AA, you're on the doorstep.  Should Nelson put up a line like .300/.380/.500 in Tulsa next season, it's entirely possible that he could be in Colorado next year.  He's already showing a refined offensive profile, so we should expect a good performance in Tulsa, and who knows from there.

Gomez, on the other hand, is just a teenager, and will need to prove he can hit away from McCormick, refine his plate discipline, and turn more power projection into power production.  I wouldn't be surprised if he accomplishes all these things in Modesto, but that's a pretty big leap and doesn't necessarily have to happen in High A.  

So in summation, I prefer to go with the guy that has a better chance of reaching his potential than the guy with the considerably higher ceiling.  The difference isn't great; if Nelson is position prospect number one, Gomez is one A.  Neither is going to be the next Rockies shortstop, and the positions they end up at could change these rankings.  Nelson seems like a good fit for second base, and Gomez' comparisons to Hanley Ramirez could look more apt once Ramirez makes his eventual shift to centerfield, as Gomez likely will in the next two seasons.  If there's a moral to this story, it's that the Rockies still have two very high ceiling talents coming down the pipeline despite graduating two on the left side of the infield over this year and next.  Blue chip position players don't stop with Tulo and Stewart, the future contributions of Nelson and Gomez (and Fowler) could make an already bright future even brighter.

After an extended hiatus thanks to a Rockies vacation from winning followed by a vacation of my own, I give you the second installment of the Baseball Deals series.  As long as the team hovers around contention for the next two weeks, I may step up the writing of these, but if things fall apart on this road trip, we'll switch gears and start discussing parts to acquire for 2008 and beyond.  Nonetheless, the hunt for starting pitching continues today with a recently familiar face in Chris Capuano.

Capuano was not even on the list of players I had planned to do, and the second player (a current young-ish Cincinnati pitcher) should be up in a few days, but a couple of things have occurred for us to at least take notice of this situation.  While the early origins of this story may have started with Friday's Game Thread, the true reason for the story comes from this story and comments at another wonderful SBN blog, Brew Crew Ball.  If you watched Friday's game and read the story, then you may think we're just wasting our time, but let's look a little further...

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As the Rockies look to once again enter the All Star break treading water above the .500 level, it is more important now to both the players and the fans a sign that the organization is committed to giving them the best opportunity to competing for a playoff spot.  However, the front office must also be cognizant of the future of the system and not attempt the jeopardize the future by making a frivolous attempt to reach a difficult goal.  This team doesn't need to make the big splashes to prove anything, as they will only be deemed failures if the team comes up short In the playoff run anyways, yet O'Dowd can make a handful of "baseball" moves that not only improve the current product, but also produce in the current window of years this club is operating in.  In essence, the club can build for next year while also showing signs of attempting to win in the now.

The follow is the first in a series of stories that will look at various candidates that meet the "baseball move" criteria.  Some will be buy lows, others calculated gambles, and not all will be ultimately recommended actions, but the point is to get the discussion rolling on how the team can better prepare itself to compete over a number of years.  Lastly, the proposed players and deals could potentially be made with little damage to the farm system and should not leave the club with lasting value should bigger chips be dealt.  So without further ado, our first subject...

While the media frenzy circles around Mark Buehrle as the "pitcher to get" this trade season thanks to a generous BABIP and a rebound in some peripherals, there are a few pitchers with similar traits to Buehrle that could have potentially as big an impact.  Zach Duke could be considered the poor man's Buehrle (it just so happens that Mark is ranked fifth on Duke's PECOTA comparables list).  Duke, however, isn't without his flaws, which we'll get into.

What makes Duke the most appealing is his propensity to get ground balls.  Duke's current GB% of 51.7 is right in line with his brief career numbers, and is back up by his stuff.  I watched Duke's last start both on Advanced Gameday and MLB.TV, and his fastball is truly mislabeled.  Though the velocity was still between 86-90, he was getting seven inches of "break" on the pitch, three more than what Cook was roughly averaging in his last start.  Beyond just the sink on the pitch, Duke was consistently keeping the ball low in the zone, and displayed excellent feel for the pitch.  

Continue reading this post »

Dave Krieger has again been stealing my notebook, and is writing  about what's also apparent to me and several others here, I assume, that the Rockies' rotation is still not quite of the caliber of a contender. Francis and Lopez are doing a standout job in two slots, but the other three members of our starting five are flailing in the water and can't keep up.

The solution?

On the team we have Taylor Buchholz, who was making strides as a fill-in starter while Lopez was re-habbing, but who also should be given as much credit for stabilizing the pen as LaTroy Hawkins is getting. I don't know if we want to shake things up there until Casey Weathers, Juan Morillo or Darren Clarke are ready to assume that role.

Off the team, but still inside the system, only Greg Reynolds appears close as Krieger mentions, but Ubaldo Jimenez would only need to put together a string of three or so quality starts to get a look. There will be a handful of starts for both of these pitchers before the trade deadline, and there's still enough season left that the move doesn't need to be made right now. I don't think we'll be hurt by a little more patience in this area, but Reynolds should be called up to the Springs shortly.

Looking at the options outside, I think there's enough of a bidding war for Mark Buehrle that the cost in talent for him will be prohibitive, with the Brewers, Braves, Cardinals, Yankees, Mets and Red Sox among the teams expressing interest. If we have to look this direction, a better route than following the herd might be to offer a bat like Atkins or Baker to the Angels and try to get a decent young pitcher back.

Speaking of Krieger, compare his evaluation of Dan O'Dowd on Friday to Richard Justice's take on Houston GM Tim Purpura. Of course, O'Dowd's first season or so with the Rox was about as disastrous as Purpura's year with the Astros is proving to be, so perhaps we should preach at least a little patience to the loyal fans in Houston.

Troy E. Renck talks to Willy T about getting the shaft from umps at first in the almost no-hitter that shouldn't have been, and has various other notes including confirmation of the Octavio Dotel rumor Ken Rosenthal mentioned the other day.

In just a matter of three hours today, two reporters close to the team expressed concern over the Rockies' "ace" getting back on track; Harding in his notes column, and Renck on XM Radio's Baseball Beat.  Such concerns haven't escaped these boards either, as more than a few have expressed some mild concerns over Aaron Cook's recent outings at home.

If you don't want to read a drawn out or boring (to some) explanation, I'll cut to the conclusion right here:  Relax, this is the same Aaron Cook of 2006, and with a few very slight corrections in his command and some bigger ones in luck, he'll be pitching more to expectations in short time.  If you care to know why, just keep reading...

For starters, Aaron Cook doesn't have the numbers to carry the "ace" label very well, but that doesn't mean he isn't without value.  Cook doesn't have the K's you'd expect of a real "ace" in the Beckett mold, but he does a pretty good job of limiting walks and keeping the ball on the ground.  Because Cook only strikes out 3.01 batters per nine, he allows quite a few balls in play.  When he struggles, it's most often because all those grounders aren't finding gloves, and when sprinkled with the occasional line drive, or even the rare homer, he'll give up a couple runs.  Yet, because his GB% is so high, when Cook is off, he's merely frustrating, and not necessarily bad.

So what's the difference this year?  Nothing really.  His GB% is a staggering 57.1%, down only .7% from last year.  The K rate is down and the walk rate is up, but neither is beyond a mild fluctuation that comes with a new sample.  Basically, to get these rates back in line with last year, it would take an extra K and one less BB ever game or two.  These have caused his K/BB rate tighten, but it was never good in the first place, so why worry about it now?  It isn't extra homers, as both the HR/FB% and HR/9 are an eyelash better than last year.  Luck through BABIP?  Nope, it has gotten better, but within reason.  To date, Aaron Cook's numbers are hardly different from last year's numbers.  Even if you quibble with the K's and BB's, it would take very modest improvements to bring them back to last year's levels.

What is he doing different at home than?  HE may not be the problem.  Fan Graphs provide excellent visuals to break this down.  If you look at the graphs for K/9, BB/9 and HR/9, you'll see that he's either repeating a trend, declining but within reason, or improving.  He's not pitching that much different at home than he has in the past.  So where's the problem?  The biggest issue with his home numbers may come from the pitchers that follow him.  When Cook leaves runners on while on the road, the relievers behind him have slammed the door on runners over 80% of the time.  At home, they've been much more generous, stranding only about 55%, a difference close to 30% in strand rate depending on the park.  I don't know how many runs this has amounted to, but when you look at Cook's expected ERA, or FIP at around 4.62, these runners allowed to score at home could be the reason Cook's ERA is higher beyond the general inflation felt by pitchers while at Coors.  

In summation, Cook's last outing wasn't great, but was an outlier to his season.  There isn't much he needs to do to regain his form at home.  If the Rockies want to see Cook's numbers pick up at Coors, perhaps they should re-examine who they have following his exits.  Improve the relief immediately following Cook, and the numbers will follow.

Recent Transactions:

5/14: Placed RHP Ryan Speier on the 15-day DL; Recalled LHP Josh Newman from Triple-A.
5/11: Optioned LHP Mark Redman to Triple-A; Purchased the contract of RHP Greg Reynolds.
5/6: Optioned LHP Josh Newman to Triple-A; Purchased the contract of RHP Alberto Arias. Signed LHP Aaron Fultz and SS Eduardo Cornejo to minor league contracts. C Josh Bell retired.
5/5: Signed RHP Todd Ritchie to a minor league contract.
5/3: Placed SS Troy Tulowitzki on the 15-day DL; Purchased the contract of LHP Jorge De La Rosa from Triple-A.
5/2: Signed IF Juan Castro to a minor league contract.
5/1: IF Spence Nagy retired.

4/30: Optioned LHP Franklin Morales to Triple-A; Placed RHP Kip Wells on the 15-day DL; Designated RHP Jose Capellan for assignment; Recalled IF Omar Quintanilla and IF Jonathan Herrera from Triple-A. Acquired RHP Jason Grilli from Detroit in exchange for RHP Zach Simons. Acquired LHP Jorge De La Rosa and cash from Kansas City for a PTBNL. Outrighted 2B Jayson Nix to Triple-A.
4/26: Designated 2B Jayson Nix for assignment; Purchased the contract of RHP Jose Capellan from Triple-A.
4/24: Acquired RHP Sean Smith from Cleveland as the PTBNL to complete the 12/8 Jamey Carroll trade.
4/22: Placed LHP Micah Bowie on the 15-day DL; Recalled LHP Josh Newman from Triple-A.
4/18: Released OF Joe Gaetti.
4/6: Released RHP Alec Zumwalt, C David Parrish, 1B Fernando Seguignol, OF Jordan Czarniecki and OF Ruddy Yan. IB Brandon Reichert retired.
4/5: Placed RHP Luis Vizcaino on the 15-day DL; Recalled RHP Ryan Speier from Triple-A.

3/30: Purchased the contracts of LHP Micah Bowie and OF Scott Podsednik. Placed RHP Jason Hirsh on the 15-day DL.  Released RHP Marc Kaiser, RHP Mike Esposito, RHP Matt Hirsh, RHP Chris Young, LHP Jesse Hall, C Nate Anderson and OF Josh Burrus.
3/29: IF Matt Kata traded to Pittsburgh for future considerations. 
3/28: Optioned RHP Ryan Speier, C Edwin Bellorin and OF Cory Sullivan to Triple-A. Outrighted RHP Josh Towers and RHP Jose Capellan to Triple-A. Rule 5 selection RHP Steven Register returned by the New York Mets. Released RHP Andy Kreidermacher, 3B Phillip Cuadrado, 3B Jose Valdez and OF Lino Garcia.
3/26: Traded RHP Ramon Ramirez to Kansas City for a player to be named later. Released 2B Marcus Giles and C Mike Rose.
3/24: Released RHP Matt Trent, LHP Ricardo Morales, RHP David Arnold, RHP Mike Vicaro and SS Gary Cates.
3/22: Signed C Humberto Cota to a minor league contract.
3/10: Signed 1B Fernando Seguignol, IF Gary Cates, OF Ruddy Yan, C Nick Valdez and LHP Jesse Hall to minor league contracts.
3/6: Released LHP Sean Thompson.
3/3: Released RHP Riquy Pena and RHP Agustin Arias.

2/11: Signed RHP Alec Zumwalt to a minor league contract.
2/5: Signed RHP Josh Towers to a one-year contract. Signed RHP Victor Zambrano and OF Scott Podsednik to minor league contracts.
2/4: Re-signed RHP Sandy Nin to a minor league contract.

1/28: Signed RHP Chris Young to a minor league contract.
1/22: Signed LHP Cedrick Bowers, RHP Matt Hirsh, LHP Luis E. Gonzalez and C David Parrish to minor league contracts. Released RHP Jose Campos, RHP Leonel Lopez, RHP Jonathan Molina, RHP Luis Noboa, RHP J.T. Zink and OF Maruis Loupadiere.
1/14: Signed LHP Valerio De Los Santos, LHP Ricardo Morales, RHP Eric Schaler, C Nelson Robledo and OF Tony Blanco to minor league contracts. Released LHP Stephen Shao.
1/4: Signed OF Josh Burrus and C Brian Esposito to minor league contracts.

12/21: Signed RHP Luis Vizcaino to a two-year contract with a team option for 2010. Signed LHP Micah Bowie, C Mike Rose, RHP Edward Valdez and IF Matt Kata to minor league contracts.
12/18: Purchased the contract of OF Kane Simmons from the Reno Silver Sox of the Golden League.
12/14: Signed LHP Chris George to a minor league contract.
12/13: Re-signed RHP Darren Clarke, RHP Alberto Arias and OF Sean Barker to minor league contracts.
12/12: Signed OF Cory Sullivan, RHP Kip Wells and LHP Mark Redman to one-year contracts. Non-tendered RHP Darren Clarke and OF Sean Barker.
12/11: Signed LHP John Koronka to a minor league contract.
12/10: Signed RHP Aaron Cook to a three-year contract extension with a mutual option for 2012.
12/8: Traded IF Jamey Carroll to the Cleveland Indians for a PTBNL.
12/6: RHP Steven Register selected by the New York Mets in the major league portion of the Rule 5 draft.
12/4: Acquired RHP Jose Capellan from the Detroit Tigers in exchange for RHP Denny Bautista.

11/30: Re-signed RHP Matt Herges to a one-year contract with a club option for 2009.
11/29: Re-signed C Yorvit Torrealba to a two-year contract with a mutual option for 2010.
11/21: Re-signed RHP Zach McClellan to a minor league contract.
11/20: Purchased the contracts of RHP Esmil Rogers and RHP Pedro Strop.

10/31: Activated RHP Darren Clarke, RHP Jason Hirsh, RHP Rodrigo Lopez, RHP Ramon Ramirez and OF Sean Barker from the 60-day DL.
10/30: Decline 2008 mutual option for RHP LaTroy Hawkins.
10/27: Outrighted RHP Ramon Ortiz to Triple-A.
10/23: Activated RHP Aaron Cook from the 60-day DL.
10/7: Outrighted LHP Dan Serafini and RHP Zach McClellan to Triple-A.

9/16: Purchased the contract of OF Seth Smith.
9/8: Purchased the contract of LHP Josh Newman.
9/7: Purchased the contract of LHP Mark Redman; Designated C Alvin Colina for assignment.
9/4: Purchased the contract of LHP Dan Serafini.
9/1: Purchased the contract of 1B Joe Koshansky.

8/26: Designated C Geronimo Gil for assignment.
8/19: Signed LHP Mark Redman to a minor league contract.
8/18: Purchased the contract of LHP Franklin Morales.
8/17: Signed RHP Gerardo Casadiego to a minor league contract. Acquired RHP Matt Trent from St. Louis. Outrighted RHP Tim Harikkala to Triple-A; Released RHP Mike DeJean.
8/15: Purchased the contract of RHP Elmer Dessens. Acquired RHP Ramon Ortiz from Minnesota in exchange for IF Matt Macri. Signed RHP Mike Vicaro and RHP J.T. Zink to minor league contracts.
8/14: Signed OF Jolbert Cabrera to a minor league contract. Released RHP Dave Veres and RHP Jorge De Paula. Outrighted LHP Sean Thompson to Double-A.
8/12: Designated Tim Harikkala for assignment.
8/11: Purchased the contract of RHP Tim Harikkala.
8/10: Purchased the contract of 3B Ian Stewart; Designated LHP Sean Thompson for assignment.
8/9: Signed RHP Michael Marbry and RHP Elmer Dessens to minor league contracts. Purchased the contract of C Geronimo Gil.
8/7: Signed RHP Todd Williams and C Josh Bell to minor league contracts. Purchased the contract of C Edwin Bellorin.

7/31: Signed LHP Dan Serafini to a minor league contract.
7/26: Signed RHP Tim Harikkala to a minor league contract.
7/20: Designated LHP Tom Martin for assignment. Claimed LHP Sean Thompson off waivers. Released LHP Zack Parker.
7/11: Released 1B Logan Wiens, LHP Edgar Huerta, RHP Jorge Sandes and LHP Devin Collis.

6/26: Released C Ramon Rodriguez.
6/13: Signed LHP Kevin Walker to a minor league contract.
6/12: Released C Alex Trezza, 3B Frank Menechino, LHP Orlando Rodriguez and RHP Buzz Vargas.
6/2: Signed LHP Bobby Paschal and IF Zack Murry to minor league contracts.

5/22: Activated RHP LaTroy Hawkins from the 15-day DL; Optioned RHP Darren Clarke to Double-A.
5/20: Released 1B Chris Cook.
5/19: Designated OF John Mabry for assignment; Recalled OF Ryan Spilborghs.
5/18: Placed RHP Zach McClellan on the 15-day DL; Recalled RHP Darren Clarke.
5/14: Released LHP Eric DuBose.
5/13: Traded RHP Byung-Hyun Kim to Florida in exchange for RHP Jorge Julio; Optioned RHP Denny Bautista and RHP Alberto Arias to Triple-A.
5/4: Signed OF Scott Robinson and LHP Drew Coffey to minor league contracts. Released LHP Henry Guzman. LHP David Bechtold retired.
5/1: Optioned SS Clint Barmes to Triple-A; Recalled SS Omar Quintanilla from Triple-A.

4/29: Designated RHP Bobby Keppel for assignment; Purchased the contract of RHP Alberto Arias from Triple-A; Optioned RHP Ryan Speier to Triple-A; Recalled RHP Denny Bautista.
4/23: Placed RHP LaTroy Hawkins on the 15-day DL; Activated LHP Tom Martin from the DL.
4/21: Placed RHP Ramon Ramirez on the 15-day DL; Designated RHP Matt Herges for assignment; Recalled RHP Ryan Speier; Purchased the contract of RHP Bobby Keppel from Triple-A.
4/19: Placed RHP Rodrigo Lopez on the 15-day DL; Designated RHP Brian Lawrence for assignment; Purchased the contract of RHP Matt Herges from Triple-A.
4/16: Placed RHP Byung-Hyun Kim on the 15-day DL; Purchased the contract of RHP Zach McClellan from Triple-A.
4/15: Placed 2B Kazuo Matsui on the 15-day DL; Recalled SS Clint Barmes from Triple-A.
4/12: Released RHP Drew Shetrone and C Luis Apodaca
4/7: Outrighted OF Alexis Gomez to Triple-A; Outrighted RHP Simon Ferrer to Single-A. Released 3B Erick Almonte
4/2: Released OF Jud Thigpen
4/1: Placed RHP Brian Lawrence on the 15-day DL; Added RHP Simon Ferrer to the 40-man roster and optioned him to Double-A.

3/31: Purchased the contracts of 1B John Mabry and OF Steve Finley; Optioned OF Ryan Spilborghs to Triple-A; Designated OF Alexis Gomez for assignment; Reassigned RHP Dave Veres to minor league camp. Loaned C Geronimo Gil to Mexico City of the Mexican League; Traded 3B Russ Johnson to PIT for future considerations; OF John Restrepo announced his retirement; Placed RHP Scott Beerer on the restricted list; Released RHP Humberto Cardenas, RHP Jason Hanna, RHP Manny Ulloa, LHP Matt Ford, C Bryan Opdyke, C Steven Suarez, C Kyle Wilson, 3B Dustin Hahn, SS Eric Riggs, OF Doc Brooks and OF Pedro Perez.
3/30: Released RHP Tim Bausher, RHP Chase Dardar, RHP Tim Lavigne, LHP Chad Bentz, RHP Jon Huizinga, C Luke Sargent and OF Steve Boggs.
3/29: Placed LHP Tom Martin on the 15-day DL; Released LHP Chad Bailey, RHP Jeff Gilmore and LHP Jake Postlewait.
3/28: OF Jeff Salazar claimed off waivers by Arizona. 3/23: Released RHP Danny Graves; Optioned RHP Ubaldo Jimenez, SS Clint Barmes and OF Cory Sullivan to Colorado Springs; Reassigned LHP Mike Gallo, RHP Matt Herges and 3B Erick Almonte to minor league camp.
3/19: Signed RHP Tim Bausher, RHP Tim Lavigne, LHP Orlando Rodriguez, IF Nick Haley, SS Tim Olson, C Luis Apodaca, OF Lino Garcia and OF John Restrepo to minor league contracts; Released 2B Adam Morrissey.
3/17: Reassigned RHP Bobby Keppel, RHP Zach McClellan, LHP Oscar Rivera and C Edwin Bellorin to minor league camp.
3/16: Optioned RHP Denny Bautista, RHP Ryan Speier, C Alvin Colina and SS Omar Quintanilla to Colorado Springs; Optioned RHP Darren Clarke to Tulsa.
3/12: Released C Javy Lopez; Optioned SS Jonathan Herrera, 2B Jayson Nix and OF Jeff Salazar to minor league camp; Reassigned 1B Joe Koshansky, 3B Ian Stewart, OF Sean Barker, OF Matt Miller and OF Seth Smith to minor league camp.
3/11: Optioned RHP Juan Morillo to Colorado Springs; Reassigned RHP Alberto Arias, RHP Greg Reynolds, LHP Eric DuBose, LHP Franklin Morales and LHP Josh Newman to minor league camp.

2/24: Signed OF Steve Finley to a minor league contract.
2/22: Re-signed RHP Mike DeJean to a minor league contract.
2/16: Signed RHP Jeff Gilmore, 2B Adam Morrissey and 2B David Parker to minor league contracts.
2/12: Signed RHP Matt Herges and RHP Jorge DePaula to minor league contracts.
2/9: Signed OF Alexis Gomez to a one-year contract; Signed 3B Russ Johnson and 2B Frank Menechino to minor league contracts.
2/2: Signed RHP Josh Fogg to a one-year contract; Released OF Choo Freeman.
2/1: Signed SS Eric Riggs, 3B Erick Almonte, LHP Matt Ford and RHP Sheng-An Kuo to minor league contracts; Released RHP George Delgado, RHP Sandy Espinosa, 2B Anthony Granato and OF Jesse Brownell; IF Michael Milliron retired.

1/22: Signed RHP Brian Lawrence to a one-year contract with a team option for 2008; Re-signed C Tino Sanchez to a minor league contract.
1/19: Invited non-roster 1B Joe Koshansky, LHP Josh Newman, Matt Miller OF Seth Smith, RHP Greg Reynolds, 3B Ian Stewart, OF Sean Barker, RHP Alberto Arias, RHP Zach McClellan and INF Erick Almonte to Spring Training.
1/18: Sold the contract of 2B Luis A. Gonzalez to the Yomiuri Giants.
1/16: Signed LHP Jeremy Affeldt, OF Matt Holliday, RHP Rodrigo Lopez and OF Cory Sullivan to one-year contracts.
1/15: Signed OF John Mabry to a minor league contract.
1/12: Traded RHP Jim Miller and RHP Jason Burch to BAL in exchange for RHP Rodrigo Lopez.
1/9: Signed C Javy Lopez to a one-year contract.
1/3: Signed 2B Jamey Carroll to a two-year contract with a team option for 2009; Signed RHP Dave Veres to a minor league contract.

12/21/06: Signed RHP Danny Graves, RHP Jon Huizinga, C Tommy Duenas, C Bryan Opdyke and C Alex Trezza to minor league contracts.
12/13/06: Signed C Yorvit Torrealba to a one-year contract; Signed LHP Mike Gallo to a minor league contract.
12/12/06: Traded RHP Jason Jennings and RHP Miguel Asencio to HOU in exchange for RHP Taylor Buchholz, RHP Jason Hirsh and OF Willy Taveras; Non-tendered RHP Chin Hui Tsao.
12/8/06: Signed LHP Tom Martin to a one-year contract with a team option for 2008.
12/7/06: Selected C Salomon Manriquez in the Triple-A phase of the Rule 5 Draft and traded him to Texas for cash considerations.
12/6/06: Signed RHP LaTroy Hawkins to a one-year contract with a team option for 2008; Signed C Edwin Bellorin to a minor league contract.

11/30/06: Signed LHP Jeff Francis to a four-year contract extension with a team option for 2011; Signed LHP Oscar Rivera and C Geronimo Gil to minor league contracts.
11/29/06: Signed LHP Eric DuBose to a minor league contract.
11/22/06: Signed RHP Bobby Keppel, RHP Enmanuel Ulloa, LHP Henry Guzman, LHP Chad Bentz and RHP Zach McClellan to minor league contracts.
11/20/06: Purchased the contracts of RHP Darren Clarke, SS Jonathan Herrera and RHP Ryan Speier.
11/15/06: Traded SS Gabe Suarez to the Cincinnati Reds for future considerations.
11/13/06: Re-signed IF Kazuo Matsui to a one-year contract.
11/7/06: Exercised the 2007 option on RHP Jason Jennings.
11/2/06: Exercised the 2007 option on RHP Byung-Hyun Kim.

10/27/06: Re-signed RHP Alberto Arias to a minor league contract.
10/13/06: C JD Closser was claimed off waivers by the Milwaukee Brewers.
10/12/06: LHP Justin Hampson was claimed off waivers by the San Diego Padres; Outrighted RHP Nate Field, RHP David Cortes and LHP Mike Venafro to Triple-A Colorado Springs.

Last Updated: 5/15/08

Seth Smith

Seth Smith

Position(s): Outfielder
Projected 2007 Team: Colorado Springs (AAA)
Age on April 1st: 24
Born: September 30, 1982 in Jackson, Mississippi
Height: 6-3 | Weight: 215
Bats: L | Throws: L
Drafted: 2nd Round, 2004 | How Acquired: Draft
College: University of Mississippi | High School: Hillcrest Christian (MS)
Contract Notes: Rule 5 eligible following 2007 season.
ETA: 2008
Other: -2007: Ranked as the 16th best prospect in the Rockies organization by Baseball America.
-Had Lasik eye surgery prior to the 2006 season.
-Was the backup quarterback to Eli Manning at the University of Mississippi.

Scouting Report / Bio: Big athlete often compared to Matt Holliday, but doesn't show the same athleticism. Smith has solid plate coverage with a pretty line drive stroke. Power could still come, but doesn't have the same loft to his hits as most power hitters. Could be more patience. Defensively, Smith takes erratic routes and his arm is just average. Best profile may be in left field.

Future Outlook: Average MLB starting left fielder

Career Stats

2007 Stats

Links and Articles:

-Scouting Report and Future Outlook by David OhNo

Joe Gaetti

Joe Gaetti

Position(s): Outfielder
Projected 2007 Team: Tulsa (AA) or Colorado Springs (AAA)
Age on April 1st: 25
Born: October 18, 1981 in Centralia, Illinois
Height: 5-11 | Weight: 205
Bats: R | Throws: R
Drafted: 12th Round, 2003 | How Acquired: Draft
College: North Carolina State | High School:
Contract Notes: Currently Rule 5 eligible.
ETA: 2008
Other: -Son of former major-league third-basemen Gary Gaetti
-2005 California League All-Star

Scouting Report / Bio: A player that plays above his tools. Gaetti's biggest asset is his power. Has an upper cut swing that can get long, but can punish pitchers with impressive homers to left and left-centerfield. Short and stocky, Gaetti may lack in athleticism, and despite time in center, is best fit in left field, where his arm and range are still average to fringe average. He has been old for his leagues, and despite his minor league numbers, he may not be able to translate them to higher levels.

Future Outlook: MLB fourth outfielder, but with the pop and "gamer" mentality to surprise.

Career Stats

2007 Stats

Links and Articles:

-Scouting Report and Future Outlook by David OhNo