Rockies right-hander Germán Márquez landed on the 15-day injured listing final month resulting from elbow irritation. Supervisor Bud Black tells Manny Randhawa of MLB.com that Márquez gained’t return to the mound this yr. As Randhawa relayed on X, the righty’s ulnar collateral ligament is okay, however he has a stress response in his elbow and gained’t be capable of throw for six to eight weeks. Since simply over seven weeks stay within the common season, he gained’t be returning this yr.
2024 will finally go down as a principally misplaced season for the righty. He underwent Tommy John surgical procedure in Might of final yr and was in a position to 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.
Thursday’s information is considerably optimistic: the righty’s UCL is unaffected, and he can have a traditional offseason in preparation for 2025. Nevertheless it’s additionally lower than preferrred for him to enter subsequent yr with simply 4 innings thrown this yr. Ideally, he would have had the final couple of months of the schedule to compile a good workload to construct off subsequent yr, however that gained’t be doable now.
To place it mildly, the Colorado rotation has been a problem this yr. The membership’s starters have a collective 5.45 earned run common, the worst within the majors. That’s not essentially a shock, between the standard challenges of pitching at Coors Area and the harm points the membership has had. Along with Márquez, Antonio Senzatela has missed your entire season to this point resulting from his personal Tommy John surgical procedure restoration. He’s slated to start out a rehab task Thursday. Kyle Freeland missed a couple of months resulting from an elbow pressure and has solely made 12 begins this yr.
With Márquez unable to return this yr, the group is unlikely to get again on monitor anytime quickly. Simply Thursday, 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 expects him to overlook.
It’s theoretically doable to think about the group being in higher form subsequent yr with full and wholesome seasons from Márquez, Senzatela and Freeland. The Rockies signed all three pitchers to extensions as they envisioned that trio as their rotation core. Márquez was within the remaining season of his deal final yr when he went below the knife, however he and the membership subsequently reunited on a second extension that goes by means of 2025.
The prolonged absence from Márquez complicates issues considerably. He solely tossed 20 innings final yr, that means he’ll be going into 2025 with simply 24 innings thrown within the earlier two seasons. That would result in difficult questions on dealing with his workload subsequent yr. 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, however it’s truthful to surprise if his elbow will permit him to easily soar again to that stage.
There are different inquiries to be answered as properly. As talked about, Senzatela can be rehabbing and will get some main league begins 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 fee may be clouding issues this yr. 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 earlier than the deadline. He has a 4.56 ERA over his 23 begins this yr. Feltner is having a good season and can be a part of the calculus as properly, so long as this shoulder harm doesn’t linger into subsequent yr. His 5.00 ERA doesn’t look nice, however his .321 BABIP and 62.9% strand fee are unfortunate. His 20.1% strikeout fee is a bit low, however his 7.3% stroll and 45.4% floor ball charges are stable, so he has a 4.30 FIP and 4.26 SIERA. Austin Gomber, like Quantrill, will be retained for another arbitration season and is having a good marketing campaign with a 4.66 ERA in 21 begins.
Although this yr has been tough, the membership arguably has six first rate starters for its 2025 rotation: Márquez, Senzatela, Freeland, Quantrill, Gomber and Feltner. Nonetheless, baseball not often permits golf equipment to observe a script, and the image will undoubtedly change between every now and then. The most recent on Márquez already places a little bit of a wrench of their plans, although ideally, issues will progress properly after his upcoming shutdown interval.
