Denver Post sports writer Patrick Saunders with the latest installment of his Rockies Mailbag.
Pose a Rockies- or MLB-related question for the Rockies Mailbag.
Is it safe to say Kris Bryant’s deal is one of the worst signings in Colorado sports history? He’s played 135 games since we signed him in 2022, and his .249/.329/.391 slash is not something worth a seven-year, $138 million deal. He’s not the player he was in 2016. At this point, I’d settle for what he did in 2021 if he could stay healthy. Is there any chance we can move him (and his massive contract), or are we stuck with him until 2028?
— Mike, Denver
Mike, Bryant’s deal certainly is shaping up as one of the worst. For the record, it was for seven years and $182 million — not $138 million — making it the largest free-agent contract in Rockies history. People within the baseball industry have told me that the Rockies overpaid by as much as $50 million.
Perhaps if Bryant finally gets healthy for an extended time, he can hit .265 with 25 homers like in 2021 when he played for the Cubs and the Giants. But right now, I don’t see that happening. I’d love to be wrong, but I don’t think I am.
There’s no way the Rockies can unload Bryant’s contract. If they were to trade him, they would have to eat a substantial amount of the money owed to Bryant. One of the other concerns facing the Rockies from now through 2028 is that Bryant is blocking the way for younger players. It will be interesting to see how the Rockies deal with the dilemma.
Football, hockey and basketball are far more physical and taxing on your body than baseball, yet all I hear from the Rockies is how hard it is to play baseball at high altitude. In a baseball game, a player may have to run hard five or six times, 95% of the time, you are standing in one place, yet the players say how physically difficult it is to play baseball at a high altitude. The incompetence of Rockies management and the lack of talent of the players are the reasons for the Rockies losing — not the high altitude. Your thoughts?
— Tim Eitel, Orlando, Fla.
Tim, I’m guessing you’re not a baseball fan because I often get this comment from Broncos, Nuggets, and Avalanche fans. At first glance, football, basketball, and hockey are far more physically taxing than baseball, but you’re wrong to dismiss the demands of playing a 162-game baseball schedule.
The travel is incredibly grueling, and during a long season, major league players deal with bumps, bruises, muscle pulls, and other injuries that we never hear about. I would also say that being a catcher is one of the most physically and mentally demanding positions in all sports. Pitching at altitude is difficult, too. Most opposing pitchers come away from a game at Coors Field much sorer than usual because they have to work so hard to get the baseball to move like they want it to.
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I have talked to dozens of players about the effects of playing baseball a mile above sea level. They all say a significant difference exists between playing in Colorado and at lower elevations. Pitcher Jeff Francis once told me that he felt like he was walking on a cloud when he got to San Diego or Los Angeles.
Former general manager Dan O’Dowd once told me: “We have found that every starter who has pitched here for 185 to 200 innings for three consecutive years over the lifetime of this franchise has broken down with a significant injury. That inability to keep pitchers healthy has been one of our biggest struggles. We have to find a way to change that.”
Dante Bichette, one of the famed Blake Street Bombers, told me years ago that the philosophy that worked when Coors Field first opened — overwhelming visiting teams in Denver — can still work.
“It can be the biggest home-field advantage in sports if you use it right,” Bichette said. “You have to make it exciting. You have to hit.”
Bichette has repeated that statement multiple times over the years.
So, while I think you’re wrong to dismiss the effects of playing major league baseball at altitude, you’re correct when you say that ownership and front-office mistakes, leading to a lack of talent on the field, are the reasons the Rockies are heading toward their sixth consecutive losing season and quite possibly another 100-loss season.
I am completely baffled by Kyle Freeland’s struggles. While I don’t dissect stats, I do watch every game, and it seems he hasn’t been solid since his dazzling debut year. It certainly seems the sample size is big enough to conclude that he was a one-season wonder. I know how much it has to eat at him, with his passionate desire to represent Denver and the Rockies. Do you have any thoughts on Kyle?
— Julie Luckey, Boulder
Julie, that’s a fair question. One thing I should point out is that Freeland’s best season was not his debut 2017 season, when he finished 11-11 with a solid 4.10 ERA, but in 2018, when he went 17-7 and posted a remarkable 2.85 ERA and finished fourth in voting for the National League Cy Young Award.
I think it’s unfair to call him “a one-season wonder,” but Freeland has never come close to matching the terrific ’18 season. I have talked to a lot of people about Freeland, including Freeland himself, and these are my conclusions:
• Freeland is a technician, not a power pitcher. He can be excellent when his command is precise, but when his pitches miss their spot, he gets hit hard.
• In 2018, Freeland pitched inside to right-handed hitters with great effect. But hitters have made adjustments since then, and Freeland hasn’t counterpunched as well as he would like.
• At various times, Freeland has struggled to command his changeup and slider, two pitches that need to be on point for him to succeed.
I will admit that I root for Freeland. He’s a fierce competitor, holds himself accountable, doesn’t make excuses, and is always available to the media. He’s a class act.
What are your thoughts on Michael Toglia so far this year? There have been flashes of power, but he can’t seem to get any consistency on the plate.
— Marshall, Parker
Marshall, you’re very observant. Four of Toglia’s five hits this season have been home runs. Since Aug. 22 of last season, six of his last nine hits were homers (heading into Tuesday night’s game at Philadelphia). His 59.1 hard-hit percentage ranks 11th in the majors (minimum 25 plate appearances), and his 93.3 mph exit velocity ranks 13th in the NL. There is no question he has power.
But right now, Toglia is an all-or-nothing hitter, as evidenced by his .143/.167/.468 slashline, zero walks, and a 36.1% strikeout rate. The Rockies want him to evolve into their first baseman of the future, but right now, that future looks a long way away.
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