Isaac Stevens | March 11, 2024
Every off season the Rockies add a handful of veterans to their MLB roster, though it has been years since they made a true splash of a transaction. For the 2025 season, the Rockies have added some interesting talent to bolster their team and stabilize each of their three main position groups after a disappointing 2024 season. Today we will analyze each one all in one article, enjoy!
Stay tuned for coverage on all minor league transactions that have occured in recent months and get caught up on most of the small moves the Rockies made early in the offseason here.
Outline of Veteran Additions:
RHP Jimmy Herget
2024 MiLB Stats: 34.1 IP, 2.88 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 1.83 BB/9, 8.91 SO/9, 4.36 FIP
2024 MLB Stats: 12.1 IP, 4.38 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 2.19 BB/9, 10.95 BB/9, 3.57 FIP
Throughout Jimmy Herget’s baseball career, almost everything can be attributed to his unique pitching style. Herget had a solid tenure with the Reds organization, being added to Cincinnati’s 40-man roster after the 2018 season with his MLB debut coming the year after.
Upon making his MLB debut for the Reds, Herget appeared in 5 games to a tune of a 4.26 ERA out of the bullpen before finding himself on the transaction carousel. For a more detailed account of Herget’s career, checkout our thorough breakdown here.
Herget caught on with the Angels MLB roster in 2021 before breaking out. In 2022, Herget was one of the better relief pitchers in all of baseball, posting a 2.48 ERA (23rd out of all relief pitchers) in 66 innings. After a shaky 2023 with a 4.66 ERA, Hergert was optioned to the Minors to begin 2024, and the Angels subsequently DFA’d him, triggering a trade to the Braves before he was picked up by the Cubs at the end of the year.
Finally, in early November, Herget found his way to the Rockies via waivers, putting a stop to his revolving door of a year.
There’s a theory that pitchers who throw the ball in an unusual and funky way typically see solid results at Coors Field (proven by players such as: Ubaldo Jimenez, Adam Ottavino, Pre-2024 Justin Lawrence, and many others). The Rockies are experimenting with this and were quick to pick up Herget when they saw him and his 1° arm angle (sidearm arm slot) available. His main pitch is a curveball though he has molded it more like a slider at times and is capable of throwing two distinct breaking balls, both of which can be excellent offerings. With his low arm slot, Herget should confuse batters whether thrown at Coors Field or not.
Herget also offers both a 4-seam and a sinker as a part of his repertoire, and stays in the low-90s. Herget will likely be an innings eater guy for the Rockies this year. If he performs; he will more than likely get traded. If he doesn’t perform, Herget may lose his spot in favor of a younger arm. Herget and his glitchy looking mechanics will be fun to watch this year, nonetheless.
LHP Scott Alexander
2024 MLB Stats: 38.2 IP, 2.56 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 3.49 BB/9, 7.22 SO/9, 3.89 FIP
MLB veteran Scott Alexander started his collegiate career at Pepperdine University, and after spending two seasons with the Waves. He transferred to Sonoma State University for his junior season, posting a 4.50 ERA which was good enough for the Kansas City Royals to select him in the 6th round of the 2010 MLB Draft.
Alexander’s first season of pro ball was underwhelming, having a 5.73 ERA while striking out just 6.7 per nine though he was just 20 years old. However, due to a left shoulder surgery, Alexander missed all of 2011, and in that time he harnessed his pitching process. After multiple seasons of having an ERA below 3.00 in the minors after a full time transition to the bullpen, Alexander found himself on the Royals MLB roster in 2015.
From 2015 to 2016, Alexander appeared in only 21 games. Once 2017 rolled around however, he finally became a legit member of the Royals bullpen, logging 69 IP while maintaining a 2.48 ERA. Alexander’s bWAR of 2.3 and ERA+ of 181 (100 is league average – so Alexander was 81% better than league average) indicated borderline elite production.
After his breakout season, Alexander was dealt to the Dodgers in a 3-team trade. With the Dodgers in 2018, he again threw over 60 IP, helping the Dodgers reach the World Series where he appeared in 3 of the 5 World Series games.
From 2019 to 2021, Alexander faced many injuries and managed to only throw 35 IP combined. Once recovered in 2022, Alexander found himself with the Giants on a minor league contract, though was back in the big leagues at the end of the season before sticking around for 2023.
Across the two seasons Alexander spent in San Francisco, he had a 3.70 ERA across 72 games. That success led Alexander to sign a 1-year contract with the Athletics in 2024, where he had his second best season in his career posting a 2.56 ERA in 38.2 IP, equating to a bWAR of 1.2. Despite such quality results, Alexander remained a free agent until the Rockies signed him in February.
As a pitcher, Alexander keeps things simple from the left side. He has an effective sinker/slider combination, with an occasional changeup. All three pitches grade out roughly average in terms of total stuff but they really thrive at generating ground balls. Alexander has an otherworldly career ground ball percentage of 67.4% (second lowest in all of MLB in that span, behind Zach Britton at 75.9%). That pitching approach has worked with Alexander even recording a career 1.46 ERA at Coors Field across 12.1 IP.
The fact that one of the best ground ball pitchers in MLB history will be coming to Coors is sorta exciting; as much as the Rockies have emphasized ground ball pitchers, few arms in the 21st century are as good in that regard as Alexander. Alexander can be a key data point for understanding success at Coors Field. The veteran looks to remain efficient in his 11th big league season.
2B Thairo Estrada
2024 MLB Stats: 96 G, .217 AVG, .247 OBP, .343 SLG, 9 HR, 2 SB, 64 wRC+
The Rockies biggest move this offseason was the signing of Thairo Estrada. We covered the signing in December in detail here.
The New York Yankees signed Thairo Estrada as an international free agent for $49K in August of 2012. It wouldn’t be until 2016 that Estrada made it to full-season ball (Single-A and up). Though Estrada quickly jumped to Double-A and he never looked back. In his 2017 Double-A season, Estrada slashed .301/.353/.392, good enough for the Yankees to add him to their 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft.
Injuries limited Estrada to just 18 games in 2018, but once healthy again the Yankees gave Estrada a big league shot in 2019 and again in 2020, though the Yankees never gave the Venezuelan-born Estrada a consistent shot–just 61 games between the two seasons with a .214 combined average and 4 home runs.
Upon acquiring Rougned Odor at the beginning of 2021, the Yankees deemed Estrada expendable, DFA’ing hi, and subsequently trading him to the Giants. After hitting .333 at Triple-A, the Giants were eager to call Estrada up to MLB. Estrada cemented himself as a regular for San Francisco, playing 52 games in 2021 and then 260 combined between 2022 and 2023.
In 2023, Estrada was amongst one of the best second basemen in all of Major League Baseball. He hit .271 along with 14 homers and 21 stolen bases, while also playing excellent defense at second base. He saw sharp declines in 2024, amid a nagging wrist injury. Every offensive category was well below the threshold that he set the season prior, and his value was even below replacement level (< 0 WAR). He ended up DFA’d at the end of August that same year, but did hit .333 his month in Triple-A.
After the season, Estrada elected free agency, and signed a one-year Major League contract with the Colorado Rockies. Estrada has a $7M mutual option for 2026–what would be his last season of arbitration eligibility–with a $750K buyout. Estrada also has playing time based incentives that could pay him an additional $750K.
The Rockies lineup is filled with “what ifs” going into the 2025 season, and one of the bigger examples is Thairo Estrada. The second base job is essentially his already, but how will he bounce back from his injury-plagued 2024 season?
There are a lot of things to like about Estrada’s game, he plays above average defense, and he puts the ball in play a lot. Estrada does not hit the ball very hard and has an aggressive approach but he consistently finds the sweet spot, resulting in a big share of singles and a healthy number of pulled home runs. Estrada will also contribute on the basepaths as a stolen base threat; expect Estrada to steal 15 or so bags if he stays healthy.
The veteran seems to be bought into the young culture and building the Rockies core up, with some early high praise for Ezequiel Tovar, his new double play partner.
The Rockies will have an above average second baseman for all of 2025, if Estrada can bounce back from the wrist injury and regain some 2023 form.
2B Kyle Farmer
2024 Stats: 107 G, .214 AVG, .293 OBP, .353 SLG, 5 HR, 3 SB, 85 wRC+
Drafted by the Dodgers out of the University of Georgia, Kyle Farmer is pretty clearly the most notable player in the Rockies organization from UGA… if it weren’t for that Charlie Condon guy.
Farmer’s first pro season came in 2013, and for the rookie ball team Ogden Raptors, Farmer batted .347, setting the tone for his career and blazing the start of his path to the big leagues. In Farmer’s minor league career, he slashed .294/.347/.442 across 512 games, peaking with a 2015 Futures Game appearance. With Farmer’s impressive offensive profile, and his defensive flexibility (at that time he played catcher, along with every infield position), the Dodgers called him up to MLB in 2017.
Once Kyle Farmer made his big league debut, he became a fixture in MLB. His tenure with the Dodgers was short-lived as Farmer was dealt to the Reds alongside household names such as Yasiel Puig, Matt Kemp, and Alex Wood after the 2018 season for Homer Bailey and a pair of notable prospects (prospects that facilitated the Mookie Betts and Max Scherzer/Trea Turner trades).
It was in Cincinnati that Farmer saw the most Major League success. In 2021 and 2022, he played over 145 games each season whilst being a fan favorite. At one point Farmer even amassed 192 consecutive starts at shortstop for the Reds. With the Reds, Farmer amassed over 300 hits, 30 home runs, and a .255 batting average while contributing as a shortstop defender.
After the 2022 season, Farmer was traded to the Minnesota Twins. His first season in Minnesota, Farmer recorded a career high in bWAR (1.7) and OPS+ (97), while being the most productive he’s ever been at the plate. Farmer stepped back in 2024; in 107 games for Minnesota he batted .214 (the lowest in his career), and was below replacement level, though he remained a defensive asset.
Farmer brings a special mix of veteran leadership, and the luxury of valuable utility defense; he can’t just play multiple key positions, he is actually quality around the diamond. At the plate, Farmer limits strikeouts, and squares up the ball at a high rate. Due to his middling power, the squared up balls usually stay inside the park, and lead to outs more often than not, though Farmer has reached double digit homers three times in his career. Farmer can work a good at bat in a pinch hitting situation and create opportunities for the Rockies to win games.
Once again, his fielding brings substantial value. Farmer can be used as a utility infielder, where he is capable of playing every infield position at an above average level (7 OAA since ’23). There shouldn’t be big expectations for Farmer in 2025 simply because he won’t be a starter, but the Rockies intention in signing the veteran was to improve their bench play which has dragged down the team immensely in recent years. It’s never a bad idea having a player like Farmer on your roster; you’ll find guys like him both on rebuilding teams, and even World Series teams.
Thank you for reading! Stay tuned for coverage of all Rockies minor league transactions soon!
Brought to you by…
Need a new glove? Use the link to get 10% off any new glove from The J.L.Glove Company.
When you use the link below, you get the discount and we receive cash. WE ALL WIN!
https://jlgloveco.com/?rave=CGT2B37GN2FCODF7
Leave a Reply