On Wednesday night in Arizona, Colorado Rockies left-handed reliever Rex Brothers did what he’s been doing for the better part of his Major League career. He got one left-handed batter out.
In the bottom of the seventh inning, with the Rockies down by a run, Brothers got Socrates Brito to ground out softly to second base. Bill and Ted would’ve been proud.
Then, manager Walt Weiss took the ball from Brothers and handed it to Scott Oberg who proceeded to give up a single and two walks before he was forced to surrender the ball to Christian Friedrich.
And that has been the problem with Rex Brothers. The Rockies trust him to get a left-handed out, but that’s it. At 27-years-old, he should be in the prime of his career. But Brothers has struggled with control his entire MLB career and spent much of 2015 in Albuquerque.
In 241.1 innings pitched in his Major League career, Brothers has 140 walks – an average of 5.2 per nine innings – which just won’t cut it, according to the Rockies. Thus he has been relegated to matchup duty. It’s a tough pill to swallow for both Brothers and the organization, who once tabbed the hard-throwing Tennessean as their closer of the future.
So with Brothers not under contract for 2016 and arbitration eligible, it raises the argument of what to do with him. To try and solve this rhubarb, we went to a former MLB pitcher, Mark Knudson, and the unofficial mascot of the Rex Brothers Fan Club, Renaud Notaro – both hosts on Mile High Sports AM 1340 – for their take.
Knudson: Give up on Brothers Notaro: Give it to Brothers
The Rockies need to decide what to do with Rex Brothers, who hasn’t materialized into the closer they had hoped he could become. In fact, Brothers spent more time at Triple-A Albuquerque in 2015 than he did with the big league club.
Former Major League pitcher and host of Sports Stampede on Mile High Sports AM 1340, Mark Knudson, says it’s time for the Rockies to give up on Brothers and let him try to find success with another club.
“He needs a change of scenery,” Knudson says about Brothers. “Some different voices, a different method, would be good for him.”
Knudson thinks the previous regime running the Rockies got into his head (sound familiar, Tyler Matzek?) and Brothers simply needs a fresh start elsewhere.
“Other guys have struggled here and gone on to success elsewhere,” (See: Drew Pomeranz) says Knudson. “He just needs a different view.”
However Renaud Notaro, long a fan of Brothers, says the Rockies shouldn’t be so quick to throw in the towel.
The Rockies need to decide what to do with Rex Brothers, who hasn’t materialized into the closer they had hoped he could become. In fact, Brothers spent more time at Triple-A Albuquerque in 2015 than he did with the big league club.
Renaud Notaro, host of Notarto and Big Dee on Mile High Sports AM 1340, says the Rockies might be underestimating Brothers.
“The guy has a 3.43 career ERA. That’s a full point and a half better than the rest of the staff this year,” Notaro points out.
He also reminds us that big-name free agent relievers don’t want to come to Colorado and don’t always work out (See: Boone Logan) when they do.
“Brothers has pitched here and had success here. He’s got a career record of 15-11 and 20 saves. By most Rockies standards, that should be considered great.”
Notaro believes that the tide is slowly changing at Coors Field. Jeff Bridich realizes that he needs big arms in the bullpen, which is exactly what Brothers has. Why roll the dice hoping a free agent will work out when there is a capable, albeit slightly erratic, arm already in place?
In fact, both Knudson and Notaro think the biggest problem has been the Rockies trying to tinker with his mechanics. Notaro suggests the best course of action might simply handing over the closer duties to Brothers and telling him, “do whatever feels best.”
Knudson, however, says the change in mechanics needs to come with a change in scenery.