The Colorado Rockies reloaded in the bullpen this off season with the signing of former Cleveland reliever Bryan Shaw. Serving as the set-up man to closer Cody Allen last season, Shaw went 4-6 with a 3.52 ERA.

An unusually durable pitcher, Allen never pitched fewer than 70 games in any of his five seasons in Cleveland, and his cutter tends to induce ground balls at a high rate. The combination was irresistible for the Rockies, who signed him to a three-year, $27 million contract.

In an interview with Eric Goodman and Les Shapiro of Mile High Sports AM 1340 | FM 104.7 following his introductory press conference, Shaw mentioned how his familiarity with the organization made the Rockies even more appealing as free agency began.

“Once we talked to them a little more; talked to [manager] Buddy [Bell], talked to [general manager] Jeff [Bridich], and different guys within the organization — I had conversations with previous guys that were here,” Shaw explained. “Boone Logan was with the Indians this past year; I talked with him about the team. Nobody had anything bad to say [about the Rockies]; that was definitely one of the factors in enticing us to come here.”

Shaw pitched twice in Coors Field last season, when the Indians came to town. He didn’t have any problems with his cutter, and doesn’t feel like Denver’s altitude will be an impediment to his success.

“No, I don’t think it does. I was with the Diamondbacks for a few years, and I came here [to Denver] quite a bit,” Shaw said. “Personally, I didn’t really notice anything. That might be too small of a sample size to tell, but from the times that I have been here, I didn’t really notice anything different with the way my pitches actually moved. A lot of guys have said that their sinkers or curveballs kind of have a little bit less break; less movement on it — but I don’t throw either one of those, so hopefully that’s a good sign for me on the cutter.”

Sorry – this audio content is no longer available. to listen to the full interview with Bryan Shaw, including what he had to say about the possibility of closing for the Rockies next season, or listen to the podcast below.

Sorry – this audio content is no longer available.

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