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Wells, Redman officially Rockies

By Tracy Ringolsby, Rocky Mountain News

Published December 19, 2007 at 3:47 p.m.
Updated December 19, 2007 at 3:47 p.m.

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Right-handed pitcher Kip Wells and left-hander Mark Redman officially became members of the Rockies today, two more issues general manager Dan O'Dowd has cleared up in advance of Christmas Week.

Right-handed reliever Luis Vizcaino, who has agreed to a two-year deal, will be in Denver on Thursday to undergo a physical and finalize his deal.

The Rockies, meanwhile, continue to look at protection for second base, where rookie Jayson Nix is expected to replace Kazuo Matsui in the lineup.

O'Dowd has had preliminary conversations with the agents for Todd Walker and Marcus Giles about possible non-roster invitations to spring training.

Wells and Redman offer veteran protection for both the rotation and bullpen.

Wells, 30, who received a $3.1 million guarantee, was 7-17 with a 5.70 ERA in 34 games, 26 starts, with St. Louis last year.

"Everybody is waiting for his potential to hit," O'Dowd said of Wells, a first-round pick of the Chicago White Sox when he came out of Baylor University in 1998. "We see him as someone who can help us in several different ways."

Redman, who turns 34 on Jan. 5, pitched with four organizations in 2007, including the Rockies. After pitching with Triple-A Colorado Springs initially, he was called up by the Rockies and made five regular-season appearances, three starts. He also was on the Rockies' postseason roster in the Division Series and National League Championship Series.

"We had a chance to see him firsthand, and he shows us multiple ways to attack the strike zone," O'Dowd said. "He came through in key situations for us."

Comments

  • December 19, 2007

    5:52 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    atfisher writes:

    Dan, you are incredibly shortsighted. The Rockies DID address catcher. Bringing back Torrealba (who was arguably the best fit on the market) is addressing it. They're still looking into an array of second basemen, and Vizcaino is not a "nothing." We lost ONE player off the bench from last year (Carroll), so that's not really a pressing need. I don't agree with the Wells signing, but they are progressing well, I believe. Don't forget resigning Cook...

  • December 19, 2007

    10:01 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    Lundonj writes:

    Kip Wells could be as helpful or moreso than Josh Fogg, Redman did help in some key situations in the Rocks' key stretch run. And, I really think Nix has a chance to be a big impact at second base. Maybe not quite Tulo numbers, but then again, neither did Kaz.

    I miss Kaz, I think the team will miss his speed, but everything I've seen from Nix, is that he has a great glove with a decent bat (although, we will not know for sure until he sees more Big League pitching).

    I still would like to see the team make a run at signing Holiday for the long haul. Other than that, it has been a decent Hot Stove for this club, based on their goals of keeping things on a fairly even keel.

  • December 19, 2007

    11:31 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    RockiesFaithful writes:

    Both guys are looking to revitalize their careers. No better team to do that with than this one, where you have a good offense in your corner and a great pitching coach in Apodaca. Giles would be nice to get, only for the purpose of replacing Carrol as an "off-the-bench" player. I think Nix will turn a few heads this spring and live up to his potential. He has a great glove and a bat with some pop. I've read some scouting report that said that his glove is so good that if he bats .270 then he will be a well established major leaguer. Can't wait to see this guy in Tuscon.