Veteran rotation insurance sought
By Tracy Ringolsby, Rocky Mountain News
Published November 29, 2007 at 12:45 a.m.
The Rockies have the makings of a solid rotation.
But general manager Dan O'Dowd wants depth in case one of the young pitchers struggles or if injuries crop up, similar to a year ago.
So, the Rockies are close to re- signing veteran Mark Redman and are trying to finalize a deal for veteran Steve Trachsel.
The Rockies' projected rotation going into spring training would be Aaron Cook, Jeff Francis, Ubaldo Jimenez, Franklin Morales and Jason Hirsh.
But the Rockies know from their National League pennant-winning season that rotations can change.
They were missing three of their five original starters in the final two months of the regular season because of injuries and wound up using 13 pitchers in starting roles.
Redman was one of the 13. After starting the 2007 season with Atlanta and spending brief periods at the Triple-A level in the Texas and Toronto systems, he signed a minor league contract with the Rockies on Aug. 19 and was among the team's September call-ups.
He was 2-0 with a 3.20 ERA in five September appearances, including three starts, and was on the Rockies' active roster in the NL Division Series and NL Championship Series. When Cook was activated from the disabled list for the World Series, Redman was taken off the active roster.
Redman, 34 on Jan. 5, could fill a left-handed long relief role if he doesn't make the rotation to start the season.
Redman was a first-round draft choice of Minnesota when he came out of the University of Oklahoma in 1995. He was an American League All-Star with Kansas City in 2006 and also has pitched at the major league level with Detroit, Florida, Oakland and Pittsburgh.
Trachsel, 37, has spent the past 14 seasons in the majors, compiling a 141-154 record. He spent last year with Baltimore and the Cubs, going 7-11 with a 4.90 ERA after winning 11 games or more in five of six seasons with the Mets.
He is 4-1 in nine career starts at Coors Field and has shown strong interest in the Rockies.
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