The Rockies will carry first baseman T.J. Rumfield and catcher Brett Sullivan on their Opening Day roster, manager Warren Schaeffer announced over the weekend (link via Thomas Harding of MLB.com). Colorado also tabbed Ryan Feltner as their fifth starter, meaning Chase Dollander will begin the season in the bullpen.
It’s the first major league call for the 25-year-old Rumfield. Colorado added the lefty-swinging first baseman in a trade with the Yankees in January. They sent hard-throwing reliever Angel Chivilli to New York. A former 12th round pick who went unselected in December’s Rule 5 draft, Rumfield isn’t a highly touted prospect. He’s coming off a strong season in Triple-A, though, and the Rockies offered a much clearer path to playing time than he would’ve had behind Ben Rice and Paul Goldschmidt in the Bronx.
Rumfield hit .285/.378/.447 with 16 homers across 587 plate appearances in the minors last season. He worked walks at a 12% clip while striking out at a lower than average 18.4% rate. Rumfield’s middling batted ball metrics probably held him back from getting a look as a Rule 5 draftee. His 36.6% hard contact rate and 87.8 mph average exit velocity would be at the lower end for an MLB first baseman.
At the same time, Rumfield doesn’t have much more to prove against minor league pitching. He has posted above-average numbers at every stop, including nearly two full seasons in Triple-A. He’s an advanced contact hitter with a quality approach. That was on display this spring as well. Rumfield batted .280 with four homers and remarkably struck out just one time in 58 plate appearances in camp.
There’s a decent chance he’s the starting first baseman on Opening Day. Colorado had the worst first base group in the majors a year ago. They moved on from Michael Toglia over the winter, acquiring Rumfield and Edouard Julien as options at the position. Julien could also factor in at second base depending on how the Rox use utility player Willi Castro.
They can move Castro between second and third, though Schaeffer announced that infielders Ryan Ritter and Kyle Karros also made the team. They account for two bench spots, while Sullivan wins a third as the backup catcher. (The final bench spot is undetermined, as infielder Tyler Freeman is questionable for Opening Day with back soreness.) Sullivan beat out Braxton Fulford for the #2 catcher role; the latter was officially optioned yesterday.
Colorado added Sullivan on a minor league deal over the winter. The 32-year-old played in three big league games with the Pirates last year. He has 43 games and 112 MLB plate appearances under his belt, batting .204/.250/.291 with a pair of home runs. Sullivan had a big camp, hitting .378 with a pair of homers and three walks and strikeouts apiece in 16 games. Fulford hit .270 with three longballs, eight strikeouts and one walk.
Sullivan showed enough that the Rox want to keep him around to back up Hunter Goodman. He’s out of options, so he’ll need to stick on the MLB roster or be exposed to waivers. The Rockies will need to officially select Rumfield’s and Sullivan’s contracts on Wednesday. They can do so without designating anyone for assignment. Pierson Ohl and RJ Petit recently underwent Tommy John surgeries and can be placed on the 60-day injured list.
Meanwhile, the news on the pitching side comes as a surprise. Feltner and Dollander were competing for the final rotation spot behind Kyle Freeland and free agent signees Michael Lorenzen, Jose Quintana and Tomoyuki Sugano. Neither pitcher seized the job during camp. Feltner gave up 13 runs while walking 10 batters in 11 2/3 innings. Dollander surrendered 11 runs (10 earned) with seven walks and three hit batters across 14 frames.
Given Dollander’s pedigree as a former top 10 pick, it seemed that a rebuilding Colorado team would prefer to have him continue to start. They’ve opted for Feltner instead but apparently don’t believe Dollander would benefit from working out of the Triple-A rotation. He’ll join Antonio Senzatela as a multi-inning arm out of the bullpen.
Aside from Freeman’s health, the bullpen is the last unknown part of the Opening Day roster. There a couple middle relief spots up for grabs and one out-of-options player (Keegan Thompson) trying to maintain his spot on the 40-man roster.
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