5 players the Colorado Rockies can trade next to complete their tear-down

2. SP Jon Gray

It was a short season to forget for Gray in 2020. A shoulder issue limited him to eight starts, and when he did pitch he posted a 6.69 ERA with a strikeout rate (5.1 K/9) so bad that it might make end-of-career Jamie Moyer blush. Ups and downs intermixed with injuries have been the mark of Gray’s career thus far, which lines up 2021 (an odd-numbered year) to be a good one in peak Bret Saberhagen fashion (I promise that’s my last old pitcher reference).

In normal seasons, Gray has been a strikeout-per-inning pitcher (9.2 K/9 for his career). Before last year’s 36.7 percent ground ball rate, he was a better than 47 percent ground ball pitcher each of the previous three seasons. Perhaps due to his shoulder problem, he also threw his changeup a lot more in 2020 (roughly 13 percent of the time). Better health + throwing his other pitches  more=better results?

From 2017-2019 (432.2 innings), Gray posted a 4.31 ERA with a 3.84 FIP and a 115 ERA+ with above-average, strikeout (24.2 percent), walk (7.5 percent) and ground ball (48.8 percent) rates. Given that he has pitched at Coors Field, that’s a pretty good run. Statcast had one of his 2019 comps as Adam Wainwright.

Gray is entering the final year of his contract, which makes him a prime trade candidate for the flailing Rockies (as tabbed by MLB Trade Rumors). The former No. 3 overall pick will never be an ace, but he is a useful starter who posted sub-4.00 ERAs in 2017 and 2019. A team that needs a starting pitcher (Angels?) should rescue Gray from Colorado soon.