Rockies sign Bryan Shaw to 3-year contract
The cutter-happy reliever is taking his talents to Coors Field.
The Rockies have a deal with reliever Bryan Shaw, according to a tweet from Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports. Buster Olney of ESPN tweets that the deal is for three years, with Shaw earning “something in the range of” $9 million per year.
Shaw has long been one of the most durable relief arms in baseball, appearing in at least 70 games in each season since 2013, all with the Indians. Over those 5 seasons, Shaw has combined to pitch in 378 games with a solid 3.11 ERA, 8.4 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9.
In 2017, Shaw pitched to a career-worst but still respectable 3.52 ERA over 79 appearances, allowing just five home runs in 762⁄3 innings of work, while striking out 73 batters and picking up three saves. It’s important to note that Shaw’s FIP was a career-best 2.96, however.
The Rockies bullpen was obviously in need of a remake heading into the offseason, with Greg Holland and Jake McGee both hitting free agency. If the season started today, Shaw would likely close for the Rox, but the team will almost definitely add at least one more relief arm before Spring Training, one of whom can handle the ninth inning. The team has remained in contact with Holland, and has also kept up with the market for Wade Davis, per a tweet from Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post.