The Rockies kept their pitching shuffle moving Sunday, and the latest move may have set up a bigger one later in the week.
Right-hander TJ Shook was recalled from Triple-A Albuquerque, while left-handed starter Sean Sullivan was sent back down to keep developing. That swap also clears a path for No. 16 prospect Gabriel Hughes, who made his Major League debut in relief Friday and worked a scoreless three-inning save, to get his first start on the upcoming road trip.
Colorado has only announced starters through the three-game series at Dodger Stadium - Kyle Freeland on Monday, Michael Lorenzen on Tuesday and Ryan Feltner on Wednesday. With no off days before the All-Star break and Tomoyuki Sugano on the 15-day injured list because of back spasms, Thursday at Oracle Park against the Giants lines up for Hughes.
That would bring him right back against the same club he handled in his debut. Hughes held the Giants to two hits, walked one and struck out one while finishing off a 15-3 win at Coors Field.
The Rockies now have nine relief pitchers, Hughes included, after adding Shook and moving Sullivan down. Still, it would take a rough stretch for Hughes to be used out of the bullpen before Thursday.
The weekend also gave the Rockies a first look at veteran Jordan Romano in their own uniform, and he made it count. Romano, a former Blue Jays closer and an All-Star in 2022 and 2023, threw 10 strikes on 10 pitches and struck out two in a clean ninth inning during Saturday night’s 6-4 loss. Colorado brought him up after Seth Halvorsen landed on the IL with right shoulder inflammation.
Manager Warren Schaeffer still hasn’t officially named a closer this season, and the bullpen has already spread the saves around. Nine pitchers have one, and Romano’s four saves with the Angels before he was released on April 27 match the team high held by Victor Vodnik in 24 appearances.
There’s no formal declaration yet about Romano’s role, but the fit is obvious enough. He knows bullpen coach Matt Buschmann from their time together in Toronto, and he wasted no time making a strong impression.
“Good slider, he attacked the strike zone - good presence to him,” Schaeffer said. “Romano was fantastic.
I’m glad to have him, especially with his pedigree. He’s thrown in the ninth inning of big-league games for a while.”
Halvorsen’s move to the IL wasn’t about a fresh injury so much as finally addressing something that had been nagging him. The 2024 version of Halvorsen flashed closer traits before a right elbow injury ended his season in August. He opened this year at Albuquerque, moved up and down, and had quietly been dealing with the shoulder problem.
“It’s not a long-term thing at all,” he said. “I finally said something because it was affecting my feel - and my velocity, too, which is down. I think we should nip it in the bud.”
Sullivan’s latest outing looked a lot like some of his first four starts: a rocky opening stretch, then a better finish. He was tagged for a 29-pitch, four-run first inning, with first baseman Troy Johnston coming off the bag on a potential double play prolonging the damage. After that, Sullivan settled in and finished 5 2/3 innings, allowing just two runs beyond the opening frame.
A second-round pick in the 2023 Draft, Sullivan built his reputation in college and the minors on deception and strikeouts. Against the Giants, though, getting ahead and finishing at-bats - especially with two strikes - was still a work in progress. He had been optioned down but had not yet pitched at Albuquerque before the Rockies brought him back up to replace Sugano.
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