Colorado will move right-hander Antonio Senzatela from the starting rotation to the bullpen and activate Germán Márquez from the 15-day injured list to start Friday against the Cubs. Senzatela has made 24 starts, averaged fewer than five innings per outing and owns a 7.15 ERA, with only three six-inning outings and two quality starts. His first-inning ERA is 11.51 and opponents are hitting .443 against him. Senzatela's 11.3% strikeout rate ranks last among pitchers with 100-plus innings. Releasing him would create significant dead money; he is under contract for $12MM and there is a $14MM club option for 2027 that is unlikely to be exercised. Colorado will try him in relief now and may reconsider his role for the start of the 2026 season.
Senzatela has taken the ball 24 times. He has averaged fewer than five innings per start and been tattooed for a 7.15 earned run average. Senzatela has completed six innings just three times and has only two quality starts. His ERA is nearly a full run higher than Jack Kochanowicz's 6.19 mark (entering play tonight), the second worst for a pitcher with 100+ innings.
Schmidt was blunt in his summary of Senzatela's season. "The bottom line is that he was not helping the club. He was hurting the club, especially early in the game," the GM said. "Same thing with (Austin Gomber). They were putting the team in a hole early, and they were putting our young relievers in a hole, too."
Releasing Senzatela would've required eating a lot of dead money. He's signed for another season at $12MM. There's also a $14MM club option (no buyout) for 2027 that stands virtually no chance of being picked up. Colorado could consider pulling the plug over the offseason but evidently want to first see if he can find some success in relief. Pitching coach Darryl Scott tells Saunders that the Rox aren't ruling out the possibility of Senzatela returning to the rotation to begin the '26 season.
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