Schmidt: Rockies pleased with depth added at Deadline

DENVER -- After one of their busiest Trade Deadlines in franchise history saw the Rockies part ways with three regular contributors to the big league roster, general manager Billy Schmidt held a Deadline debrief in the Rockies’ dugout on Friday before a wild 17-16 comeback win over the Pirates.

“We added some depth, and we're happy with that,” Schmidt said.

The first trade was the biggest, with nine-year Rockie Ryan McMahon going to the Yankees on July 25 for Minor League pitchers Griffin Herring and Josh Grosz.

“Josh Grosz actually pitched [Thursday] night,” Schmidt said. “He’s a good-arm kid out of East Carolina. We liked the body, mid-90s fastball, good slider, gunner.”

Grosz, 22, threw five innings for High-A Spokane Thursday, allowing five runs, all earned, on eight hits (including two homers) and two walks while striking out two.

Herring, 22, comes to the Rockies with the second-lowest ERA in the Minors among qualified pitchers, posting a 1.71 ERA (17 earned runs in 89 1/3 innings) with a 7-3 record between Single-A Tampa and High-A Hudson Valley. He’s allowed 36 walks and struck out 102.

“[Herring] is going to throw tonight up in Spokane,” Schmidt said. “He was out of LSU. He’s been a bullpen guy, but they've been starting him, and we're going to continue to do that.”

On Wednesday, the Rockies traded reliever Tyler Kinley, in his sixth year with the club, to the Braves.

“We picked up a kid named Austin Smith out of the University of Arizona,” Schmidt said of the 26-year-old Minor League pitcher they got for Kinley. “He touches 100 [mph], big arm. We'll see where that goes.”

The final deal came Thursday, when the Rockies sent right-handed reliever Jake Bird to the Yankees after four years with the Rockies, receiving Minor League infielder Roc Riggio and Minor League left-handed pitcher Ben Shields from New York.

“Roc Riggio is a left-handed-hitting second baseman who played in Southern California,” Schmidt said of the Thousand Oaks native. “He was actually high school teammates with Jack Wilson and Max Muncy [of the A’s]. He played two years at Oklahoma State, got hurt a little bit early in the year, then High-A, and now he's in Double-A with 18 home runs on the year.

“Ben Shields was an undrafted left-hander that started for the Yankees’ Double-A [affiliate] and will start for us, too. Fastball, slider, mid-90s fastball on the left side.”

Schmidt didn’t think any of the newly acquired players were especially close to making a big league impact.

“I wouldn't say this year per se, but I would think in the next two years you'll get a chance to see some of those guys here,” Schmidt said.

Though the trades may not make the Rockies better immediately, Schmidt has seen continued growth and improvement from the young squad and the revolving door of callups from the Minors.

“[Interim Manager Warren Schaeffer] has done a good job,” Schmidt said. “Probably since the first of June, the last few months, we’ve been way more competitive. Been in some games. We lost some late, we won a couple late. Schaeff and the crew have done a good job, and we've seen improvements in the players on the field.”

Schmidt said there had been a lot of interest in Bird, adding that although teams called about Victor Vodnik and Seth Halvorsen, the fact that they are under team control for four years and five years, respectively, meant the Rockies asked for more than teams were willing to give.

“We had a large ask for those two guys,” Schmidt said. “We think they have a lot of upside.”

The Yankees first contacted Schmidt about McMahon in mid-June, and the GM admitted he didn’t relish that conversation with the former All-Star and perennial Gold Glove contender. A year ago, Schmidt assured McMahon he wasn’t going anywhere at the Deadline, but things have changed for the organization.

“I have a lot of respect for Ryan,” Schmidt said. “We have guys coming up from behind. They're getting closer to maybe coming up here, and so [we liked] the idea of adding some talent while creating opportunities for guys when they're ready to step forward. Maybe we were a little farther away last year."

“It's not fun,” Schmidt added about the McMahon trade. “I think the world of Ryan. I met Ryan the first time when he was a sophomore in high school at a winter camp. I wish him luck. I recommended shaving for a good first impression.”