Colorado Rockies Trade Rex Brothers, Tommy Kahnle

The Colorado Rockies DFA’d both Rex Brothers and Tommy Kahnle on November 20th, and within the past day, both were traded to teams in Chicago.

As the 2015 Rule-5 Draft quickly approaches, the Colorado Rockies needed to make some tough decisions on who to DFA (designate for assignment) in efforts to get some of their prospects eligible for the Rule-5 Draft on the 40-man roster. Ultimately, the Colorado Rockies decided to DFA John Axford, Rex Brothers, Tommy Kahnle, and Wilin Rosario. The aforementioned moves made room for Antonio Senzatela, Raimel Tapia, and Trevor Story to join the Colorado Rockies’ 40-man roster.

With the Colorado Rockies deciding to DFA four players, the Rockies needed to trade, release, waive, or outright the players within 10 days after the designation. Thus, the Colorado Rockies started to get on the phone with teams interested in acquiring some of the talent the Rockies were willing to let go. Yesterday (11/24), the Colorado Rockies made a deal with the Chicago White Sox to trade Tommy Kahnle for pitching prospect Yency Almonte. Almonte spent the 2015 season between Single-A Kannapolis and High-A Winston-Salem.

More from Mile High Maniac

The Colorado Rockies drafted Tommy Kahnle in the 2013 Rule-5 Draft out of the New York Yankees’ farm system, and Kahnle made his MLB debut with the Colorado Rockies in the 2014 season. Originally, the Yankees drafted Kahnle in the fifth round of the 2010 MLB Amateur Draft out of Lynn University. However, with the Colorado Rockies, Kahnle struggled with his command and proved to be mightily ineffective for the team. In 2014, Tommy Kahnle posted a 4.19 ERA and 4.02 FIP, leading to him starting the 2015 season in the minor leagues.

In 2015, Tommy Kahnle posted the worst walk rate (BB/9) of his career, sitting at an unimpressive 7.56; however, he managed to strike out over 10 batters per nine innings. Kahnle’s inflated walk rate led to him registering a 4.86 ERA and 4.48 FIP for the Colorado Rockies. After the 2015 season, the Colorado Rockies saw enough of Kahnle’s command issues and decided to DFA the 26 year old flamethrower. The Colorado Rockies managed to get Yency Almonte out of the trade with the White Sox, but Almonte remains relatively unknown around the league.

The Los Angeles Angels drafted Almonte out of high school in the 17th round of the 2012 MLB Amateur Draft. In 2014, the White Sox and Angels struck a deal that sent Gordon Beckham to the Angels for Yency Almonte. Almonte finished the 2014 season with a 2-6 record, across 11 starts. Moreover, Almonte posted a 5.91 ERA and 1.36 WHIP. Following Almonte’s uninspiring 2014 season, the White Sox decided to start him out for Single-A Kannapolis to the begin the 2015 season. Almonte showed improvements, and he earned a promotion to High-A Winston-Salem. In 2015, split between two leagues, Almonte finished with an 11-7 record, 3.41 ERA, and 1.15 WHIP.

More from Colorado Rockies

In addition to the Tommy Kahnle trade, the Colorado Rockies just recently traded Rex Brothers to the Chicago Cubs for Wander Cabrera. The Colorado Rockies’ Rex Brothers trade is a real head-scratcher. Brothers did nothing last season for the Colorado Rockies to lose faith in the left-hander. Outside of a down 2014 season, Rex Brothers never posted an ERA worse than 3.86; moreover, he finished 2011 with a 2.88 ERA in 48 games, and a 1.74 ERA in 2012 and 2015. However, somewhere along the line, Rex Brothers fell out of favor with the Colorado Rockies’ upper management, and the team saw him as an expendable arm in the bullpen.

The Colorado Rockies dealt the former first-round pick to the Chicago Cubs for 18 year old Wander Cabrera. The Cubs recently signed the 6′ 2” Cabrera out of the Dominican Republic, and Cabrera pitched in the Dominican Summer League (DSL) in his first professional season. While Wander Cabrera is a big, strong left-handed pitcher, the Colorado Rockies are taking a risk by trading an MLB-ready lefty for an unproven teenager. Hopefully, the Colorado Rockies have a plan for whom they are going to use in the bullpen for the 2016 season, because, as of now, the plan looks a little murky.

Next: Wilin Rosario: Trade for Bullpen Help?

With Kahnle and Brothers out of the Colorado Rockies’ hands, the team must look to trade the last two players they DFA’d on November 20th. The Tommy Kahnle deal looks to be a wash; however, the Rex Brothers trade leaves Colorado Rockies’ fans questioning what the team is actually doing. With three bullpen players being DFA’d, look for the Colorado Rockies to rely heavily on rookie relief pitchers Miguel Castro and Jairo Diaz. Perhaps, the Colorado Rockies look to bolster their bullpen in the upcoming Rule-5 Draft, but who knows?

Home/Colorado Rockies