Rockies GM Bill Schmidt ‘looking for continued growth’ over final two months

Colorado Rockies management has taken the training wheels off the Kid Rox Will they improve or crash and burn Veteran third baseman Ryan McMahon was traded to the Yankees So was -year-old workhorse reliever Jake Bird Right-handed reliever Tyler Kinley the -year-old sage of the bullpen was shipped to Atlanta So with slightly more than a quarter of their historically bad season remaining what does general manager Bill Schmidt want to see from the kids As I ve disclosed from Day I want to see continued improvement from these guys Schmidt revealed Friday before the Rockies hosted the Pirates at Coors Field We want to see them continue to get better continued daily improvement and grind out these last two months of the season The Rockies are - since the All-Star break but still need to win of their final games to avoid matching the White Sox s modern record of losses Schmidt who has faced a lot of speculation about his future with the gang announced interim manager Warren Schaeffer has been doing a good job Since the first of June the last two months we have been way more competitive Schmidt declared We ve lost certain games late we ve won a couple late I think Schaeff and the crew have done a good job We ve seen improvement from the players on the field Since June Colorado was - entering Friday night a winning percentage that is an improvement over its winning percentage for the entire season A key for the Rockies during August and September and preparing for next season is seeing improvement from a talented but often erratic bullpen Collectively Colorado relievers had a ERA in their first games since the break Right-handers Seth Halvorsen - ERA saves in chances and Victor Vodnik - ERA two saves in six chances hold the keys to a better bullpen I think they are progressing well Schaeffer commented Every time out for them is a chance to gain more experience at this level and learn how to handle big situations as they go I feel like both of them have done a really nice job Several teams inquired about Halvorsen and Vodnik as Thursday s contract deadline neared but Schmidt mentioned those teams couldn t meet the Rockies big ask Palmquist to pen Left-hander Carson Palmquist s days as a big-league starter are over at least for now The Rockies have decided to turn him into a reliever As of Friday he was Colorado s only southpaw in the bullpen The -year-old was selected in the third round of the draft out of the University of Miami He was recalled from Triple-A Albuquerque before Friday s championship his third stint on the current roster this season After specific discussion we decided that his stuff perhaps played best in that role as opposed to trying to get through a lineup three times Schmidt stated His velocity has been down a little bit We hope it will tick up when he pitches one time through the order instead of two or three times Related Articles After long road to majors Warming Bernabel s debut breath of fresh air for struggling Rockies Rockies pact deadline Ryan McMahon big winner German Marquez big loser Rockies exchange reliever Jake Bird to Yankees for prospects Rockies blanked by Guardians lose series in th defeat of season Rockies pact Tyler Kinley to Braves for pitching prospect Austin Smith The statistics illustrate Schmidt s point During his seven starts with the club over his first two stints in the majors Palmquist was - with a ERA striking out and walking He failed to pitch more than five innings in any of his seven starts the first starter in franchise history to not reach the sixth inning at least once in their first seven starts Petitioned if moving Palmquist to the bullpen was a long-term decision Schmidt replied Yes Darnell called up Right-handed reliever Dugan Darnell who played two seasons of independent ball in - was called up from Triple-A Albuquerque on Friday When he pitches his first meeting he ll be the th Rockies player sixth pitcher to debut this season In games one start this season for the Isotopes Darnell was - with a ERA one save and strikeouts strikeouts per nine innings Over five minor league seasons with the Rockies organization he s - with a ERA saves and strikeouts over games He was signed by Colorado as an undrafted free agent in February Want more Rockies news Sign up for the Rockies Insider to get all our MLB analysis