Colorado Rockies Sign Veteran Reliever Chasen Shreve Minor League Contract

Chasen Shreve got let go by the New York Yankees last week, opening the door for the Colorado Rockies to acquire the 34-year-old lefty and add him to their Triple-A bullpen.

Mar 15, 2024; Salt River Pima-Maricopa, Arizona, USA; Texas Rangers starting pitcher Chasen Shreve (45) delivers a pitch in the first inning against the Colorado Rockies during a spring training game at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick. | Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

The Colorado Rockies signed left-handed pitcher Chasen Shreve to a minor league contract on Sunday, according to the organization's official transaction log.

Shreve was released from his minor league contract with the New York Yankees on Thursday, making him a free agent. It took him just three days to land with a new club, joining the Rockies' Triple-A affiliate in Albuquerque before the end of the weekend.

The 34-year-old southpaw took the mound in the sixth inning against the Las Vegas Aviators on Sunday. He allowed three earned runs, all of which came off of solo home runs, in his lone frame of action.

That performance was out of character for Shreve, who had been putting up impressive numbers when he was in the Yankees' and Texas Rangers' respective farm systems earlier this year.

Shreve went 2-0 with a 1.61 ERA, 0.761 WHIP and 9.7 strikeouts per nine innings in 20 games with Triple-A Round Rock, then posted a 2-1 record with a 2.45 ERA, 0.818 WHIP and 9.0 strikeouts per nine innings across 10 appearances with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

But beyond his recent achievements in the minors, Shreve is an experienced MLB reliever who could join the Rockies' bullpen in short order.

Shreve made his big league debut with the Atlanta Braves in 2014, and he went on to pitch for the Yankees, St. Louis Cardinals, New York Mets, Pittsburgh Pirates, Detroit Tigers and Cincinnati Reds over the next decade. He has appeared in 50-plus games in four separate seasons, most recently in 2023.

For his career, Shreve is 22-14 with a 3.97 ERA, 1.340 WHIP, 9.8 strikeouts per nine innings and a 3.4 WAR.

No active member of the Rockies' bullpen has a career WAR over 1.3, and only two have appeared in over 100 MLB games. Shreve, meanwhile, has made 367 major league appearances in his career.

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