Rockies Release John Brebbia in Latest Opening-Day Roster Move

With the opening-day roster practically set, the Colorado Rockies are making final moves to clear up their roster.

On Monday, the Rockies released veteran reliever John Brebbia and optioned reliever Valente Bellozo to the minor leagues. Those moves leave Colorado with 34 players left in Major League camp.

Brebbia signed with Colorado on a minor league deal on Dec. 1 and was invited to spring training on Feb. 1. In seven spring training appearances with the Rockies he had a 7.00 ERA as he allowed seven earned runs in nine innings. He struck out 11 and walked none, but batters hit .257 against him.

Rockies Opening Day Roster

Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Kyle Freeland throws a baseball. — Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Kyle Freeland. | D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images

Colorado has put together most of its opening day roster even though it’s not officially due to Major League Baseball until Wednesday. That’s when the San Francisco Giants open the season against the New York Yankees. All teams are required to have their rosters set by then.

The Rockies announced their opening day rotation over the weekend, with Kyle Freeland taking the ball on opening day on Friday. Right-handed pitcher Michael Lorenzen, left-handed pitcher Jose Quintana, right-handed pitcher Tomoyuki Sugano and right-handed pitcher Ryan Feltner are expected to follow.

Feltner won the last starting spot over Chase Dollander, who will start the season in the bullpen instead of going to Triple-A Albuquerque. Antonio Senzatela will also start the season. The rest of bullpen has not been selected yet.

The position player roster is practically set. The catchers are Hunter Goodman and Brett Sullivan. The infielders and utility players include TJ Rumfield, Willi Castro, Kyle Karros, Ezequiel Tovar, Edouard Julien, Ryan Ritter. The outfielders will be Jake McCarthy, Brenton Doyle, Jordan Beck, Mickey Moniak. One spot is left to be decided.

Brebbia broke in with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2017. He has a record of 16-22 with a 4.04 ERA in 376 career games. He struck out 414 and walked 121 in 378.1 innings. Last season he went 1-1 with a 7.71 ERA in 22 games with Detroit and Atlanta.

Bellozo signed with the Rockies as a minor leaguer in February. He went 1-0 with a 6.52 ERA in five games, with one start. He struck out nine and walked four in 15.2 innings. He broke in with the Miami Marlins in 2024 and in two seasons he went 4-8 with a 4.20 ERA in 45 games, 19 of which were starts. He struck out 98 and walked 44 in 150 innings.