Chasen Shreve’s Journey Back to Big Leagues Continues in Colorado

DENVER — For left-handed journeyman relief pitcher Chasen Shreve, an 11-month odyssey to get back to a Major League mound took another step toward completion in Denver on Tuesday.

The Colorado Rockies selected the contract of Shreve on Tuesday from Triple-A Albuquerque, just two days after signing him to a minor league deal. The 34-year-old last pitched in the bigs on September 8, 2023, as one of his three appearances that month with the Cincinnati Reds, the seventh team for which he had pitched since making his MLB debut in July of 2014.

An 11th-round pick of the Atlanta Braves in 2010, Shreve shined for the Braves once he arrived, posting a 0.73 ERA over 12.1 innings while striking out 15 and walking just three.

However, while Shreve excelled with the Braves, he also quickly learned that baseball is a business as he was part of a trade with the New York Yankees the following offseason.

Shreve would pitch four seasons with the Yankees after that swap, logging a 3.92 ERA over 174.2 innings. Another trade, however, would send him to St. Louis, where he pitched for portions of two seasons before being granted free agency at the conclusion of the 2019 campaign.

He would pitch for four other teams over the next four seasons, putting up numbers when needed before being released or granted free agency after each stop.

Working to get back to the Majors for the 2024 campaign, Shreve pitched in spring training for the Texas Rangers. After throwing 6.0 innings in seven games and compiling a 6.00 ERA, Shreve knew it would likely be tough to break camp with the defending World Champions.

“I had a pretty rough spring,” Shreve admitted. “My velo was down. The ride on my four-seam was down. My splitter was not great during spring. But I went to Triple-A with the Rangers and I worked with a coach there who I respect and he helped me get back to what I’ve been my whole career.”

With a career 3.97 ERA/4.69 FIP/1.340 WHIP and new confidence after that rough spring, Shreve believed he still had plenty to offer to a Major League team. However, it slowly became apparent it wasn’t going to be the Rangers.

“I pitched really great with them for two months (1.61 ERA in 22.1 innings while striking out 24) and, you never know, I just didn’t get the call,” Shreve said. “I went to the Yankees (Triple-A) and pitched well there too (2.45 ERA with 11 strikeouts in 11.0 innings) but, with the trade deadline, they pretty much packed their bullpen out. Now I’m here.”

And here is Colorado, where Shreve could well fill the role of the left-hander in the bullpen that was vacated when Jalen Beeks was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates at the trade deadline, part of just two deals made by the Rockies in late July.

“He’s a veteran relief pitcher who has been around and who can bring some value from the left side,” Colorado manager Bud Black said on Tuesday. “He’s a veteran presence for a relatively young bullpen.”

Entering Tuesday, Colorado relievers had compiled a 5.63 ERA this season, placing them last among MLB’s 30 teams, so taking a chance on Shreve makes sense. Brought up after pitching just one inning for Colorado’s Triple-A team, Shreve will now look to see if he can keep what he rediscovered about his pitches with the Rangers, including his split-finger fastball.

“That’s been my pitch for my entire career,” Shreve said. “It goes in and out of how good it wants to be but, from what I’ve heard about here (pitching at altitude in Denver), it should play pretty well.”

While it may play well, Shreve said the split-finger is a pitch that is still a puzzle he is trying to figure out.

“Splitters are such a weird pitch. It’s different for everybody,” Shreve explained. “I’ve talked to a lot of people about their splitters, like (Nathan) Eovaldi and (Masahiro) Tanaka. We all hold it different. We all throw it different. Our mentality is different. It’s a pitch that you have to figure out yourself, and I haven’t quite done it. It’s very good. It’s my pitch, but there are some days it goes pitch to pitch. Sometimes it’s great. Sometimes it’s not.

“It’s just constantly changing and it’s constantly a feel pitch so there are adjustments with grip, release point, arm speed, extension, and all of that stuff.”

Making adjustments is nothing new for Shreve as he has continued to search for his next MLB home.

“It’s been frustrating, especially since I’ve almost done this for 10 years now,” Shreve said. “It’s been frustrating, but it’s also helped that I’ve been pitching well. If I was pitching bad and still in Triple-A, it’s a different story. I’ve just had to lean on that I was pitching well.”

The Rockies and Shreve hoping that trend of pitching well continues when he finally gets the chance to once again throw a big league pitch.