Welcome to the 2025 edition of Ranking the Rockies, where we take a look back at every player to log playing time for the Rockies in 2025. The purpose of this list is to provide a snapshot of the player in context. The “Ranking” is an organizing principle that’s drawn from Baseball Reference’s WAR (rWAR). It’s not something the staff debated. We’ll begin with the player with the lowest rWAR and end up with the player with the highest.

No. 29, Roansy Contreras (-0.2 rWAR)

As the 2025 season entered its final month, the limping Rockies were looking for pitching help to get them down the stretch and close the book on a horrendous year. In early September, they claimed right-handed pitcher Roansy Contreras off waivers from the Baltimore Orioles and immediately placed him in the bullpen.

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At 26 years old, Contreas has been around for a while in various stints at the big league level. Originally signed by the New York Yankees out of the Dominican Republic in 2016, he was sent to the Pittsburgh Pirates in January 2021 with a slew of prospects in the deal that sent Jameson Taillon to New York. Contreras made his big league debut with the Pirates that season at the age of 2021, tossing three scoreless innings in a single start.

He turned in a strong rookie campaign in 2022, appearing in 21 games with 18 starts and posting a 3.79 ERA over 95 innings. However, he struggled greatly the following year and ended up spending most of 2024 in the bullpen for the Pirates and the Los Angeles Angels. Still, he posted a 4.35 ERA in 68 1/3 innings over 49 games.

The 2024-25 offseason saw Contreras claimed off waivers by the Texas Rangers, then the Cincinnati Reds, followed by the Baltimore Orioles, then the Yankees, and then the Orioles once again. He spent spring training with Baltimore but to less than stellar results as they outrighted him to Triple-A Norfolk for the majority of the season.

Contreras found success with the Tides as he appeared in 28 games, including 14 starts, going 7-3 with a 3.73 ERA in 91 2/3 innings of work. The Orioles eventually called him up in August as they dealt with injuries and he made just one spot start with the team. He spun 4 1/3 scoreless innings, giving up just three hits, and was designated for assignment after that as the Orioles made other roster moves. The Rockies quickly scooped him up, and he was in his first game on September 6 at Coors Field.

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It wasn’t an ideal Rockies debut for Contreras. Facing the San Diego Padres, he recorded just two outs coming out of the bullpen, giving up four runs on three hits with a walk and a strikeout. His next two outings were better as he worked long relief, allowing two runs in total over 6 2/3 innings. In his September 14 appearance in San Diego, he allowed just one hit over 3 2/3 innings. His final appearance of the year, just his fourth in a Rockies uniform, Contreras allowed two runs on two hits, including a home run, in a single inning against the Miami Marlins.

All said and done, Contreras posted an 8.41 ERA in 8 1/3 innings with the Rockies to close out the season. He gave up eight runs on nine hits with four strikeouts against one walk.

So what’s next for Contreras?

Well, Contreras is in an awkward spot. He exhausted his last option back in 2023 with the Pirates, but also has just a little over two years of service time, meaning he can be controlled for four more seasons after 2025. He isn’t eligible for arbitration until the 2026 offseason, so the Rockies could just run with him on the roster for a while if they desired on a cheap budget.

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There are things to like about Contreras’ makeup as a pitcher. He’s got a lively fastball mix averaging 95 mph with a varied offspeed and secondary mix. However, Contreras has been more of a pitch-to-contact pitcher as he owns a career 19.6% strikeout rate, 10% walk rate, and 39.3% ground ball rate. At his best, he can be effectively wild, but a pitcher that doesn’t strike out many hitters fits a mold that the Rockies gravitate towards far too often.

Either way, Contreras was fairly inconsequential to the 2025 Rockies, but he is also indicative of the type of players that this team continues to go after. A former well-regarded prospect that has been aggressively average and doesn’t bring much of anything different to the table. It may be easier to just roll with Contreras since he brings the flexibility of being a reliever or starter, but roster spots are precious, and the Rockies would be better off protecting or adding another player instead of hoping Contreras can figure it out in Colorado.

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