The Rockies have selected 25-year old righty starting pitcher Danny Rosenbaum in the Rule 5 Draft away from the Washington Nationals. Rosenbaum pitched in 26 games (all starts) in AA-ball last year and he was 8-10 with a 3.94 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP. He has now pitched in 89 games (84 starts) in his first four years in the minors and he is 26-24 with a 2.84 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP. Rosenbaum is going to have a decent shot of making the Rockies’ pitching staff next spring.

The Rockies have re-signed 31-year old lefty starting pitcher Jeff Francis to a 1-year deal. Francis pitched in 24 games (all starts) for the Rockies last year and he was 6-7 with a 5.58 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP. He has now pitched in 174 games (173 starts) in his first seven years with the Rockies and he is 61-57 with a 4.86 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP. Francis is #2 in games started (173) in Rockies’ history. He is also #2 in wins (61), #7 in ERA (4.86), #5 in WHIP (1.43), #2 in innings pitched (995 2/3), #3 in strikeouts (679) and he is tied for 3rd in shutouts (2) in Rockies’ history. It was smart of the Rockies to bring back Francis for 2013, as he is still a somewhat decent pitcher and the price was probably right.

The Rockies have acquired 29-year old righty reliever Wilton Lopez from the Astros for 24-year old righty starting pitcher Alex White and 23-year old righty starting pitcher Alex Gillingham. Lopez pitched in 64 games (0 starts) for the Astros last year and he was 6-3 with 10 saves, a 2.17 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP. He has now pitched in 213 games (2 starts) in his first four years in the majors and he is 13-13 with 11 saves, a 3.14 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP. Lopez will team with closer Rafael Betancourt to set up the Rockies well at the back end of the bullpen in 2013. Alex White was a disappointment for the Rockies. He pitched in 23 games (20 starts) for the Rockies last year and he was 2-9 with a 5.51 ERA and a 1.68 WHIP. He pitched in 33 games (30 starts) in his two years with the Rockies and he was 5-13 with a 6.03 ERA and a 1.69 WHIP. Alex Gillingham pitched in 19 games (all starts) in A-ball for the Rockies last year and he was 6-8 with a 3.66 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP. This was the kind of deal contenders make.

28-year old righty swinging outfielder Andrew Brown has elected to become a free agent. He played in 46 games for the Rockies last year and he was 26 of 112 (.232 avg, .730 OPS) with 14 runs scored, 5 homers, 11 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Brown has now played in 57 games in his first two years in the majors and he is 30 for 134 (.224 avg, .679 OPS) with 15 runs scored, 5 homers, 14 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. This is not much of a loss for the Rockies.

The Rockies have signed 27-year old righty reliever/starter Jeff Manship to a minor league deal. Manship pitched in 12 games (0 starts) for the Twins last year and he was 0-0 with a 7.89 ERA and a 1.66 WHIP. He also pitched in 22 games (11 starts) in AAA-ball for the Twins last year and he was 6-3 with a 2.91 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP. Manship has now pitched in 41 games (6 starts) in his first four years in the majors and he is 3-2 with a 6.20 ERA and a 1.62 WHIP. Manship will be a longshot to win a job in the Rockies’ pen next spring.

The Rockies have acquired 24-year old lefty swinging 1B/3B Ryan Wheeler from the Diamondbacks for 28-year old lefty reliever Matt Reynolds. Wheeler played in 50 games for the D-Backs last year in his first taste of the majors and he was 26 for 109 (.239 avg, .634 OPS) with 11 runs scored, 1 homer, 10 RBIs and 1 stolen base. He also played in 93 games in AAA-ball last year in which he was 127 of 362 (.351 avg, .960 OPS) with 56 runs scored, 15 homers, 90 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Wheeler came into last season as the D-Backs’ #18 ranked prospect according to Baseball America, so he has a high upside. Matt Reynolds pitched in 71 games (0 starts) for the Rockies last year and he was 3-1 with a 4.40 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP. He pitched in 165 games (0 starts) in three years with the Rockies and he was 5-3 with a 3.93 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP. This was a deal the Rockies had to make as Wheeler has a nice upside.

The Colorado Rockies have hired 48-year old Walt Weiss to be their new manager. He was the special assistant to Rockies’ GM Dan O’Dowd from 2002-08. Weiss has been managing high school ball ever since then. Weiss played in 1,495 games in his 14 years in the majors as a switch-hitting shortstop in which he was 1,207 of 4,686 (.258 avg, .677 OPS) with 623 runs scored, 25 homers, 386 RBIs and 96 stolen bases. Weiss was an outstanding defensive shortstop, but he never won a Gold Glove as Omar Vizquel was bogarting all of them. Weiss was the A.L. Rookie of the Year in 1988 for the Oakland A’s and his only All-Star appearance came back in 1998 with the Atlanta Braves. It will be interesting to see how Weiss does due to his lack of managing experience.

27-year old righty swinging infielder Brandon Wood has elected to become a free agent. Wood played in 119 games in AAA-ball last year and he was 104 of 401 (.259 avg, .722 OPS) with 56 runs scored, 10 homers, 64 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Wood last played in the majors back in 2011 with the Pirates and Angels. Wood has played in 272 games in his first five years in the majors and he is 130 of 700 (.186 avg, .513 OPS) with 65 runs scored, 18 homers, 64 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. This is no loss for the Rockies moving forward.

The Rockies have lost 30-year old righty reliever Josh Roenicke on waivers to the Twins. Roenicke pitched in 63 games (0 starts) for the Rockies last year and he was 4-2 with 1 save, a 3.25 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP. He pitched in 82 games (0 starts) in his two years with the Rockies and he was 4-2 with 1 save, a 3.33 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP. I’m am more than a little surprised to see the Rockies let Roenicke go without getting anything for him as he was one of the best relievers on the team last year.

The Rockies have lost 28-year old righty starter/reliever Guillermo Moscoso on waivers to the Royals. Moscoso pitched in 23 games (3 starts) for the Rockies last year and he was 3-2 with a 6.12 ERA and a 1.72 WHIP. He has now pitched in 57 games (24 starts) in his first four years in the majors and he is 11-12 with a 4.16 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. This isn’t much of a loss for the Rockies based on the way Moscoso pitched for them last year.