It doesn't take much of a long look at last season's pitching numbers overall to see where the Colorado Rockies really suffered. Their offense was pretty good, but that pitching wasn't strong.

Don't think that the Rockies' front office is willing to stay put in that area. They are looking for upgrades. While there are some arms out there, trying to boost up the bullpen is a major concern.

Left-hander A.J. Minter is available on the free agent market right now. Could the Rockies take a look at him?

Minter spent eight seasons with the Atlanta Braves, one-plus seasons with the New York Mets, and part of last season with the Minnesota Twins. In his time with Atlanta, Minter had a 24-29 record with a 3.28 ERA and 36 career saves. 

For New York, Minter was 1-1 with a 2.12 ERA according to his Baseball Reference profile, but he didn't record a save there. He put together a 1-1 record with a 2.78 ERA and one save in his time at Minnesota. Career wise, Minter has a 26-31 record with a 3.15 ERA and 37 career saves. He's appeared in 445 career games, too.

The 33-year-old left-hander was drafted in the 2012 MLB Amateur Draft by the Detroit Tigers when he was a high school pitcher. He was then drafted again by the Braves in the 2015 MLB Amateur Draft out of Texas A&M. Minter is from Tyler, Texas.

Minter has four pitches in his pitching arsenal, a cutter, a four-seam fastball, a changeup, and a sinker. He makes the most out of his cutter, which he threw for 55.1 percent of the time last season. As for his four-seamer, Minter threw that 27.6 percent of the time, too. He'll toss his changeup and sinker when it might come in handy.

He threw that cutter at 89 mph in 2025, but Minter really tossed that four-seamer at a 93.5 mph level. His sinker was a tick lower than the four-seam fastball at 93.4 mph, while that changeup showed up at the plate at 86.5 mph.

During his career, according to his Baseball Savant profile, Minter has had an exit velocity ranging between 84.5 mph and 89.7 mph. His 2026 MLB Percentile Rankings put Minter in the fair range in fastball velocity (93.5 mph) and extension at 6.4 percent.

Looking at his spin-based movement per pitch, Minter's four-seam fastball tended to bend toward the right side of the plate. That makes sense for a lefty of his skill and talent, while his changeup ended up toward the left side of home plate.

Minter has a ton of respect for his pitches, which he's been adept at throwing for a long time. 

Imagine a lefty like this coming out of the Rockies' bullpen next season. That would definitely be a step-up from what manager Warren Schaeffer had to lean on last season. Of course, the relievers did as good a job as they could do. Coming in those games earlier than expected, though, taxed the bullpen.

Pitching coach Ethan Katz probably does not want that to happen once the Rockies start playing next season. That "next season" is still up in the air due to the Collective Bargaining Agreement conflict between MLB owners and the MLB Players Association.

Rockies fans have to wait and see when the season starts. They also have to wait and see what moves the ballclub makes to shore up its bullpen.