Jake McGee Reportedly Agrees on Contract to Re-Sign with Rockies

The Colorado Rockies and reliever Jake McGee agreed to a new contract Wednesday pending a physical, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic and Joel Sherman of the New York Post.

McGee has been with the Rockies for the past two seasons, struggling mightily in 2016 before bouncing back in 2017 with a 3.61 ERA in 57.1 innings. He added three saves and 20 holds with only three blown saves. Factoring in the difficulties of playing in Colorado, he posted a well above-average ERA+ of 139, per Baseball Reference. 

While he was significantly better on the road (2.64 ERA, compared to 4.73 at Coors Field), he remains an effective player.

The 31-year-old has also proved his worth in six years with the Tampa Bay Rays, tallying a 2.77 ERA and 1.02 WHIP in this span.

Unlike other lefty relievers around the league, McGee is also more than just a "lefty one-out guy." He has actually had more success against right-handers in his career than left-handed hitters, which continued last season.

While teams are always looking for a specialist, the Rockies have instead kept a valuable late-game reliever who can get hitters out on both sides of the plate. While the team has plenty of other decisions to make regarding the bullpen, this move will at least keep things steady going into 2018.

Closer Greg Holland is a free agent, and if the Rockies are unable to re-sign him, McGee could find himself in the closer mix for 2018.