Colin Rea

Rea put together a solid 2020 campaign for the most part, but his ERA for the year was really damaged by two poor outings, especially his last of the season. He surrendered four runs on five hits, including two home runs to the Cubs in just two innings. The right-hander did see his velocity rise a tick during the 2020 season, sitting around 93 mph. He also mixed in his cutter (17.8 percent of his pitches) and curveball (19.1%) effectively. Rea ended up inking a one-year deal with Chicago in December to avoid arbitration, but the club released him in January so that he could pursue opportunities in Japan. If he does end up latching on somewhere overseas, he'll likely have an opportunity to serve as a starter.

Rea underwent Tommy John surgery in November 2016, and as expected, was out for all of 2017. He's reportedly on target to be ready for spring training with the hope of earning spot in the Padres' Opening Day rotation. Rea relies on average fastball velocity along with a cutter, curve and occasional splitter. He's a groundball pitcher, which helps when he's away from Petco Park. Best-case scenario, Rea is a back-end innings eater. The Padres have openings in their rotation, with Rea battling several others also returning from injury. Even though he could help in the bullpen, San Diego will probably send him to Triple-A El Paso to build up innings if he doesn't break camp as a starter. Rea has little fantasy appeal unless you are playing in a deep draft-and-hold league.

Rea's 2016 season was full of wild twists and turns, including a trade to Miami, a quick return to San Diego, news that he would undergo Tommy John surgery in early August, and then a change of plans regarding the procedure that instead left him with a platelet-rich plasma injection to treat his UCL tear. Through late October, everything was on track with Rea's rehab throwing program, but it was eventually decided that he'd need UCL surgery after all. He projects to be fully recovered for spring training in 2018, and should slot in near the back of a fluid Padres rotation.

Rea was given an audition in the starting rotation in August, with the Padres looking to evaluate talent late in a lost season. The results were strong, perhaps better than one would expect from a pitcher with simply mediocre strikeout rate and walk rates in his minor-league career, but it's important to note that five of his six starts came at home. He had an above-average groundball rate and held lefties to a .662 OPS, but also gave up a lot of hard contact and induced few swings and misses. His stuff may be that of a back-end starter long-term -- he works primarily with a low-90s fastball, a mid-to-high 80s cutter and a curveball -- but the right-hander should get to compete for a starting role in spring training if his arm is healthy.