PHOENIX — It’s silver linings season for the Rockies.

With their playoff dreams long gone — FanGraphs puts their chances of making the postseason at 0.1 percent — the Rockies are searching for building blocks for next season.

It’s an all-too-familiar refrain for a franchise that has not won a division title in its 27 seasons, but with 40 games left in the season, that’s where we’re at.

“We got some good young baseball players here, but it’s going to take some time,” all-star third baseman Nolan Arenado said before Monday’s game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. “We are going through that now, so we’ll see how this develops.”

With that in mind, here are five critical things to watch as the Rockies’ season heads into the final quarter:

1. Young arms in the bullpen. With closer Scott Oberg‘s season officially ending Monday when he was placed on the 60-day disabled list because of a blood clot in his right arm, the Rockies are looking for a ninth-inning pitcher to close out the season.

Manager Bud Black said he’s not ready to anoint a closer for the rest of the season, but he made it clear Monday that he’ll give young right-handers Jairo Diaz and Carlos Estevez a chance. Wade Davis, who lost his ninth-inning role to Oberg, will most likely be a seventh- or eighth-inning reliever.

The hard-throwing Diaz is worth watching. Although his overall ERA is 4.67, it was just 2.16 with a 1.08 ERA over his last seven appearances entering Monday.

2. Kyle Freeland‘s reclamation. Freeland, who’s scheduled to pitch Tuesday, has been the club’s biggest disappointment of the season (3-10, 7.09 ERA). And while his recent progress has been measured in baby steps, if the lefty can begin to resemble the 2018 version of himself, that would be huge.

3. Raimel Tapia‘s rise. I covered this topic last week, but Tapia could be one of those players who takes his game to the next level the more he plays. Rather than being exposed, he’s starting to blossom. Since the all-star break, he’s hitting .347, and his leaping catch against the center-field wall Saturday night to rob the Miami Marlins‘ Lewis Brinson of a home run illustrated Tapia’s potential and athleticism.

I admit I’ve been a skeptic of Tapia’s overall game, but he’s starting to win me over.

4. Catcher Dom Nunez’s development. Veteran Chris Iannetta was cut loose, in part, because the Rockies want to get a look at Nunez, 24, who was originally drafted as an infielder in 2013. I don’t know if Nunez is good enough to be Tony Wolters‘ primary backup next season or if the Rockies will have to search for a veteran in the offseason, but the next six weeks will provide a better idea. Related Articles Josh Fuentes would embrace utilityman role after standout Rockies season

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5. Veterans’ trade worth. In my opinion, during the coming offseason, the Rockies need to aggressively shop veteran relievers Bryan Shaw ($9 million in 2020) and Davis ($17 million), along with outfielder Ian Desmond ($15 million) and first baseman Daniel Murphy ($8 million, plus $6 million buyout in 2021). Whether there will be any takers could well depend on their performance down the stretch.

Pitching pickup. The Rockies claimed right-handed reliever Wes Parsons off waivers from the Atlanta Braves, who designated him for assignment over the weekend. Parsons, 26, was assigned to Triple-A Albuquerque. He takes the place of Oberg on the 40-man roster.

According to Black, Parsons throws a fastball, slider and changeup. The right-hander posted a decent 3.52 ERA in 17 games with the Braves this season. However, he gave away far too many free passes, walking 13 batters in just 15⅓ innings.

Springtime. The 2020 Cactus League scheduled was released Monday. Colorado opens the spring training season hosting the D-backs on Feb. 22 at Salt River Fields. The Rockies conclude spring training by hosting Seattle on March 24. Their regular season opens March 26 at San Diego.

On Deck

Rockies LHP Kyle Freeland (3-10, 7.10 ERA) vs. Diamondbacks LHP Alex Young (4-3, 3.98)

7:40 p.m. Tuesday, Chase Field

TV: AT&T SportsNet

Radio: KOA 850 AM/94.1 FM

The Rockies hope Freeland will continue to make progress, with an eye toward next season. His fastball command, ability to pitch down in the zone and a better feel for his changeup are beginning to yield results. Over three starts in August, the left-hander has a 5.29 ERA. That’s not great, for sure, but it’s a quantum leap from the 10.17 ERA he posted across six starts in May, a swoon prompting his demotion to Triple-A. Freeland is 0-1 with a 10.80 ERA in three starts against Arizona this season. He is 2-0 with a 3.00 ERA in four career starts at Chase Field. Young is looking to bounce back after two bad starts, in which he went 0-2 with a 9.72 ERA. On July 7, in his third big-league game, he no-hit the Rockies for six innings at Chase Field, giving up one walk and whiffing three. Despite Young throwing just 71 pitches, Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo stuck to a predetermined pitch count and took his pitcher out of the game. The D-backs ended up winning 5-3.

Trending: Tony Wolters entered Monday’s night game as the only catcher in the majors not to have been charged with an error this season. He ranks third in the National League with 15 catcher caught stealings.

At issue: The Rockies entered Monday night with a 24-38 record away from home, having gone 1-5 on their last road trip. Their .230 road batting average is the lowest in the National League and their 638 strikeouts the most.

Pitching probables