Coulombe, who took his second loss of spring in Tuesday's Cactus League tilt versus the Rockies by giving up four earned runs on one hit and two walks over 1.1 innings, is increasingly in danger of losing his bid for a bullpen spot, Joe Stiglich of CSN Bay Area reports.
Coming into spring, the 27-year-old southpaw's prospects for a potential roster spot seemed bright, considering that Sean Doolittle projected as the only other lefty in the relief corps. However, Coulombe, who owns a career .224 BAA and .256 wOBA over a 125-batter sample against left-handed hitters, has struggled in that area this spring. He was also charged with all four runs in Colorado's ninth-inning comeback Tuesday, a rally kick-started by a two-run home run by left-handed hitting Anthony Bemboom. "He's had a tough spring. especially to left-handers," Manager Bob Melvin acknowledged. "We expect him to get the left-handers out, and not only have they been hitting him, they've been doing some damage too. So he's gotta tighten that up a little bit."