The Rockies announced that infielder Julio Carreras has been sent outright to Triple-A Albuquerque. That indicates he cleared waivers after being designated for assignment on Sunday. The club also reinstated infielder/outfielder Kris Bryant from the injured list, with outfielder Sean Bouchard optioned to Albuquerque in a corresponding move. Thomas Harding of MLB.com relayed the moves on X shortly before the official announcement.
Carreras, 24, was an international signing out of the Dominican Republic. Prospect reviews have generally considered him talented in terms of his speed and defense but with larger questions about how his bat would play as he climbed the minor league ladder.
He had a good season in 2022, getting into 110 games at High-A and hitting 11 home runs. His .289/.352/.473 batting line translated to a wRC+ of 129 and he also stole 17 bases. That got him a late-season promotion to Double-A and the Rockies put him on their 40-man roster to keep him out of that year’s Rule 5 draft.
Unfortunately, the offensive results haven’t been as impressive since then. He hit .238/.324/.340 last year between Double-A and Triple-A for an 84 wRC+. Back at Triple-A this year, he’s produced a dismal line of .181/.247/.268 while striking out in 32.9% of his plate appearances.
He was bumped off Colorado’s roster a couple of days ago and none of the other 29 clubs were willing to take a chance on him. Since this is his first career outright, he’ll stay in the Rockies’ system and try to work his way back onto the roster.
Bryant will once again try to get into a good groove as a member of the Rockies, something that he has not been able to do thanks to injuries. He hit well in 2022 but only got into 42 contests, dealing with back problems and left foot plantar fasciitis. Last year, IL stints occurred due to a left heel bruise and a fractured left index finger. Here in 2024, a low back strain sent him to the IL just over a month ago.
The Rockies were surely hoping for more when they signed him to a seven-year, $182MM deal going into 2022. So far, they have received just 135 big league games from Bryant with a line of just .249/.329/.391, which translates to an 89 wRC+.
He will likely take over at first base, as Elehuris Montero is hitting just .221/.275/.307 this year. Brenton Doyle, Jake Cave and Jordan Beck will handle outfield duties, occasionally joined by designated hitter Charlie Blackmon.
Kris Bryant before his large Colorado contract: “I’m happy, healthy, very productive and rarin’ to go”. ……Kris Bryant after his large contract: “I now have a variety of ailments, a bad back and the overall body health of a 70 year old man. I’m really unhappy here and I can’t realistically be expected to produce or play more than a quarter season a year”.
In fairness to Bryant, aside from the plantar fasciitis in the first year, all of the injuries have been just regular baseball injuries (HBP on hand, crashing into the wall on a great catch, etc) that could have happened to anyone. Just so happens they all happened to him. I’m not ready to put the dreaded “injury prone” label on him just yet. I am far more concerned with his ability to hit than his ability to stay healthy. His bat has not looked good the past two years. This year especially. He just looks overmatched at the plate.
“In fairness to Bryant”…He sounds like he really hates being in Colorado and that(plus plenty of other stuff)makes me really question his desire, toughness and effort level.
He literally just listed how all of those injuries all baseball related injuries. You could suggest the guy is lazy and doesn’t want to play baseball, but you would be wrong.
I don’t even think he is lazy. Sometimes he does look defeated though. And honestly that can be expected of someone that has never really struggled in his entire baseball life. He has been one of the best on the field for his entire life and now he is struggling to even get to average performance. That has got to weigh on your mind a lot. I hope he can work through it, but others in the past have not.
i really feel his nagging arthritis and disc issues are whats causing this level of floundering at the plate for him. its tough with a guy who was so good in his prime, but bryant may be frosted over. i think the mental effects this has on a guy like bryant, like hiflew mentioned, are doubling with the effects of his injuries, baseball related or not.
As far as Carreras goes, I think his ceiling is something like Alan Trejo. A 26th man that can play everywhere but not hit a lick. His biggest problem is the Rockies already have an Alan Trejo.
Best photo of a guy being optioned this season.
“That can play everywhere”..Guys that can’t hit but can play multiple positions are becoming a dime a dozen. They’re useful, but you can practically find them standing on every street corner. You don’t want to guarantee them $60M(roughly)like the Dodgers did with the very overated Chris Taylor.
You always have been able to find them anywhere. It was only after the Rays started moving Zobrist around that the term “super utility” player even existed. Most of these guys are far less than super. Just utility.
All you baseball fanatics are hilarious. Think you know everything LOL none of you could hit a 95 mph ball if your lives depended on it. Internet clowns with no lives