- The Rockies’ seemingly nonstop flood of pitching injuries has continued today, with Kyle Freeland leaving today’s start after three innings due to what the club later announced as a mild right oblique strain. This came after Colorado already placed right-hander Peter Lambert on the 15-day IL prior to their doubleheader with the Giants, as Lambert is suffering from right biceps tendinitis. Lambert has a 5.36 ERA over 87 1/3 innings this year, after missing most of the previous three seasons due to injuries. Freeland has a 5.07 ERA and he leads the Rox with 155 2/3 innings pitched, though he also previously missed a bit of time on the IL with a minor shoulder issue in July. It is safe to assume that Lambert’s 2023 campaign is over, and Freeland is also probably done for the year unless his oblique strain ends up being very minor.
Rockies Rumors
Justin Lawrence Day-To-Day With Ankle Injury
Rockies reliever Justin Lawrence was removed from Friday night’s contest against the Giants with an injury to his left ankle. He was able to walk off the field, and following the game, manager Bud Black told reporters from MLB.com that Lawrence was likely to avoid a trip to the IL. That’s good news for the Rockies, who have dealt with more than their fair share of pitching injuries this year.
As Patrick Lyons of DNVR Rockies pointed out on Twitter, the team has already tied their franchise record for most starting pitchers used in a season. Starters Antonio Senzatela, Germán Márquez, Kyle Freeland, Austin Gomber, Chase Anderson, and Ryan Feltner have all spent time on the IL. So too have several notable relievers, including Daniel Bard, Brent Suter, Lucas Gilbreath, Tyler Kinley, and Nick Mears.
Overall, Rockies pitchers have the worst ERA in the sport. That’s not entirely surprising, considering they play in such a hitter-friendly stadium, but even park-adjusted statistics paint a dismal picture of Colorado’s pitching staff. They rank last in the majors with a 4.92 SIERA.
Lawrence has been one of the few bright spots for Colorado this season. He ranks second on the team with a 3.95 ERA (min. 40 IP) and third with 1.1 FanGraphs WAR. He has recorded 11 saves and given up just four home runs in 62 appearances out of the bullpen. His performance this year represents a marked improvement over his first two seasons; from 2021-22, he pitched to a 6.52 ERA in 57 games.
That said, the 28-year-old righty has run into a rough patch as of late. On August 15, he allowed five runs on seven hits in a disastrous ninth inning, blowing a save and taking the loss. He hasn’t seemed quite the same ever since, pitching to a 7.00 ERA and 5.15 SIERA over his last 11 games. If his ankle injury is indeed as minor as it seems, it could give him a chance to take a brief rest and reset before returning to the mound for the end of the season.
Rockies Outright Cole Tucker
For the second time this season, Rockies infielder/outfielder Cole Tucker went unclaimed on waivers and has been assigned outright to Triple-A Albuquerque, per the transaction log at MiLB.com. Tucker was designated for assignment earlier in the week. Because he’s already been outrighted once, he’ll have the option of rejecting this assignment in favor of free agency.
The 27-year-old Tucker joined the Rockies on a minor league deal over the winter and has twice been selected to the Majors, though he’s only tallied 10 plate appearances (during which he’s gone 4-for-8 with a walk and a hit by pitch). He’s spent the rest of the season in Albuquerque, where’s he’s appeared in 70 games and batted .280/.391/.407 in 321 plate appearances.
Selected by the Pirates with the No. 24 overall pick back in 2014, Tucker was considered one of Pittsburgh’s top prospects for the better part of five years but has yet to put things together in the Majors. He’s played in 159 big league games and tallied 479 plate appearances across parts of five seasons, but he has just a .216/.266/.318 batting line to show for it. His .250/.350/.382 batting line in four Triple-A campaigns is a clear improvement but still doesn’t stand out in and of itself. Tucker had top-of-the-scale sprint speed when he debuted in 2019 (90th percentile of MLB players, per Statcast). He’s slowed a bit, dropping from an average of 28.8 feet per second to 28.3 ft/sec, but that’s still good enough to rank in the 75th percentile of MLB players.
Tucker has primarily been a shortstop in his professional career, with more than 5500 innings at the position (including his minor league work). The Pirates and Rockies began bouncing him to other positions in recent years in order to improve his versatility. He’s since logged at least 375 innings at each of second base, center field and right field, with briefer stints at first base, third base and in left field.
MLB Trade Rumors Podcast: Free Agent Class Preview: Catcher and First Base, Márquez Extension and the Dodgers’ Rotation
The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.
This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss:
- Previewing The 2023-24 Free Agent Class: Catcher (0:50)
- Previewing The 2023-24 Free Agent Class: First Base (4:40)
- Rockies Extend Germán Márquez (7:00)
- Walker Buehler won’t return as the rotation challenges continue for the Dodgers (12:30)
Plus, we answer your questions, including:
- What can the Tigers do about Spencer Turnbull? (16:45)
- Will the Athletics change their spending habits after they move to Las Vegas? (22:00)
- Why is the American League Central always so bad and will that ever change? (25:45)
Check out our past episodes!
- Waiver Claim Fallout, September Call-Ups and the Biggest Strength of Each Playoff Contender – listen here
- MLB Trade Rumors Podcast: Shohei Ohtani’s Torn UCL, Free Agent Power Rankings and Stephen Strasburg to Retire – listen here
- The White Sox Fire Their Front Office, Injured Rays and Prospect Promotion Time – listen here
Rockies Designate Cole Tucker For Assignment
The Rockies have reinstated outfielder Kris Bryant from the 10-day injured list, per Patrick Lyons of DNVR, with infielder/outfielder Cole Tucker designated for assignment in a corresponding move.
Signed to a seven-year, $182MM contract going into 2022, Bryant hasn’t been able to get into a groove at any point over the past two seasons. He was limited to just 42 games last year due to various injuries and has played in just 65 so far this season, having missed time due to a heel bruise and finger fracture.
It will be important for him and the Rockies to get him healthy and in a good place going forward, with five years still remaining on the deal. There’s little left to play for this year since the club is 51-91 and in the bottom of the National League but Bryant will have a few weeks to get some at-bats before the winter. He’s hit .251/.338/.379 around his injuries this year but had a stronger showing last year with a line of .306/.376/.475.
Tucker, 27, signed a minor league deal with the Rockies in the winter and has bounced on and off their roster lately. He was selected in early August but was designated for assignment just a week later. He accepted an outright assignment after clearing waivers and was added back to the roster last week but has now been removed again.
He managed to get 10 plate appearances in five games around those transactions, getting four singles, a walk and one hit-by-pitch. He’s hit .280/.391/.407 in Triple-A this year, good enough for a wRC+ of 101 in the Pacific Coast League. Once a highly-touted prospect, he hasn’t been able to have consistent major league success, having slashed .216/.266/.318 in 479 big league plate appearances.
The Rockies will now place Tucker on waivers in the coming days, since the trade deadline has long passed. It’s possible that he again clears waivers and accepts an assignment to Albuquerque, the same sequence of events that happened last month, though that will be determined in due time.
Rockies Extend Germán Márquez
The Rockies took a step toward solidifying their rotation on Friday afternoon, announcing a two-year extension with starting pitcher Germán Márquez. The deal, which spans the 2024-25 seasons, guarantees him $20MM. Márquez, a client of L.A. Sports Management, will receive $10MM annually over the next two seasons.
The deal also contains up to $10MM in additional incentives. Márquez would reportedly receive $2MM bonuses for spending 30 and 60 days on the MLB roster during the 2025 season. He’d trigger additional $2MM bonuses at each of 140, 150, and 160 innings pitched. The contract also contains a $1MM assignment bonus in the event of a trade.
“Germán has been an integral part of the Rockies organization both on and off the field since his first Major League season in 2016.” Rockies senior vice president and general manager Bill Schmidt said in the team’s press release. “We are excited to secure Germán’s future in Denver with this extension and can’t wait to see him back out on the mound.”
The 2023 season was the last guaranteed year on Márquez’s contract. Colorado had a $16MM option for next season, though they were likely to opt for a $2.5MM buyout. Márquez underwent Tommy John surgery in May, meaning he won’t be back until mid-2024 at the earliest. Now, he will remain with the Rockies for at least two more years, allowing him to rehab with an eye towards late next season and beyond.
Márquez has been in the Rockies organization since 2016, when the team acquired him in a trade with the Rays. He made his MLB debut that September and pitched his first full season the following year, posting a 4.39 ERA in 162 innings pitched en route to a fifth-place finish for NL Rookie of the Year. Over the next four seasons, he was one of the most durable pitchers in the league. From 2017-22, only three pitchers made more starts than Márquez: Gerrit Cole, Patrick Corbin, and Aaron Nola. Prior to this season, he had spent only one stint on the injured list in his big league career.
If Márquez suffers no setbacks and quickly shakes off the rust in his return, the terms of the extension seem perfectly reasonable. Colorado is offering more up-front security than Márquez would’ve gotten had they bought him out, while the $10MM salary for the ’25 campaign could be strong value for the club if Márquez recaptures his pre-surgery form.
Colorado now has three veteran starters under contract through 2025. Kyle Freeland is signed through 2026, with a vesting option for 2027. Meanwhile, Antonio Senzatela is signed through 2026 with a team option for 2027. Senzatela recently underwent a Tommy John procedure of his own. The Rockies will hope to have Márquez and Senzatela back to anchor the rotation alongside Freeland at some point in 2024.
MLBTR’s Steve Adams first reported Márquez was signing a two-year, $20MM guarantee with $10MM in incentives. Thomas Harding of MLB.com reported the specific incentive structure.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Rockies Select Victor Vodnik
5:45 pm: The Rockies have officially selected the contract of Victor Vodnik from Triple-A (Twitter link). In a corresponding move, Austin Gomber has been placed on the 60-day IL with lower back inflammation. With only 23 games remaining on the Rockies’ schedule, this move means the end of Gomber’s season, giving him the chance to rest up and set his sights on a healthy return in 2024.
1:27 pm: The Rockies are planning to place left-hander Austin Gomber on the 15-day injured list and select the contract of right-hander Victor Vodnik from Triple-A Albuquerque, reports Thomas Harding of MLB.com. Gomber hasn’t pitched since Aug. 28 after his last start was scratched due to back discomfort. Stints on the injured list can only be backdated up to three days from the time of placement, so the IL stint will presumably be retroactive to Sept. 5.
A timetable for Gomber, 29, isn’t yet clear. He’s tied with fellow southpaw Kyle Freeland for the team lead with 27 starts, though both pitchers have ERAs north of 5.00 — 5.50, in Gomber’s case. This year’s 139 innings represent a new career-high at the MLB level for Gomber, who currently has a 14.4% strikeout rate, 7.1% walk rate, 41.6% ground-ball rate and 1.68 HR/9.
While Gomber’s numbers on the year don’t stand out, he’s steadily improved as the 2023 campaign has progressed. The lefty was rocked for 22 runs in his first four starts this year and struggled for much of the season’s first two months. Since June 14, however, he touts a far more palatable 3.91 ERA in 78 1/3 frames. His 14.8% strikeout rate in that time is still one of the lowest in baseball, but his 4.9% walk rate is excellent and Gomber has significantly tamped down his home run issues during this stretch as well (1.15 HR/9). The Rockies can control him for another two seasons via arbitration.
As for Vodnik, he’ll be in line for his Major League debut. The flamethrowing 23-year-old went from Atlanta to Colorado in the deadline swap that sent righty Pierce Johnson to the Braves. He’s pitched 53 2/3 innings this season between Double-A and Triple-A, working to a combined 3.35 earned run average with a hefty 29.9% strikeout rate against a more troubling 13.4% walk rate. Vodnik reaches triple digits with his heater, and scouting reports at FanGraphs, MLB.com and Baseball America all credit him with a plus changeup that helps him induce weak contact on the ground. Command issues are a concern, and BA’s scouting report notes that he’ll at times tip his changeup, thereby undercutting the pitch’s effectiveness.
Vodnik is not yet on Colorado’s 40-man roster, so the Rox will need to make a move to create space. If the Rockies don’t believe Gomber will return this year, he could be placed directly on the 60-day IL. Kris Bryant, currently on the 10-day IL, has already missed 47 days and could be another 60-day IL option, depending on his own outlook. The Rox have also already passed Cole Tucker through waivers once this season, and he was only selected back to the MLB roster a couple days ago.
Rockies Outright Coco Montes
The Rockies have sent infielder Coco Montes outright to Triple-A Albuquerque, according to the transactions log at MLB.com. He was designated for assignment on Tuesday and apparently went unclaimed on waivers.
Montes, 27 next month, made his MLB debut with the Rox this season. He appeared in 18 games, hitting .184/.244/.316 through his first 41 trips to the plate. Montes saw most of his limited action at second base while the club was without Brendan Rodgers.
The former 15th round pick has played the majority of the year on optional assignment to Albuquerque. He’s hitting well, even in the context of a very hitter-friendly setting. Montes has hit .313/.397/.550 with 19 homers over 443 plate appearances. He’s striking out in just over a quarter of his trips but has walked at a strong 11.3% clip.
This is Montes’ first career outright assignment. He doesn’t have the service time to elect free agency, so he’ll remain in the organization and try to play his way back onto the Colorado roster.
Rockies Notes: Gomber, Kinley, TV Deal
The Rockies will place Austin Gomber on the 15-day injured list, reports Thomas Harding of MLB.com (Twitter link). The left-hander was scratched from his start over the weekend because of back discomfort. He hasn’t pitched since August 28.
Colorado has yet to announce the move, which’ll presumably be backdated by the maximum allotted three days. It isn’t clear if Gomber will be able to return within the final three weeks of the season. He has made 27 starts on the year, ranking second on the team with 139 innings pitched. Gomber owns a 5.50 ERA with a well below-average 14.4% strikeout rate overall, though he showed a bit of progress in the second half. After carrying a 6.40 ERA into the All-Star Break, he has allowed 3.86 earned runs per nine across 49 frames.
It’s certainly not overwhelming production, but Gomber has likely done enough down the stretch to put himself on track for a season-opening spot in next year’s rotation. Only Kyle Freeland looks assured of a rotation job going into the winter, leaving Colorado with plenty of work to do on that front in the offseason.
There’s not much more certainty in the bullpen, which entered play Wednesday ranked 29th with a 5.27 ERA. Among the players the Rox are counting on for key relief roles next season is Tyler Kinley. The right-hander returned from a flexor surgery in August. He briefly landed back on the IL last month and has been limited to eight innings over 10 appearances this year.
Nevertheless, the Rockies are installing Kinley as their closer for the stretch run, as Harding writes. One of the more experienced arms in a young relief group, he turned in 24 innings of 0.75 ERA ball before the injury a season ago. The Rox signed Kinley to a $6.25MM guarantee last offseason, keeping him under contract through at least the 2025 campaign.
The roster isn’t the only thing in flux for the organization going into the winter. The club’s in-market broadcasting is uncertain beyond this season. Kyle Newman of the Denver Post reports that AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain has notified its employees it’ll be shuttering operations at year’s end. The club’s local broadcasting picture for 2024 is to be determined.
Newman writes that it’s possible the Rockies land on Altitude Sports and Entertainment, which is responsible for carrying Nuggets and Avalanche games in the area. MLB could also take over the broadcasts and stream them on the MLB.TV platform in-market for an additional fee, as it has done for the Padres since San Diego’s RSN contract with Diamond Sports Group collapsed in May.
Rockies Select Cole Tucker, Designate Coco Montes For Assignment
The Rockies announced that they have selected the contract of infielder/outfielder Cole Tucker, with first baseman/outfielder Michael Toglia optioned to Triple-A Albuquerque in a corresponding move. To open a spot for Tucker on the 40-man, infielder Coco Montes was designated for assignment.
Tucker, 27, signed a minor league deal with the Rockies in the offseason. He was added to the big league roster last month but was designated for assignment just one week later, having taken just eight plate appearances over three games. He was outrighted to Albuquerque after clearing waivers and could have rejected that assignment based on having a previous career outright, but accepted and is now back with the big league club.
Around that brief stint in the majors, he’s taken 321 trips to the plate in 70 Triple-A games. He walked in 15.3% of those, leading to a batting line of .280/.391/.407 and 101 wRC+. Once a highly-touted prospect with the Pirates, he’s hit just .214/.263/.316 in 477 major league plate appearances thus far. At the very least, he should provide the Rox with defensive versatility, having played each infield and outfield position in his career. He can be controlled for four more seasons beyond this one but is out of options.
Montes, 26, hit .321/.401/.560 through his first 59 Triple-A games this year and got selected to the big league roster in June. But he then hit just .184/.244/.316 in his first 41 plate appearances at the major league level and has now been bounced from the roster.
Since the trade deadline has passed, the Rockies will place Montes on waivers in the coming days. His first taste of the majors didn’t go well but he’s generally produced solid numbers in the minors and spent significant time at the three infield positions to the left of first base. He will still have two option years beyond this one and has less than a year of service time.
