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Rockies Claim Antoine Kelly, Designate Josh Rogers

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The Rockies announced Monday that they’ve claimed left-hander Antoine Kelly off waivers from the Rangers, who’d previously designated him for assignment. In order to open a spot on the 40-man roster, Colorado designated fellow lefty Josh Rogers for assignment.

Kelly, 24, was a second-round pick by the Brewers in 2019 and went to the Rangers alongside utilityman Mark Mathias in the 2022 deadline deal that sent righty Matt Bush from Texas to Milwaukee. Kelly pitched in the 2022 Futures Game and enjoyed a standout 2023 season split the Rangers’ Double-A and Triple-A bullpens: 57 1/3 innings, 11 saves, 2.04 ERA, 32.1% strikeout rate, 9.3% walk rate.

That promising trajectory has gone off the rails in 2024, however. Kelly has missed significant time with a forearm injury this season and been ineffective when healthy, yielding 17 earned runs in a span of 16 1/3 innings at the Triple-A level. His strikeout rate has dropped considerably, though at 25%, it’s still better than average. However, Kelly has issued nearly as many walks as he has recorded strikeouts, with a glaring 22.9% of his opponents reaching via base on balls. Add in the two batters he’s plunked, and he’s at a combined 24 walks/HBP — the same number of strikeouts he’s yielded this season.

Command troubles — albeit not to this extent — are nothing new for Kelly. Even prior to this season, he’d walked 13% of his career opponents. Last year’s strong K-BB profile represented a significant step forward for the southpaw, and the Rockies will hope they can get him back to that form down the stretch and into future seasons. Kelly is in the first of three minor league option seasons, so the Rox will be able to freely option him not only this year but also in 2025 and 2026 if they keep him on the roster for that long.

The 30-year-old Rogers signed minor league deals with Colorado in each of the past two offseasons. He didn’t pitch for the Rockies in ’23 but has appeared in five games this season, logging 9 1/3 innings out of the bullpen and surrendering seven runs on a dozen hits and two walks with two strikeouts. The Rockies selected Rogers to the MLB roster in late May but placed him on the injured list barely two weeks later, owing to a strain in his left rotator cuff. Rogers was reinstated from the injured list and optioned to Triple-A just yesterday. He’ll now spend up to a week in DFA limbo as he waits to learn whether he’s been traded, claimed by another club, passed through outright waivers or released.

Originally an 11th-round pick by the 2015 Yankees, Rogers went to the Orioles as part of the Zack Britton trade in 2018. He pitched parts of two seasons with the O’s and another two with the Nats after being released and signing a minor league deal in Washington. Overall, he’s pitched 97 1/3 innings in the majors between three teams and yielded a 5.55 ERA with a 10.9% strikeout rate and 5.5% walk rate. He’s pitched 496 innings in Triple-A as well but had similar struggles there: 5.72 ERA, 15% strikeout rate, 6.6% walk rate.

Rockies Activate German Marquez From 60-Day IL

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TODAY: The Rockies announced that Marquez has been activated from the IL. Right-hander Angel Chivilli has been optioned to Double-A to make room for Marquez on the active roster.

July 13: The Rockies are set to activate right-hander German Marquez from the 60-day injured list tomorrow, manager Bud Black told reporters (including Mike Fitzpatrick of The Denver Post) last night. Colorado’s 40-man roster currently stands at 39, meaning the club will only need to make a corresponding active roster move to activate Marquez unless they add another player to the 40-man prior to activating him.

Marquez, 29, made it just four starts into the 2023 season before requiring Tommy John surgery in early May of last year. At the time, the former All Star was a pending free agent, but the sides hammered out a two-year, $20MM extension last September that has allowed Marquez to complete his rehab in a familiar organization and re-establish his value ahead of free agency, which now looms after the 2025 season.

For the Rockies, the move allowed them to retain a player who has shown the rare ability to pitch well while calling Coors Field home. From 2018 to 2021, Marquez posted a 4.22 ERA that was 17% better than average by ERA+ and an even stronger 3.70 FIP across 106 starts for the Rockies. That’s the version of Marquez the club surely hopes they’ll be adding back to their rotation tomorrow, although it’s worth noting that the righty’s 2022 season demonstrated some cause for concern as he posted an eye-popping 6.70 ERA in 16 starts at Coors despite an excellent 3.34 ERA in 15 starts on the road.

Marquez is slated to take the ball tomorrow in a start against the Mets in New York, and is expected to throw between 75 and 90 pitches in his return to the mound. The Rockies, with a dismal 33-62 record this season, will not be factoring into the postseason picture in 2024 regardless of how well the right-hander performs in his return to action. With that being said, it’s at least feasible that a strong start from the righty over the next few weeks could impact the club’s thinking ahead of the trade deadline on July 30. If Marquez can return to the club’s rotation looking healthy and effective, it would add a quality starter to a rotation that could make the club more comfortable dealing away pieces from its rotation.

Earlier this summer, the Rockies were reportedly listening on offers for right-hander Cal Quantrill and lefty Austin Gomber while also receiving interest in righty Ryan Feltner. Quantrill has pitched to solid results in his first season with Colorado, posting 4.13 ERA (110 ERA+) in 19 starts despite a lackluster 4.77 FIP thanks in part to a career-best 46.4% groundball rate. Gomber, meanwhile, has posted a 4.61 ERA that’s essentially league average (99 ERA+) after adjusting for park factors. Feltner has been the least impressive of the three in terms of on-field results with a lackluster 5.02 ERA, although more advanced metrics such as SIERA (4.13) and xERA (4.04) look much more favorably upon him thanks to his microscopic 6.5% walk rate and an ability to limit hard contact.

Dealing any of those controllable players would be tough for a rotation that already has the league’s worst ERA, but if Marquez can prove himself capable of returning to the top of the club’s rotation that would go a long way to helping round out a rotation that already parted ways with right-hander Dakota Hudson earlier this month.

Rockies Place Nolan Jones On 10-Day Injured List

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The Rockies announced that outfielder Nolan Jones has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to a low back strain.  The placement is retroactive to July 12.  With right-hander Tanner Gordon also optioned to Triple-A yesterday, Colorado called up outfielder Sean Bouchard from Triple-A and right-hander Angel Chivilli from Double-A Hartford.

Since Jones was scratched from yesterday’s lineup, it isn’t a surprise to see him head to the IL with what appears to be a recurrence of the same back problem that has already taken a big chunk out of the outfielder’s season.  Jones missed over six weeks in his first IL stint and returned to action almost exactly a month ago.  While Jones’ numbers post-IL stint are better than his rough numbers in April before he was sidelined, he has still produced only a 64 wRC+ from a .202/.311/.313 slash line in 191 total plate appearances.

It has been a big dropoff from the .297/.389/.542 slash line Jones posted over 424 PA last season, as he also marked his first season in Colorado by hitting 20 homers and stealing 20 bases (from 24 attempts).  This production led to a fourth-place finish in NL Rookie of the Year voting for Jones, making him a bright spot in an otherwise rough season for the Rockies, and a potential building block for the future.

This year’s results don’t necessarily change that path since Jones’ back issues have clearly had some impact on his play, but obviously the Rox wanted to see Jones continue to build on his 2023 breakout.  There’s still time for Jones to return from the IL and have a big enough finish to at least end 2024 on a high note, and re-establish himself as less of a question mark heading into next season.

In other Rockies injury news, Kris Bryant is “highly likely” to start a minor league rehab assignment on Friday, manager Bud Black told Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post and other reporters.  Bryant hasn’t played since June 2, as a rib contusion and then an internal oblique strain are the latest health issues to arise during what has been a nightmarish run of injuries during Bryant’s two-plus seasons in Colorado.  After playing in only 42 games in 2022 and then 80 games last season, Bryant has been limited to 24 games this season due to his current IL placement and a previous IL trip due to a lower back strain.

Rockies Outright Dakota Hudson

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Rockies starter Dakota Hudson was outrighted to Triple-A Albuquerque after clearing waivers, reports Thomas Harding of MLB.com (X link). Hudson has the right to elect free agency while retaining his $1.5MM base salary, but Harding suggests the right-hander is likely to report to Albuquerque.

Hudson signed a one-year free agent deal with Colorado after being non-tendered by the Cardinals. Colorado gave him 17 turns through the rotation, but Hudson didn’t manage particularly strong results. He posted a 5.84 earned run average with nearly as many walks as strikeouts. The sinkerballer induced ground-balls at a solid 52.4% clip, but the lack of missed bats didn’t play well at Coors Field.

A former supplemental first-round pick, Hudson had some productive years early in his career with St. Louis. His velocity has trended down over the past few seasons. His sinker is averaging a career-low 90.3 MPH this year. That squeezed Hudson off the roster and likely back to the minors. The Rox could field trade offers on Cal Quantrill and Austin Gomber, potentially opening a rotation spot or two after the deadline.

Rockies Listening To Trade Offers On Elias Diaz

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The Rockies will consider trade offers on catcher Elias Díaz over the next few weeks, writes Jon Heyman of the New York Post. The veteran should slot in behind Danny Jansen as a rental target for contenders seeking catching help.

Impending free agents on last-place teams are frequently trade candidates. Díaz fits the bill, but the Rockies haven’t always been eager to trade rentals even after falling out of contention. Colorado held Trevor Story and Jon Gray at the deadline three years ago. They extended Daniel Bard rather than trading him at the 2022 deadline. The Rox were more aggressive in moving rentals last year, although they still held onto lefty reliever Brent Suter only to watch him walk in free agency.

It’s less likely they’ll do so with Díaz. Heyman reports that the team declined to engage in extension discussions with the 33-year-old catcher. If Colorado isn’t interested in keeping him beyond this season, they’re better off taking the best offer on the table by July 30. Díaz isn’t a qualifying offer candidate, so they wouldn’t get any compensation if they let him depart via free agency.

While the return wouldn’t be huge, Díaz has probably played well enough to net Colorado a mid-level prospect or two. He has career marks in batting average (.296) and on-base percentage (.340). Díaz’s overall .296/.340/.417 batting line is around league average after accounting for Coors Field, as measured by wRC+. That’s more than adequate for a catcher.

An acquiring team probably wouldn’t expect Díaz to match that level of production down the stretch. He’s hitting .347 on balls in play, a mark he’ll have a tough time maintaining. Díaz doesn’t hit the ball especially hard and isn’t going to beat out many infield hits. There’s room for regression while remaining a passable hitter at the position. Catchers around the league are hitting .236/.300/.381 this season.

Perhaps more importantly, Díaz has dramatically improved his defensive grades. For most of his career, the Venezuela native has rated as a subpar pitch framer. That’s not the case in 2024, as Statcast has lauded his receiving skills in more than 400 innings. Díaz has always had a strong arm and been very effective at controlling the running game. He’s doing so again, cutting down 14 of 45 stolen base attempts (31.1%). That’s well better than the 22.1% league average.

Díaz is in the final season of a three-year extension that he signed during the 2021-22 offseason. He’s playing on a $6MM salary. There’s a little less than $2.6MM remaining on that tab. That’ll be down to around $2MM by the deadline. Díaz’s contract shouldn’t be too much of an impediment to a trade. Some teams are reluctant to trade for catchers midseason because of the challenges of quickly adjusting to a new pitching staff, but Díaz could work as part of a timeshare with an in-house catcher.

The Cubs and Rays are fringe contenders but could look for catching help if they stick in the playoff mix. Díaz’s former team in Pittsburgh hasn’t gotten much from the position, while the Mariners may look for a better backup behind Cal Raleigh to keep Mitch Garver working primarily at designated hitter.

Díaz and Jacob Stallings are the only true catchers on Colorado’s 40-man roster (though Hunter Goodman can play there in a pinch). They’re each impending free agents, and Stallings has also played well enough to be viable trade candidate.

A trade of one or both veterans could open some late-season reps for Drew Romo. The 35th overall pick in the 2020 draft, Romo is hitting .300/.331/.494 in 66 games with Albuquerque. Colorado will need to select his contract by November to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft. They could take the final few weeks of the regular season to give the 22-year-old his first look against MLB arms.

Rockies Designate Dakota Hudson For Assignment

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The Rockies announced this morning that they’ve designated right-hander Dakota Hudson for assignment. The move clears a space on the active roster for right-hander Tanner Gordon, whose contract selection was previously reported ahead of his start against the Royals this afternoon. Colorado’s 40-man roster stands at 39.

Hudson, 30 in September, was non-tendered by the Cardinals back in November but signed with the Rockies on a one-year deal in early January. A first-round pick by St. Louis back in 2016, he made his big league debut with the club in 2018 and looked to be an impressive young arm and enjoyed notable success early in his career with a 3.17 ERA that was 31% better than league average in 241 innings of work during his first three years in the majors. Despite that success, there were some red flags evident in Hudson’s profile has he struck out just 18.1% of batters faced and walked 11.6%, leaving him with a lackluster 4.74 FIP. Hudson’s ability to generate grounders was his most valuable tool, and his 57.3% groundball rate during that period led all qualified major league hurlers.

Tommy John surgery wiped out almost all of Hudson’s 2021 campaign, and upon his return Hudson was unable to garner the same impressive results he had posted earlier in his career. In 221 innings of work with the Cardinals during the 2022 and 2023 seasons, Hudson struggled to a below-average 4.64 ERA with a nearly matching 4.60 FIP. He walked 10% of batters while striking out a meager 12.9% of his opponents, and with the results now matching the peripherals St. Louis opted to part ways with the righty rather than tender him a contract this year.

That led him to Colorado, and Hudson ultimately made 17 starts for the Rockies this year, pitching 86 1/3 innings. The results of those outings were nothing short of brutal. The right-hander’s ERA ballooned to 5.84 this year as he walked (11.8%) nearly as many batters has he struck out (12.3%) in 86 1/3 innings of work. While Hudson’s 52.4% grounder rate this year was still elite, that figure is a far cry from the aforementioned 57.3% rate that he posted prior to his surgery. Given the ghastly results and his overall diminished profile, it’s not necessarily a surprise that the Rockies have decided to pull the plug on Hudson’s tenure with the club. They’ll now have one week to either attempt to work out a trade for Hudson’s services or pass him through waivers, although the righty has enough service time that he would have the opportunity to reject an outright assignment should he clear waivers.

Rockies To Select Tanner Gordon

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The Rockies are selecting the contract of right-hander Tanner Gordon, according to Luke Zahlmann of the Denver Gazette. Gordon will start the club’s game against the Royals this afternoon in what will be his MLB debut. The Rockies will need to make a corresponding to make room for Gordon on the active roster, but a 40-man roster move won’t be necessary thanks to the open space the club has after Elehuris Montero was designated for assignment last week.

Gordon, 26, was a sixth-round pick by the Braves in the 2019 draft who joined the Rockies as part of the Pierce Johnson trade last summer alongside righty Victor Vodnik. Gordon was struggling badly at the Triple-A level for Atlanta at the time of the trade, with an 8.28 ERA in 29 1/3 innings of work, but looked much better across six starts at the level with Colorado. In those 31 1/3 frames of work, Gordon posted a 4.31 ERA while striking out 24.1% of batters faced and walking 7.1%.

Those solid results offered reason for optimism that Gordon could contribute in the majors sometime in 2024, but the Rockies nonetheless chose to leave the righty off their 40-man roster over the winter. Fortunately for them, Gordon was not selected in the Rule 5 Draft back in December and reported back to Triple-A for the 2024 campaign. The righty’s seven starts this year have not been quite as fruitful as his time in the organization last season. In 33 2/3 innings of work at Triple-A this year, Gordon has struggled to a 5.35 ERA while striking out a noticeably reduced 18.5% of batters faced. While his 5.5% walk rate is impressive, Gordon’s dip in strikeouts and subsequently lessened production are both cause for concern.

Those potential issues won’t stop the Rockies from giving Gordon a taste of the big league level in a spot start today, however. The righty’s first assignment in the majors will be a fairly tough one, as he’ll be matched up against a Royals club that has surged into surprise contention this year while pitching his first game at Coors Field. Gordon will be taking the ball in place of right-hander Ryan Feltner, who was scheduled to start today. It’s not currently clear if Gordon is simply making a spot start to afford the club’s regular starters additional rest or if he’s going to be a more permanent fixture in the club’s rotation, though with rumors swirling around Feltner, Cal Quantrill, and Austin Gomber it’s possible a trade could open up a more permanent spot in the rotation for Gordon in the coming weeks.

Rockies Outright Elehuris Montero

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The Rockies announced that infielder Elehuris Montero has cleared waivers and been sent outright to Triple-A Albuquerque. He’ll stay in the organization as depth but without taking up a spot on the 40-man roster.

Montero, now 25, came over to the Rockies in the ill-fated 2021 trade that sent Nolan Arenado to the Cardinals. Montero had always hit well in the Cards’ system and the Rockies were surely hoping he would continue to do so after bringing him to their organization.

Since the deal, he has continued hitting minor league pitching but struggled badly in the majors. From 2021 to 2023, he slashed .302/.379/.565 in 960 plate appearances down on the farm. But in his 492 big league plate appearances in that same time frame, he produced a line of .239/.283/.428, leading to a wRC+ of just 77. He struck out in 34.8% of his plate appearances while walking just 4.7% of the time.

He exhausted his three option years in that stretch, leaving him out of options here in 2024. He cut his strikeout rate to 22.7% but didn’t do much damage when putting the ball in play, leading to a line of .205/.267/.304 and a 48 wRC+. Montero isn’t considered a strong defender at either corner infield spot, so the lack of offense became untenable and the Rockies designated him for assignment a few days ago. Any of the 29 other clubs could have taken a shot on him by grabbing him off waivers but they all passed.

Since this is his first outright and he has less than three years of service time, Montero doesn’t have the right to reject this assignment. He’ll report to Albuquerque and look to get back in good form. If he doesn’t get added back to the roster by season’s end, he’ll qualify for minor league free agency.

Rockies Will Listen To Offers On Cal Quantrill, Austin Gomber

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The Rockies have a reputation for hanging onto — and at times extending — veterans who would be likely trade candidates with other organizations. In recent years, they’ve declined to trade Trevor Story, Jon Gray, Daniel Bard, C.J. Cron, Brent Suter and others despite sitting near the bottom of the standings in the National League. (Bard and Cron were signed to ill-fated extensions.) Various reports have already indicated that the Rockies have zero inclination to listen to trade scenarios involving third baseman Ryan McMahon, but Will Sammon, Katie Woo and Patrick Mooney of The Athletic report that Colorado decision-makers “plan to consider” offers for some players who are controlled beyond the current season.

Right-hander Cal Quantrill and lefty Austin Gomber are the two most obvious trade candidates on the staff, and the team will indeed consider offers on each, per the report. Both are in their second season of arbitration eligibility, with Quantrill earning a $6.55MM salary and Gomber being paid just shy of half that at $3.15MM. Both are controlled through the 2025 season and are slated to become free agents in the 2025-26 offseason.

Of the two, the 29-year-old Quantrill likely has more value despite being the pricier arm. He’s posted a team-high 95 1/3 innings in 2024 and recorded a 3.78 ERA on the back of an 18% strikeout rate, 8.5% walk rate, 46.9% grounder rate and 1.13 HR/9. It’s been a nice rebound effort for Quantrill in a tough setting for any pitcher. The former No. 8 overall draft pick was torched for a 5.24 ERA last season in an injury-shortened year with the Guardians but is now in the midst of his third season of solid results in a big league rotation. Quantrill also pitched to a combined 3.16 ERA in 336 innings with Cleveland in 2021-22, showing the same blend of sub-par strikeout rates with an aversion to hard contact.

Quantrill isn’t without his flaws. His 18% strikeout rate is worse than the league-average, but right in line with his career 17.8% mark. He’s never missed bats at a high level, and his command is more good than great. Similarly, while he uses a sinker as his primary offering, his ground-ball rates are typically a bit above average but far from elite. Quantrill has in the past featured a changeup — he’s largely moved away from the pitch this season — but it hasn’t kept lefties in check as much as hoped when the pitch received plus grades back to his prospect days. Lefties have a career .241/.318/.404 slash against him, while righties are at a comparable .266/.313/.400. He’s been hittable by all opponents but also not overexposed in platoon settings.

Gomber, 30, has pitched 87 2/3 innings this season and turned in a 4.72 ERA. That number has climbed by nearly two runs since the calendar turned to June. At the end of May, Gomber was sporting a tidy 2.76 earned run average, but he’s been blasted for 28 earned runs with an 18-to-7 K/BB ratio over his past 29 frames, dating back to June 2.

Rough patches of this sort are all too familiar for the Rockies and Gomber, who came to Denver as part of the regrettable Nolan Arenado trade with St. Louis. The former fourth-round pick is second (to Kyle Freeland) on the Rockies in innings pitched dating back to his acquisition, having piled up 466 2/3 frames over 99 appearances (83 starts). He’s posted a tepid 5.13 ERA in that time and actually generated slightly better results at Coors Field (4.96 ERA) than on the road (5.31 ERA). Look back through Gomber’s month-to-month splits in any given season, and there’s typically a month or two like his April/May run in 2024, but they’re largely offset by pronounced struggles that mirror his current slump.

Gomber punched out a solid 23.2% of his opponents in his first season with the Rox, but he’s at 16.1% this year and has seen the average velocity on his fastball drop from 91.6 mph in ’21 to 90.3 mph this season, per Statcast. He’s also scaled back the usage of his slider in favor of more curveballs and changeups. Back in 2021, Statcast credited his slider with a hearty 35% whiff rate, but the pitch is down to 17.7% this season and has been hit increasingly hard over the past couple seasons, so it’s not a huge surprise to see him moving away from it.

While neither Quantrill nor Gomber would fetch the type of haul that would seismically improve the Colorado farm system, both should generate interest. That’s true not only due to their relatively affordable salaries and extra year of club control, but also due to the simple lack of alternatives on the market for teams seeking rotation help. Quantrill is a borderline playoff starter at best, and Gomber is likely seen as more of a fifth starter who can help eat innings before sliding into a bullpen role in the playoffs. For some clubs, that type of stability is all they’re seeking.

It’s far from a given that the Rockies will ultimately move either pitcher. Quantrill has spoken positively about the experience of pitching in Colorado and at Coors Field specifically. He’s exceeded expectations since being acquired from Cleveland and, historically speaking, is the type of veteran the Rockies have looked to sign for multiple years rather than trade. Their ostensible willingness to listen to offers on him would be something of a change of pace but arguably a welcome one for a club that has at multiple times passed on trade opportunities that would’ve bolstered their minor league system only to eventually lose said players for no return at all when they become free agents. Whether either pitcher drums up enough interest to warrant an offer that convinces the Rockies to move remains an open question, though.

Colorado does have other arms that are controlled/signed beyond the current season, though most are performing poorly. Dakota Hudson has an ERA just shy of 6.00 with nearly as many walks as strikeouts. He’s arbitration-eligible this winter. Kyle Freeland is signed through 2026 and will earn $16MM in each of the next two seasons. In a healthy season, he might’ve drawn interest, but he only returned from the 60-day IL a couple weeks back after a lengthy stint due to an elbow strain. He’s looked sharp since returning (two runs in 12 2/3 innings) but was clobbered for a 13.21 ERA in four starts prior to his IL trip.

The Athletic also cites righty Ryan Feltner as a name who could draw interest despite an ugly 5.60 ERA of his own. There’s some sense to that as a potential buy-low candidate. Feltner averages 95 mph on his heater and has turned in a career-low 6.2% walk rate in this year’s 91 2/3 innings. His 19.3% strikeout rate is below average by a couple percentage points, but his 10.5% swinging-strike rate isn’t far from par and he has solid spin rates on his breaking pitches.

Feltner, 27, will be arb-eligible as a Super Two player this offseason. He’s controllable for four more seasons and has a pair of minor league options remaining. A contending club might not want to plug him directly into their rotation — particularly if said team is in a tightly contested division/Wild Card race. Other clubs looking to 2025 and beyond — or perhaps those with comfortable division leads but still needing some rotation depth — could view him as a longer-term project with good raw stuff who could benefit from a change of scenery.

Rockies Designate Elehuris Montero, Reinstate Elias Diaz From 10-Day IL

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The Rockies announced that first baseman Elehuris Montero has been designated for assignment.  The move opens space for the return of catcher Elias Diaz, who has been activated from the 10-day injured list after missing just short of three weeks due to a strained left calf.

Montero was one of five players Colorado obtained from the Cardinals in the Nolan Arenado trade in February 2021, and was arguably the highest-profile name of the group, considering how Montero drew some top-100 prospect buzz from Baseball America prior to the 2019 season.  His star has already started to dim after a lackluster showing at Double-A ball in 2019, and he missed a year of development when the pandemic shut down the 2020 minor league season, yet Montero emerged from that hiatus with a big performance at Triple-A Albuquerque in 2021.

More minor league success in 2022 paved the way for Montero’s MLB debut that season, but the production simply hasn’t come over Montero’s three seasons in Colorado.  After hitting .239/.283/.428 over 492 plate appearances in 2022-23, Montero’s numbers have cratered even further this year, as he has only a .206/.268/.305 slash line in 246 PA.  Among all players with at least 240 plate appearances in 2024, Montero ranks last in all of baseball in both wRC+ (48) and fWAR (-1.8).

Even though the Montero has improved his walk rate and drastically cut back on the strikeouts that plagued him over his first two big league seasons, he is still making contact at a below-average rate.  Montero also doesn’t provide much value on the basepaths or in the field, as his glovework has been subpar as both a third baseman and first baseman.

Kris Bryant’s injuries opened the door for Montero to receive pretty regular playing time at first base this season, but this might have essentially served as his last chance to prove himself as a part of the Rockies’ future.  Michael Toglia has already seemingly moved into the starting first base job, and with Charlie Blackmon and now Diaz both back from the IL, the roster was getting too crowded for the Rox to keep giving at-bats to a player going through such extreme struggles as Montero.

Since Montero is out of minor league options, however, a new team would have to either give Montero playing time at the big league level, or else DFA him again in order to potentially send him to Triple-A.  If Montero clears waivers, the Rockies might part ways entirely with a release, or option him to Triple-A after outrighting him off the 40-man roster.

Diaz was hitting .303/.352/.439 with five home runs in 216 PA at the time of his injury, and it is good news that the catcher is able to return in relatively short order.  Since Diaz is a free agent after the season, he stands out as a logical candidate to be moved at the trade deadline, though the Rox could have designs on trying to sign the catcher to another extension.

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