3:31PM: Gray has been placed on the 10-day IL with a right flexor strain, the Rockies announced. Right-hander Jordan Sheffield is also headed to the 10-day injured list due to a right lat strain. Left-handers Ben Bowden and Lucas Gilbreath have been called up from Triple-A to fill the roster spots.
8:29AM: Rockies right-hander Jon Gray left Friday’s game after 2 1/3 innings due to what manager Bud Black described as right elbow soreness and tightness in Gray’s forearm. Gray was charged with five runs in the abbreviated outing, with the injury clearly a factor.
“When I spoke to Jon, he indicated that his soreness impacted his pitching,” Black told The Denver Post’s Patrick Saunders and other reporters. “I don’t think he felt it on every pitch. It started to tighten as the game went on. That’s when we noticed the variability with his pitch-making and with his mannerisms.”
In the bigger picture, any sort of forearm or elbow issue is naturally a major concern for a pitcher. It seems likely that Gray will miss at least one start for precautionary reasons if nothing else due to the nature of the injury, and a trip to the injured list shouldn’t be ruled out until Gray undergoes further testing and medical examination. Gray has generally avoided any major arm injuries over the years, apart from the shoulder inflammation that prematurely ended his 2020 season in early September.
While it’s too early to ring the alarm on a potential Tommy John surgery, an injury that sidelines Gray for any noteworthy amount of time will have some ramifications on both his future and the Rockies’ trade deadline plans. In the opinion of MLBTR’s Steve Adams, Gray is nothing less than the top trade candidate in baseball at this point in the season, owing to Colorado’s spot near the bottom of the standings, Gray’s decent numbers through 63 innings, and the righty’s impending free agent status.
An IL stint of anything more than a month or so would throw a wrench into Gray’s trade value, or perhaps prevent a deal altogether if teams are concerned about Gray’s arm. Similarly, Gray’s ability to score a lucrative multi-year deal in free agency this winter could be hampered, perhaps to the point where he’d have to settle for a one-year deal.
Gray had been inconsistent in the three starts prior to last night’s injury-shortened appearance, and for the season, he has posted a 4.29 ERA/4.72 SIERA over 63 innings. His 18.5% strikeout rate and 10% walk rate are both below average, but Gray’s overall Statcast outlook is not bad, and his 52.4% grounder rate is a career high. Though Gray has been much better at Coors Field than on the road this season, he has some value as a potential change-of-scenery candidate who could perhaps thrive in a more normal pitching environment than the thin air of Colorado.
RIP he was so young
Here we go again
Depending on what side you’re on, better before the trade deadline than after it.
This guy is near the top of the MLB Trade Rumors list of potential mid-season trade candidates. How does this injury affect his appeal?
It depends on the severity. Little impact if only misses a start or two and returns healthy. Massive impact if he has a significant arm injury.
My analytic analysis reports say “It’s not good, chief.”
Technically, it has no impact, since the Rox strategy is to hold onto guys until they become worthless. Theoretically, one would think Gray would be traded, but if they didn’t trade him last year, or during the off-season, I doubt they have any intention of trading him now.
The Rockies had two of the better trade chips in the off-season with Gray and Story. Now their value is mostly gone. The only remaining chip is Marquez, and they will hold onto him until he gets injured or declines.
There is absolutely no one in charge in CO.
Not just these players either. They ended up doing the same thing with Arenado and Tulo also. They seem to hold on to all of their valuable assets too long.
Not that he’ll return premium trade chips, but Ryan McMahon is having a decent year – free agent in 2024
….and then I looked at those home/away splits
Nevermind. smh
Rockies are so mismanaged. They should have blown
it up already.
So let’s reward them with an All-Star Game.
Sorry, but they should have given it to LAD since they couldn’t have it last year there.
Or just left it in Atl. *sips Coke
Rockies should have unloaded him this offseason anyway. They should have cashed in on EVERYONE.
He was coming off a terrible 2020.
Good, well not for the pitcher of course. But at least some teams fanbase won’t have to strain their brains convincing one another how Jon Gray is going to do a damn thing for their success beyond eat some innings.
I mean a 4.72 SIERA in 2021 mine as well be a 6.00 any other year.
It’s not just raining or pouring on the Rockies. It’s a hurricane of bad luck.
The best they can hope for is to shut him down and let the swelling calm down. But if there’s a tear or sign of damage to the UCL or elbow his trade value is all but gone.
They need to trade Story before he gets hurt and push the reset button on the team.
The Rox would be more open to trading Story now if the ASG wasn’t being held in Colorado this year.
But you’re right, the sooner the better for obvious reasons.
Why not test the rule of having every team represented with an all-star and see how bad they could be? I’m guessing Blackmon if Story wasn’t a Rocky.
McMahon.
davemlaw6 hours ago
They need to trade Story before he gets hurt and push the reset button on the team.
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Story is already hurt, and has a 0.5 fWAR. While the Rays were trading away Snell for a king’s ransom, and Cleveland trading away Lindor and Clevinger, and the RS trading away Betts, etc., The Rox just sat there and watched their talent walk away, and they did nothing.
Years ago, MLBTR had a consultant put together a model for TJS. Is it still maintained?
One team that SHOULD be contacting COL in the next few weeks is CLE. They just cut Jake Bauers loose and called up Bobby Bradley who is a strikeout machine. I give them about 3 weeks before they check in on CJ Cron and Greg Bird.
Matt Adams should also be available for that niche, but Cron has been hitting better so far this year.
We talk about #lolMets. That ain’t got nothing on #lolRockies
Just a pathetic mess in Colorado. And the last I looked, they were still packing in 33,000+ pre-Covid, and the TV ratings were strong. Like the Tigers, just no excuse for any of it at all.