The Rockies announced that four players — infielders Josh Fuentes and Rio Ruiz and right-handers Yency Almonte and Tommy Doyle — have cleared waivers and been assigned outright to Triple-A Albuquerque. The moves bring Colorado’s 40-man roster tally down to 35, although the Rox will have to reinstate four players from the 60-day injured list before the start of the offseason.
Fuentes has appeared in the majors in each of the last three seasons, garnering his most significant playing time in 2021. The 28-year-old tallied 284 trips to the plate this year, but he hit just .225/.257/.351 with seven homers despite playing his home games at Coors Field. Fuentes hasn’t performed well at the big league level, but he’s a career .291/.329/.489 hitter over parts of three years at Triple-A.
Ruiz, 27, was once a fairly well-regarded prospect. He’s gotten to the majors in each of the last six years but has never hit at a particularly high level. The left-handed hitter got regular run with the Orioles from 2019-21, opening this past season as Baltimore’s starting second baseman. But he managed just a .220/.292/.380 line with the O’s before being let go.
Colorado claimed Ruiz off waivers in May, and he stuck on the 40-man roster for the entire season. He only picked up 40 big league plate appearances, spending most of his time in Albuquerque. Ruiz is a .270/.337/.423 hitter in parts of five Triple-A campaigns, including a .304/.361/.496 mark with the Isotopes this past season.
Almonte, also 27, has pitched for Colorado in each of the last four years. He worked to a 2.93 ERA with a huge 56.3% ground-ball rate in 27 2/3 innings in 2020, but the wheels fell off this year. Over 47 2/3 frames, Almonte managed just a 7.55 ERA with worse than average strikeout (21.7%), walk (13.4%) and grounder (41.9%) percentages.
Doyle made his MLB debut in 2020, getting a three-game cameo. He didn’t pitch in the big leagues this past season, instead spending almost the entire year on the minor league injured list. The 25-year-old still has just 11 2/3 innings above A-ball in his professional career — 2 1/3 MLB frames in 2020 and 9 1/3 innings with Double-A Hartford in 2021.
Fuentes, Ruiz and Almonte have all appeared in seven-plus minor league seasons. They’ll all qualify for minor league free agency this winter, assuming the Rockies don’t pivot and reselect them back onto the 40-man. Doyle does not have the requisite service time to reject an outright assignment, so he’ll stick in the organization. He’ll presumably get a Spring Training invitation in 2022 and look to pitch his way back onto the roster.
Almonte was a warm body that was cold to the touch.
I dated a girl like that once.
I married a girl like that once.
I hope the Rockies pick up a decent shortstop and outfielder this off-season. Zac Veen and Brenton Doyle won’t be ready before 2023. Raimel is good but not great, Charlie in decline, and Sam is at best a backup.
I read that the Rox might be interested in Schwarber. Could be a fun fit. Could be a frustrating adventure watching him in the Coors OF. Personally, I would rather see them find a speedy OF like Odubel Herrera or Billy Hamilton. I have always wanted to see Hamilton in the Coors OF.
As far as SS goes, I think it is going to Rodgers with McMahon at second or third and probably Welker in the infield mix also. If it was me, I would put McMahon at third and leave him alone. Put Rodgers at second and leave him there. The I would sign someone like Andrelton Simmons or Jose Iglesias to play short. for a couple years. Then you see if Rodgers is a long term solution there or if you need another plan.
Hamilton? Seriously? You can have him. Who else wants him? He can’t hit. He doesn’t get on base.
His outfield defense in the massive Coors OF could save far more runs than a different outfielder could drive in offensively.
When you put together a baseball lineup, not everyone has to be an on base machine. It just cannot happen unless you have the money of the Dodgers and then some. The key is building the line up in such a way to enhance the strengths of your team and hide the weaknesses.
Rio Ruiz is a left handed hitter, not a righty
Whoops, crossed his description with Fuentes’. Thanks for the heads up, post has been fixed!
NPB/KBO might give Ruiz a shot.