Rockies infielder Thairo Estrada has a broken right wrist, suffered after being hit by a pitch yesterday, and will miss four to eight weeks. Manager Bud Black passed the information on to reporters, including Bob Nightengale of USA Today and Thomas Harding of MLB.com.
Estrada, 29, was set to be the club’s regular second baseman. They had Brendan Rodgers in that job for much of the past few seasons but non-tendered him after 2024. They signed Estrada to fill that opening, giving him a one-year, $3.25MM deal.
While he was coming off a down year, Estrada had a strong three-year run with the Giants prior to that. Over the 2021 to 2023 seasons, Estrada slashed .266/.320/.416 for a wRC+ of 105. He was mostly at the keystone in that time but also had enough versatility to play shortstop, third base and the outfield on occasion. He stole at least 21 bases in both 2022 and 2023.
But as mentioned, last year didn’t go well. He made multiple trips to the injured list due to left wrist sprains and hit .217/.247/.343 for a 64 wRC+. The Giants outrighted him off the roster at the end of August.
He and the Rockies were surely hoping he could bounce back in 2025 and he looked good in camp. He put up a line of .400/.421/.457 in 38 Cactus League plate appearances. Unfortunately, whatever momentum he was building for the regular season will now be put on hold for an extended stretch. Wrist problems are often tough to come back from, being obviously important for hitting. Estrada had left wrist problems last year and now has a broken right wrist, so it’s anyone’s guess what he’ll look like a few weeks from now.
With the schedule set to begin in a week, the Rockies will have to decide how to proceed. Harding reports that the first priority will be to try Kyle Farmer at second. Farmer also got a $3.25MM deal from the Rockies this winter, though he’s more of a glove-first player. He has hit .252/.313/.396 for a wRC+ of 93 over the past four years but with strong glovework at all four infield spots and the occasional appearance in left field.
Farmer was previously slated to serve in a multi-positional infield role. If he slides in as the regular second baseman, they will need to find another infielder for the bench. They only have four other regular infielders on the 40-man roster. Ryan McMahon is the regular third baseman, with Ezequiel Tovar at short. Michael Toglia will be in the first base job. Adael Amador is one of the club’s best prospects and has made a brief MLB debut, but he’s not yet 22 years old and hasn’t yet played at the Triple-A level. Greg Jones has some infield experience but played more in the outfield last year. Owen Miller isn’t on the roster but a non-roster depth option.
Nightengale suggests they could look to the open market, naming Nicky Lopez and Garrett Hampson as possibilities. Lopez was released by the Cubs today. Hampson has triggered an opt-out in his deal with the Diamondbacks, but they could add him to their roster this weekend. Players like Nick Ahmed and Jose Iglesias also have opt-outs in the coming days.
Photo courtesy Mark J. Rebilas, Imagn Images
Did not realize he was rockie
Rocky? Rockie?
Balboa
Really a shame. One of the few smart moves the Rockies have made in recent years and a guy who busts his ass every game. I hope he recovers quickly and goes on to have a terrific season.
Who hit him?
A baseball
If you can’t pitch inside without hitting batters, then don’t pitch inside. The batters are out for months while the offending pitcher gets to continue.
In many cases, being out for months can cost a guy his job, although I’m not suggesting that is the case with Thairo Estrada.
Silly
“Silly”…It’s pretty much the same concept of: if you can’t drive a car without damaging people or property then don’t drive a car.
We need an inquisition into this matter
Looks like it was Rocker just got done beaning Tatis in the head a few days ago.
mlb fan: I agree that the offending P should have to sit out for as long as the hitter is. Pitching inside has always been part of the game but now some of them are throwing 95-100+ mph. Hard to get out of the way at that speed.
“Offending pitcher should have to sit”…Obviously, I’m not talking ZERO tolerance for pitchers. Some level of HBP is unavoidable, but they need to be minimized.
An acceptable level of hbp(a standard)should be implemented and anything beyond that should have consequences for the offending pitcher.
I’m tired of seeing my favorite players out for half a season due to hbp and broken digits. And then, when they come back they’re not the same after breaking their hand, finger etc…
Bummer.
More like ThairOWW
Pitchers basically throw as if they’re blindfolded these days
Pitch as fast & hard as you can
Who cares where it lands
… what?
This isn’t true. The rate of pitches in the zone in 2008-2010 was 48.9%. It’s actually gone up slightly, as over the last 3 seasons to 49.1%. Meanwhile, the average walk rate the last 3 MLB seasons is 8.3%, compared to 8.9% during the first 3 seasons of the 2000s (2000-2002).
What about the HBP rates?
It went from 0.92% in 2000-2002 to 1.1% over the last 3 seasons. Overall, none of the in-zone pitch rates, HBP rates, or walk rates have risen or fallen by 1% or greater, which to me, says pitchers aren’t just chucking it without any idea where it’s going, at least not any more or less than in the early-2000s, or when pitch tracking became a thing in 2008.
The slight uptick in HBP rates could well be due to more batters crowding the plate. Anthony Rizzo as a prime example.
It’s nice to see someone using facts here instead of wild speculation
Bummer. I have a soft spot for players I saw play in the minors. Thairo and McKinney (also the subject of an article today) were both in AA for the Yankees in 2017.
HOW MANY TIMES HAS THIS HAPPENED IN JUST SPRING TRAINING??
The pitcher who throws a pitch that strikes a batter and results in a lost time injury for that batter should be immediately be suspended and remain do until such time that the injured player is able to resume contributing to his team at the Major League Level. This antiquated, one sided aspect of HBP with one team losing a player while the pitcher’s team just shrugs and gets by with, OOPS, S-O-R-R-Y, well that’s just part of the game. MUST STOP. MLB needs to take action. Fans should insist. Players are being hurt, lives are affected, careers are being threatened.
lol no.
Hahahaha. You win Clown of the Day.
Sad day. Dude will always be liked in SF. Get well soon Thairo!
Bummer. Was looking forward to him showing the giants they were wrong. Hope he bounces back soon.
All Willie Mac award winners are FOREVER GIANT
He was having a good spring trading and I was looking forward to seeing what he would do in that park.
That sucks. Estrada is a good player. Was hoping he’d rebound this season.
Nicky Lopez, come on down…
I remember when Yaz got hit in the hand day before the 2021 season. It worked out OK for everyone.
Bummer for Thairo. Giants previous FO did him wrong, he’s a good player when healthy.
The injury-prone player is no longer seen merely as a risk, but as an affordable asset that fits into a flexible, adaptive roster structure where depth and multi-positional players are the true keys to success.
How do I change my response to yesterday’s poll on who will win the NL WEST?