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Rockies Designate Cole Tucker For Assignment

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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.

Rockies Place Daniel Bard On 15-Day IL, Activate Chase Anderson

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The Rockies announced that right-hander Daniel Bard was placed on the 15-day injured list (retroactive to September 2) due to fatigue in his throwing forearm.  Bard’s spot on the active roster will be taken by Chase Anderson, who was activated from the 15-day IL and will start today’s game against the Blue Jays.

There isn’t yet any word on whether Bard’s forearm issue is serious or simply precautionary, though the “fatigue” wording seems to indicate the latter.  Nevertheless, given that it’s already September and that the Rockies are out of contention, it is quite possible the team might shut Bard down for the remainder of the season.

It has been a difficult year on and off the field for Bard, as he missed the first few weeks of the season due to anxiety issues.  While he was thankfully able to return to the mound, his numbers took a big dropoff from his excellent 2022 performance.  Bard has a 4.70 ERA, 19.9% strikeout rate, and a whopping 20.8% walk rate over 46 innings this year, with that walk rate standing out as the highest in baseball for any hurler with at least 40 innings pitched.

As of July 25, Bard still had a 2.02 ERA, but a 13.94 ERA over his next 10 1/3 innings threw his season-long numbers into disarray.  This includes seven earned runs over his last two outings, which could be explained by the forearm problem.

Anderson hasn’t pitched since July 22 due to shoulder inflammation, and the veteran righty will now get back on the mound to try and salvage a strong finish to an underwhelming season.  One of many Colorado pitchers to struggle in 2023, Anderson has a 6.63 ERA over 55 2/3 innings since being claimed off waivers from the Rays in May.

Rockies Outright Justin Bruihl

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The Rockies have sent left-hander Justin Bruihl outright to Triple-A Albuquerque, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. That indicates he cleared waivers after being designated for assignment last week.

Bruihl, 26, made seven appearances for the Rockies this month after being acquired from the Dodgers in a cash deal. Unfortunately, he allowed six earned runs in his 3 2/3 innings in that time. An incredibly low 12.5% strand rate surely distorted his 14.73 ERA in that small sample, but he quickly lost his roster spot nonetheless.

He could have perhaps garnered interest based on his longer track record with the Dodgers, having had a 3.65 ERA with that club from 2021 to the present season. However, he only struck out 15.6% of batters faced in that time, with a .263 batting average on balls in play and 74.8% strand rate helping him out. ERA estimators like his 4.48 FIP and 4.62 SIERA suggested he may have had some luck helping him keep a few extra runs off the board.

No other club put in a claim, so Bruihl will stay in the Rockies’ organization as non-roster depth. He doesn’t have three years of service time or a previous career outright, meaning he won’t have the right to reject this assignment in favor of free agency. He’ll therefore head to Albuquerque and look to work his way back to the majors.

Rockies Release Jurickson Profar

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The Rockies have released outfielder Jurickson Profar, The Denver Post’s Patrick Saunders reports (X link).  Profar’s spot on the roster will be taken by prospect Hunter Goodman, whose contract has been selected from Triple-A.  Goodman’s impending big league promotion was first reported yesterday by the Blake Street Banter X feed.

Profar’s tenure in the Mile High City ends after 111 games, 472 plate appearances, and a disappointing .236/.316/.364 slash line.  Only three qualified hitters have a lower wRC+ in 2023 than Profar’s 72 wRC+, and his -1.9 fWAR is the lowest of any qualified hitter in baseball.  It wasn’t at all what Profar or the Rockies were hoping when they agreed to a one-year, $7.75MM free agent deal back in March, and Colorado has now chosen to part ways with Profar entirely in order to open up more time for younger players.

Today’s news will again put a spotlight on Profar’s decision to enter the free agent market last winter, as he opted out of the final year of his previous contract with the Padres in search of a longer-term and more lucrative pact.  However, the market didn’t deliver such a deal, and Profar ended up having to wait until the middle of March to sign with Colorado.  Between his Rockies salary and the $1MM buyout he received from opting out, Profar ended up making a bit more money than if he’d just remained in his Padres contract for a $7.5MM salary for the 2023 season, yet it is hard to view the situation as a win given Profar’s season-long struggles.

The long wait in free agency likely contributed to those struggles, as Profar didn’t really have much of a Spring Training, though he did get some high-level competition while playing for the Netherlands during the World Baseball Classic.  Rockies manager Bud Black also recently said that Profar had been “been battling that [left] knee for a little,” so it possible this nagging injury might have been a factor in Profar’s lack of production.

Of course, there’s no guarantee that Profar’s 2023 fortunes might have been different if he’d stayed in San Diego, had a full spring, or stayed healthy.  Given the up-and-down nature of Profar’s career, his dropoff this season can’t be viewed as a total surprise, as Profar’s last six seasons have alternated positive wRC+ numbers to below-average offensive production.  His solid work with the Padres in the shortened 2020 season led to his re-signing with the club on a three-year, $21MM free agent deal that winter, though Profar again didn’t hit well in 2021, which led him to decline his first opt-out opportunity in the 2021-22 offeason.  He then bounced back to hit .243/.331/.391 over 658 PA in 2022, translating to an 111 wRC+ and 2.6 fWAR, and giving Profar the confidence to test the open market again.

With this in mind, Profar might well rebound for another good year in 2024, though it is possible he might be able to catch on with another club before this season is out.  Despite his rough numbers this year, his track record of success as recently as 2022 and his past status as an elite prospect might still catch the attention of a club in need of outfield depth.  Signing Profar would cost a team only a prorated minimum salary, as the Rockies are on the hook for the remainder of the $7.75MM owed.

Goodman is set to make his MLB debut today, suiting up at catcher in Colorado’s lineup.  The 23-year-old has an interesting defensive skillset, as he has seen plenty of time as a catcher, first baseman, and left fielder over his three professional seasons.  However, Goodman’s power bat is what punched his ticket to the majors, as he is hitting .259/.338/.581 with 34 homers over 467 combined PA at Double-A and Triple-A.  Goodman has only 15 games and 67 PA under his belt with Triple-A Albuquerque, but he has a 1.321 OPS over his brief stint with the Rockies’ top affiliate.

A fourth-round pick for the Rox in the 2021 draft, Goodman is ranked 10th by Baseball America and 12th by MLB Pipeline in their listings of Colorado’s best prospects.  There is no doubt about his power potential, as BA’s scouting report gives him a 70-grade in power and notes that Goodman “produces big-time bat speed with a violent, leveraged swing.”  This pop has helped Goodman be very productive at the plate despite a relatively lacking average and OBP, as he still need more overall polish to his approach.  Defensively, Goodman can play multiple positions but he might top out at average whenever he lines up on the diamond.

With the Rockies well out of contention, the team has looked to several youngsters early in their big league careers in order to get a head start on evaluations heading into 2024.  If Goodman can hit well in his first trip to the Show, he’ll earn consideration as an interesting bench or part-time option heading into next season, as he wouldn’t be relegated to only backup duty behind starting catcher Elias Diaz.

Rockies, Charlie Blackmon Have Mutual Interest In New Contract

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Charlie Blackmon is slated to become a free agent for the first time in his career, as the veteran outfielder is in the final season of the five-year, $94MM extension he signed with the Rockies back in April 2018.  However, it seems possible that Blackmon could end up remaining in Colorado, as both the player and the team have interest in continuing the relationship.

Rockies GM Bill Schmidt told Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post that the club is “very interested” in retaining Blackmon, adding that “Charlie would provide a good leadership structure for our young guys.  And he can still play.”  From Blackmon’s perspective, he said he would be open to playing for a new team, “but Colorado is certainly my first choice….Right now, I’m not thinking about any other options.”  Blackmon also left open the possibility of retirement, stating “I’m not saying officially, either way,” that he plans to play in 2024, but “there is definitely a possibility I’ll come back.”

Between the Rockies’ last-place record and a fractured hand that cost him almost two months of action, it has been a difficult season for Blackmon, despite some solid personal statistics.  The 37-year-old is hitting .285/.372/.463 with seven home runs over 285 plate appearances, translating to a 113 wRC+.  This would be Blackmon’s best offensive performance (and first above-average season at the plate) since 2019, when he posted a 127 wRC+ as part of a 32-homer campaign.  While Blackmon’s hard-contact rates haven’t been good, he is at least making a lot of contact, as he has one of the lowest strikeout rates of any batter in the league.

Despite these numbers, Blackmon’s age and relative lack of defensive utility figures to limit his free agent market, perhaps capping him at one guaranteed year or a one-year deal with a club/vesting option.  A two-year contract might be feasible with the Rockies as a nod to his long history with the team, as Blackmon has played all 13 of his Major League seasons in the Mile High City.  As Schmidt noted, Blackmon has stature as a clubhouse leader, which is important for a team that is counting on an upcoming core of young players to get the franchise back on track.

Blackmon has played only right field for the last five seasons, with the UZR/150 metric loving his glovework while other defensive metrics rank him as average or below average on the grass.  Since the National League instituted the designated hitter, Blackmon has spent more time as a DH than as a right fielder, and that usage is likely to continue into 2024 should Blackmon indeed return to Colorado.

Michael Toglia figures to get regular looks at both first base and in right field next season, so a scenario exists where the Rox could use Blackmon in right field whenever Toglia has infield duty, and then the DH spot could be rotated between Blackmon and other players.  Of course, Kris Bryant is also a factor, and as Saunders notes later in the piece, Bryant and manager Bud Black have both been open to the possibility of Bryant playing mostly as a first baseman next year.  Nolan Jones’ emergence will make him a regular in the Rockies’ lineup in some fashion next year, though Jones has played more left field recently and that might be his primary position in 2024 even if Colorado does toggle him around to a few different positions.

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