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Rockies Place Antonio Senzatela On 15-Day IL Due To Elbow Sprain

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TODAY: As expected, Colorado placed Senzatela on the 15-day injured list (retroactive to May 11).  Anderson was promoted to the active roster to take Senzatela’s spot.

MAY 12: Rockies starter Antonio Senzatela was diagnosed with a sprain in his throwing elbow, club officials informed reporters (relayed by Thomas Harding of MLB.com). The issue won’t require surgery, but manager Bud Black indicated the right-hander will be shut down from throwing for three weeks.

That makes a trip to the 15-day injured list inevitable. It’s quite possible Senzatela finds himself on the 60-day IL, as he’ll have to build back up via a throwing program following his three-week shutdown period. Senzatela told Harding he expects to be sidelined for a minimum of two months, making it unlikely he’s back at Coors Field before the All-Star Break.

While it’s fortunate he won’t go under the knife, the 28-year-old is in for an extended injury absence for a second straight season. Senzatela’s 2022 campaign was cut short in August when he tore the ACL in his left knee. The recovery period extended into this year and kept him from making his season debut until last Friday. Two starts later, Senzatela departed Wednesday’s contest with forearm tightness.

He’s logged just 7 2/3 innings on the season. The Venezuelan-born hurler had a tough ’22 campaign even before the knee injury, allowing a 5.07 ERA over 92 1/3 frames. Senzatela had managed a respectable 4.11 ERA with a strong 51.1% grounder rate over the preceding two seasons. In October 2021, the Rockies signed him to a $50.5MM extension to potentially buy out four free agent years. They haven’t gotten much return on that investment so far.

It’s the second extended injury absence for a key Colorado starter. The Rox already lost Germán Márquez for the season when it was announced he’d require Tommy John surgery. Black told reporters that Márquez underwent that procedure today (via Kyle Newman of the Denver Post). He’ll be out well into 2024 and may have thrown his final pitch as a Rockie, as the guaranteed portion of his contract is up after this season. Colorado holds a $16MM option for next season but figures to take a $2.5MM buyout instead.

Kyle Freeland, Austin Gomber and Ryan Feltner have each taken seven-plus turns through the rotation. Only Freeland has pitched particularly well. Colorado released the struggling José Ureña just four starts into the year, while each of Márquez, Senzatela and Noah Davis (elbow inflammation) are unavailable due to injury. The Rockies have turned to offseason trade pickup Connor Seabold for a couple outings and claimed veteran hurler Chase Anderson off waivers from the Rays this morning.

Rockies Claim Chase Anderson

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The Rockies have claimed right-hander Chase Anderson off waivers from the Rays, per Jon Heyman of the New York Post. The Rockies have open space on their 40-man roster, meaning no corresponding move is necessary.

Anderson, 35, was acquired by the Rays last week from the Reds in exchange for cash. He ultimately made two appearances for the Rays, picking up a save while not allowing a run in five innings of work. Anderson was then designated for assignment to clear room on the roster when Tampa signed lefty reliever Jake Diekman earlier this week.

Now in his tenth season as a major league player, Anderson has struggled in recent seasons with an ERA of 6.81 from 2020-2022 across 105 2/3 innings with the Blue Jays, Phillies, and Reds organizations. Those seasons saw Anderson struggle with the long ball, as he allowed more than two home runs per nine innings as 19.2% of his fly balls left the yard for home runs, far above his career 12.8% rate heading into the 2020 campaign.

Given Anderson’s terrible fly ball luck in recent years and his flash of quality results with the Rays this past week, it’s of little surprise that a team elected to claim him off waivers. That team ended up being the Rockies, who could certainly use the rotation depth that Anderson can provide. The club has already lost German Marquez and Noah Davis to injury, and right-hander Antonio Senzatela left his most recent start with forearm tightness. With the addition of a swingman to the roster in Anderson, the Rockies figure to have a potential replacement for Senzatela should he require a stint on the injured list, and a quality multi-inning relief arm should Senzatela be able to make his next start.

Antonio Senzatela Leaves Start Early With Forearm Tightness

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6:38pm: Senzatela told Saunders postgame that the soreness is at the bottom of his forearm near his elbow (Twitter link). The righty is headed for further evaluation tomorrow but conceded he’s concerned about the injury.

3:09pm: An already beleaguered Rockies rotation took yet another hit Wednesday, as right-hander Antonio Senzatela departed after 2 2/3 innings due to what manager Bud Black announced after the game as right forearm tightness, per Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post. Senzatela surrendered three runs prior to his departure, with his final pitch resulting in a two-run homer by Andrew McCutchen.

Senzatela only just returned from a roughly year-long absence due to a torn ACL. Wednesday’s outing was only his second of the 2023 season. In 7 2/3 innings, he’s allowed four runs on seven hits and a pair of walks with four strikeouts. Three of those seven hits have left the yard.

The Rockies are already without top starter German Marquez, whose 2023 season is over due to Tommy John surgery. They’ve also already released right-hander Jose Urena, who opened the season in the rotation after re-signing on a $3.5MM deal. Rookie right-hander Noah Davis, who’d also been auditioning for a long-term spot in the rotation, landed on the injured list in late April due to inflammation in his right elbow.

If Senzatela misses any time, the Rockies’ rotation will be down to Kyle Freeland, Austin Gomber, Ryan Feltner and Connor Seabold. Feltner has just 28 Major League starts under his belt and a career 5.90 ERA. Seabold has just 15 Major League games — only eight of them starts — and a 7.40 ERA through 45 innings. The Rockies are exceptionally thin on rotation options beyond that group. Right-hander Peter Lambert relieved Senzatela today and could be an option, but he pitched just 30 1/3 innings from 2020-22 combined due to injuries. His workload will surely be monitored in 2023.

Available options outside the organization are few and far between, though a handful of veteran arms were recently designated for assignment. The Rays designated Chase Anderson just today, while righties Luis Cessa and Chase De Jong were designated by the Reds and Pirates, respectively, yesterday. It’s hardly the most exciting group of arms, but each is at least stretched out to throw multiple innings. The free-agent market isn’t much better. Left-hander Madison Bumgarner was released by the D-backs earlier this season after looking lost on the mound through his first several turns. There are a handful of veterans of some note who remain unsigned from the offseason (e.g. Michael Pineda, Chris Archer, Mike Minor, Dallas Keuchel), but no one from that group would be ready to step right into a big league rotation.

Senzatela, 28, is in the second season of a five-year, $50.5MM contract extension. The Rockies are paying him $7.25MM in 2023 and will owe him $12MM per season from 2024-26 before deciding on a $14MM club option for the 2027 season. In 677 career innings entering play today, the right-hander carried a 4.85 ERA with a 15.3% strikeout rate, 7.1% walk rate and 50.6% ground-ball rate.

Grayson Greiner Announces Retirement

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Catcher Grayson Greiner announced his retirement from professional baseball today, posting a message on Twitter. He then extends profound thanks to his family, friends, agents, teammates, coaches, team staff and fans. “While I’ve given almost my entire life to playing this game, I’m extremely excited for the next chapter of my life,” he says. “I’ll miss you, baseball.”

Greiner’s professional career began when he was selected by the Tigers in the third round of the 2014 draft out of the University of South Carolina, getting a signing bonus of $529.4K at that time. Unusually tall for a catcher at 6’6″, he was nonetheless considered a strong defender in his time as a prospect. He was also considered to have decent pop in his bat but wasn’t expected to be an especially strong bat-to-ball hitter or baserunner. Baseball America had him in the 20-25 range in their lists of top Tiger farmhands on three separate occasions, projecting him to be a solid backup catcher unless his bat surpassed expectations.

He was able to reach the big leagues in 2018, the first of five straight seasons where he made an appearance. He never really carved out a regular role, however, with his 58 games and 224 plate appearances in 2019 being career highs. Over those five years, he got a bit under a full season of work, getting into 139 games and taking 485 trips to the plate. He hit nine home runs but struck out in 32.2% of his plate appearances, producing a batting line of .201/.275/.307.

His time as a Tiger went through 2021, but he was outrighted off their roster after that season. He elected free agency and signed a minor league deal with the Diamondbacks, getting into a couple of games as a COVID substitute but otherwise staying in the minors that year. Returning to free agency in the most recent offseason, he signed a minor league deal with the Twins but didn’t make the club out of camp. He was released and signed another minor league deal, this time with the Rockies. He got into 20 games for the Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes this year but hit just .186/.269/.286 before deciding it was time to hang up his spikes.

Greiner wasn’t a star, though by making it to the majors he realized a dream that many have but few can turn into reality. He got into 139 big league games, collecting 87 hits, nine homers, 42 runs scored and 46 batted in. MLBTR congratulates him on his career and wishes him the best of luck in whatever’s over the horizon.

Rockies Outright Yonathan Daza

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The Rockies announced Monday that outfielder Yonathan Daza went unclaimed on waivers and has been assigned outright to Triple-A Albuquerque. He’d been designated for assignment last Friday but will remain with the organization and no longer occupy a spot on the 40-man roster, as he doesn’t have the necessary service time to reject the outright assignment.

Daza, 29, has been a semi-regular presence in the Colorado outfield over the past three seasons, posting a strong batting average but offering minimal power with a marginal walk rate. He’s a .290/.338/.369 hitter with just four home runs and three stolen bases in 819 plate appearances dating back to the 2021 season. So far in 2023, Daza has gotten out to a .270/.304/.351 start with a career-worst 3.8% walk rate.

While Daza has experience at all three outfield spots, he’s generally drawn poor defensive grades for his work in center field. He’s received stronger but not elite marks for his work in the left field, but his general lack of offense aside from that fairly empty batting average doesn’t play as well in the corners. He’s also out of minor league options, so the Rockies couldn’t send him down without first designating him for assignment and sending him through waivers; conversely, any team that placed a claim on Daza would’ve had to carry him on its active roster.

With Daza pushed to the side for now, the Rockies will roll with an outfield of Jurickson Profar in left field, Randal Grichuk in center and Kris Bryant in right. Recent call-up Brenton Doyle is currently operating as the fourth outfielder, and while he’s had some issues making contact, he’s already displayed more power than Daza and stolen more bases in 11 games (five) than Daza has in his career (four). Both Daza and Doyle are right-handed hitters, and it seems the Rockies simply feel Doyle, a 2019 fourth-round pick who’s five years younger, is the superior option for the role that’s currently available.

The Rockies are generally thin on center field depth, so with an injury to either Grichuk or Doyle, it’s plenty feasible that they’ll select Daza’s contract and bring him back to the big league roster. For now, his DFA and subsequent outright will allow the Rox to take a look at Doyle, a younger player with more club control and an intriguing blend of power and speed — albeit with plenty of questions about his ability to make contact (career 29.8% strikeout rate in the minors).

Rockies Designate Yonathan Daza For Assignment

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The Rockies announced a series of roster moves today, with right-hander Antonio Senzatela being reinstated from the injured list and catcher Austin Wynns added to the active roster, the latter having been claimed off waivers from the Dodgers last night. In corresponding moves, catcher Brian Serven was optioned to Triple-A while outfielder Yonathan Daza was designated for assignment.

Daza, 29, has seen significant playing time with the Rockies in recent years, with his ability to play all three outfield positions making him a useful player to have around. Since the start of 2021, he’s played 244 games for the Rockies and taken 819 trips to the plate. That includes 172 games in center field, splitting that position with players including Sam Hilliard, Garrett Hampson and Randal Grichuk. He hasn’t been an elite defender, with Outs Above Average considering him exactly average in center for his career while he has -17 Defensive Runs Saved and a grade of -6.8 from Ultimate Zone Rating.

At the plate, Daza is tough to strike out and generally runs good batting averages but with little else to be excited about. He has a .281 batting average in his career but has just four home runs in 924 plate appearances, despite playing his home games at Coors Field. He’s hitting .270/.304/.351 here in 2023 for a wRC+ of 63, walking at just a 3.8% clip with no homers or even a triple.

The Rockies suddenly had a bit of a crowded center field depth chart, as Grichuk recently came off the injured list and rookie Brenton Doyle was promoted. Those two have seemingly squeezed Daza out of playing time, as he last started back on April 23. Since he’s out of options, the only way to get him off the active roster was to designate him for assignment. The club will now have one week to trade him or pass him through waivers. He doesn’t have a previous career outright or three years of service time, meaning that he would stick with the club in the event he goes through waivers unclaimed.

As for Senzatela, he will be making his season debut, having been out of action since suffering a torn ACL in August of last year. He’s been an effective ground ball pitcher for the Rockies in the past, posting a 4.11 ERA over 2020 and 2021. He only struck out 15% of hitters in that time but kept walks down to a 5.1% rate and got grounders on 51.1% of balls in play. It was after that latter season that the club signed him to a $50.5MM extension that runs through 2026 with a club option for 2027. He had a 5.07 ERA last year prior to his injury, but with very similar peripherals and an inflated .383 batting average on balls in play that suggests he was closer to his usual self than it might appear.

He’ll step into a Colorado rotation that’s been dealing with various challenges recently. It was recently reported that Germán Márquez will undergo Tommy John surgery, keeping him out of action for the rest of the year and part of next year as well. Ryan Rolison and Noah Davis are also on the injured list, leaving the club with Kyle Freeland, Austin Gomber, Ryan Feltner and Connor Seabold in four spots.

Rockies Claim Austin Wynns From Dodgers

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The Rockies have claimed catcher Austin Wynns from the Dodgers, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. The backstop had been designated for assignment earlier this week. The Rockies had a couple of vacancies on their 40-man and won’t need to make a corresponding move in that respect, though Wynns is out of options and they will need to open an active roster spot for him whenever he reports to the team.

Wynns, 32, seems to be taking a tour of the National League West division. He began the year with the Giants on a minor league deal, getting selected to the big league club just over a week into the season. He was designated for assignment just a few days later and elected free agency, then signing with the Dodgers. He lasted about two weeks with the Dodgers while Will Smith was on the concussion-related injured list but was cut shortly after Smith returned.

He’s managed to get 14 plate appearances amid all of that, slashing just .154/.214/.231 but in an obviously small sample and unusual conditions. His career batting line of .229/.273/.334 is better but still amounts to a wRC+ of just 67. Despite that tepid offense, he’s shown some competent work on the other side of the ball. Both FanGraphs and Baseball Prospectus give him above-average grades for his framing this year and did in 2022 as well.

The Rockies have Elias Díaz as their clear number one catcher, having signed him to a three-year extension that runs through 2024. He’s also off to a great start this year, hitting .337/.390/.500 so far. Brian Serven has been serving as the backup this year and part of last year as well, but he’s hit a paltry .197/.250/.317 in his first 226 big league plate appearances. His defensive numbers are strong but he has a full slate of options, perhaps allowing the club to send him down for regular at-bats in Triple-A while installing Wynns as the backup.

Rockies Exploring Rotation Additions

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The Rockies’ starting pitching has, rather predictably, been a major weakness in 2023, with their rotation’s collective 5.94 ERA ranking 28th in the Majors. Colorado starters have baseball’s second-lowest strikeout rate (17.4%), seventh-highest walk rate (9.5%), third-highest HR/9 mark (1.85) and the third-fewest innings (141). Even at full strength, the Rockies’ rotation never looked like a strong group on paper, but they’ve now lost top starter German Marquez to Tommy John surgery and have already released Jose Ureña after he was trounced for 22 runs (20 earned) in 18 1/3 innings. Rookie right-hander Noah Davis recently landed on the injured list as well, thanks to a bout of elbow inflammation.

Given those struggles, it’s hardly a surprise that general manager Bill Schmidt plainly acknowledged to Danielle Allentuck of the Denver Gazette that his team will explore the current crop of free agents for some potential rotation help. “Last year at this time, we picked up Ureña,” said Schmidt. “We’ll look at the free agents available and try to improve our depth.”

Colorado is expecting the return of righty Antonio Senzatela on Friday, when he’s set to make his first big league start since tearing his ACL last year. He can give them a boost over the production they’ve received to date, but Senzatela himself was struggling at the time of his injury last year, having posted a 5.07 ERA with a career-low 13.1% strikeout rate in 92 1/3 innings. He’s allowed 10 runs (seven earned) on 13 hits in 6 1/3 innings on a rehab assignment in Triple-A.

Senzatela, who’s in the second season of a five-year, $50.5MM extension that runs through the 2026 campaign, will join left-handers Kyle Freeland and Austin Gomber as well as righties Ryan Feltner and Connor Seabold in the Rockies’ starting mix when he returns. Freeland and Feltner have both been solid through six starts apiece, but Gomber has been tagged for a 7.57 ERA in six turns while Seabold has been pitching in relief but will likely get some starts following the recent injuries and Urena’s release.

As for potential help on the open market, options are scarce — as one would expect this time of year. Madison Bumgarner was recently released by the D-backs, though his struggles in Arizona were significant and his velocity is down several miles per hour from his Giants peak. Julio Teheran opted out of a minor league deal with the Padres yesterday, though he’s had a tough start to his season in Triple-A. Alternatively, the Marlins designated southpaw Devin Smeltzer for assignment earlier in the week, so he could be available via a small trade or waiver claim.

All three of those pitchers are at least already stretched out and largely game-ready, which is more than can be said for a number of their peers who remain unsigned dating back to the offseason (e.g. Chris Archer, Mike Minor, Michael Pineda, Anibal Sanchez). The Rox could still add anyone from that group, of course, but they’d likely need to build up at extended spring training and go out on a minor league assignment before being an option at Coors Field. Internally, righty Peter Lambert is being handled carefully after pitching just 30 1/3 innings from 2020-22 due to injuries (including Tommy John surgery). Former big leaguers Logan Allen and Josh Rogers are out to shaky starts in Triple-A, as are upper-level minor leaguers like Karl Kauffmann and Jeff Criswell.

It’s a thin group all-around, to say the last. Schmidt tells Allentuck that the Rockies attempted to add more depth over the winter but were largely unsuccessful. It’s a difficulty the Rockies face every year. Free-agent pitchers are generally averse to signing to pitch at altitude, and even Colorado’s Triple-A affiliate in Albuquerque plays in an extremely hitter-friendly setting. That could make it difficult to lure in further depth right now, but if the Rox are willing to offer a 40-man spot to someone like Teheran when other clubs aren’t, he’d very likely opt for the big league opportunity over another minor league pact.

Germán Márquez To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

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Rockies right-hander Germán Márquez will require Tommy John surgery, he tells reporters, including Danielle Allentuck of the Denver Gazette.

Needless to say, it’s a very unfortunate piece of news for both the pitcher and the team. Márquez has been the club’s best pitcher in recent years, posting a 4.41 ERA in 1,016 career innings. Given that he plays his home games at the hitter haven of Coors Field, it’s fair to assume that ERA doesn’t truly reflect his skill level. His 4.02 FIP and 3.96 SIERA perhaps offer a better indication of the level of production he’s had thus far.

This year, he made just three starts before landing on the injured list with a forearm strain, though an MRI revealed no structural damage and he was back with the club after a brief absence. However, in his first outing off the IL, he walked off the field after 3 2/3 innings in obvious distress. The update after the game was that the damage was to his triceps and not his elbow, which seemed encouraging. But when he was put back on the IL a couple days later, he expressed worry that Tommy John surgery would eventually be required, which now seems to have come to fruition.

A club losing their best pitcher is bad news at any time, but it’s especially rough for a Colorado club that’s out to a 9-20 start this year. Few observers were predicting them to contend this year and they seem to be progressing about as expected. The absence of Márquez will not only decrease their chances of getting back into the playoff race but also deprive the club of arguably their best summer trade candidate.

Back in 2019, the Rockies and Márquez agreed to a $43MM contract extension that runs through 2023, though there’s a $16MM club option for 2024 with a $2.5MM buyout. The Rockies are notoriously reticent to move their players even when it makes logical sense to do so, but they would have likely at least considered a Márquez trade this summer, given the challenges they would have faced in turning a struggling team into a contender during his window of control.

Given the standard 14 to 18 months of recovery required after TJS, Márquez will be out of action for the remainder of this season and at least the first half of 2024 as well. That makes it likely that the Rockies will take the $2.5MM buyout instead of the $16MM option next year, which will send Márquez to the open market, though the two sides could also work out another extension if they so wish. In the event that he does wind up a free agent this winter, he’ll be looking to market himself at a time when he’s still recovering and won’t be available immediately.

For now, the Rockies will have to turn their attention to getting through this year. Márquez is already on the injured list, alongside starters like Antonio Senzatela, Noah Davis and Ryan Rolison. Senzatela has been on the IL all season after suffering a torn ACL last year but he seems to be nearing a return. Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post relays that the righty is in the clubhouse and is likely to be activated and start a game this weekend.

He’ll join Kyle Freeland, Austin Gomber and Ryan Feltner in the rotation, which will still leave the club shorthanded. Connor Seabold tossed 67 pitches in a long relief outing on Saturday and could perhaps take a turn. Peter Lambert is on the 40-man roster but hasn’t thrown more than three innings in any of his minor league starts so far this year.

Perhaps Davis could return sooner rather than later, as he tells Saunders that he would encouraged by his tests and doesn’t think it’s a major injury. But there’s still no firm timeline and he won’t be eligible to be reinstated for a couple of weeks even if the issue is minor.

Rockies Outright Ty Blach

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Rockies left-hander Ty Blach has gone unclaimed on waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A Albuquerque, tweets Danielle Allentuck of the Denver Gazette. As a player who has previously been outrighted in his career, he’ll have the right to decline the assignment in favor of minor league free agency.

Blach spent the 2022 campaign in Colorado. The Denver native first signed with his hometown franchise going into last year and made the MLB roster in the season’s first week. He bounced between the majors and Triple-A, working 44 1/3 innings of 5.89 ERA ball at the highest level. At year’s end, Colorado outrighted him and sent him to free agency. Blach returned on a minor league pact a couple months into the offseason and earned another MLB job out of Spring Training.

The 32-year-old southpaw appeared in six games through the season’s first month. He tossed 11 innings, allowing 13 runs (10 earned) with four strikeouts and two walks. While Blach has never been one to miss many bats, this year’s 4.6% swinging strike percentage was the lowest of his career. Colorado took him off the roster over the weekend when Randal Grichuk returned from the injured list.

Blach has now appeared in parts of six big league campaigns. Between the Giants, Orioles and Rockies, he carries a 5.19 ERA in 381 2/3 innings. Most of his early-career work was out of the rotation but he’s pitched primarily in shorter stints since undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2020.

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