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Rockies Outright Elehuris Montero

By Darragh McDonald | July 4, 2024 at 1:00pm CDT

The Rockies announced that infielder Elehuris Montero has cleared waivers and been sent outright to Triple-A Albuquerque. He’ll stay in the organization as depth but without taking up a spot on the 40-man roster.

Montero, now 25, came over to the Rockies in the ill-fated 2021 trade that sent Nolan Arenado to the Cardinals. Montero had always hit well in the Cards’ system and the Rockies were surely hoping he would continue to do so after bringing him to their organization.

Since the deal, he has continued hitting minor league pitching but struggled badly in the majors. From 2021 to 2023, he slashed .302/.379/.565 in 960 plate appearances down on the farm. But in his 492 big league plate appearances in that same time frame, he produced a line of .239/.283/.428, leading to a wRC+ of just 77. He struck out in 34.8% of his plate appearances while walking just 4.7% of the time.

He exhausted his three option years in that stretch, leaving him out of options here in 2024. He cut his strikeout rate to 22.7% but didn’t do much damage when putting the ball in play, leading to a line of .205/.267/.304 and a 48 wRC+. Montero isn’t considered a strong defender at either corner infield spot, so the lack of offense became untenable and the Rockies designated him for assignment a few days ago. Any of the 29 other clubs could have taken a shot on him by grabbing him off waivers but they all passed.

Since this is his first outright and he has less than three years of service time, Montero doesn’t have the right to reject this assignment. He’ll report to Albuquerque and look to get back in good form. If he doesn’t get added back to the roster by season’s end, he’ll qualify for minor league free agency.

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Colorado Rockies Transactions Elehuris Montero

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Rockies Will Listen To Offers On Cal Quantrill, Austin Gomber

By Steve Adams | July 3, 2024 at 11:36am CDT

The Rockies have a reputation for hanging onto — and at times extending — veterans who would be likely trade candidates with other organizations. In recent years, they’ve declined to trade Trevor Story, Jon Gray, Daniel Bard, C.J. Cron, Brent Suter and others despite sitting near the bottom of the standings in the National League. (Bard and Cron were signed to ill-fated extensions.) Various reports have already indicated that the Rockies have zero inclination to listen to trade scenarios involving third baseman Ryan McMahon, but Will Sammon, Katie Woo and Patrick Mooney of The Athletic report that Colorado decision-makers “plan to consider” offers for some players who are controlled beyond the current season.

Right-hander Cal Quantrill and lefty Austin Gomber are the two most obvious trade candidates on the staff, and the team will indeed consider offers on each, per the report. Both are in their second season of arbitration eligibility, with Quantrill earning a $6.55MM salary and Gomber being paid just shy of half that at $3.15MM. Both are controlled through the 2025 season and are slated to become free agents in the 2025-26 offseason.

Of the two, the 29-year-old Quantrill likely has more value despite being the pricier arm. He’s posted a team-high 95 1/3 innings in 2024 and recorded a 3.78 ERA on the back of an 18% strikeout rate, 8.5% walk rate, 46.9% grounder rate and 1.13 HR/9. It’s been a nice rebound effort for Quantrill in a tough setting for any pitcher. The former No. 8 overall draft pick was torched for a 5.24 ERA last season in an injury-shortened year with the Guardians but is now in the midst of his third season of solid results in a big league rotation. Quantrill also pitched to a combined 3.16 ERA in 336 innings with Cleveland in 2021-22, showing the same blend of sub-par strikeout rates with an aversion to hard contact.

Quantrill isn’t without his flaws. His 18% strikeout rate is worse than the league-average, but right in line with his career 17.8% mark. He’s never missed bats at a high level, and his command is more good than great. Similarly, while he uses a sinker as his primary offering, his ground-ball rates are typically a bit above average but far from elite. Quantrill has in the past featured a changeup — he’s largely moved away from the pitch this season — but it hasn’t kept lefties in check as much as hoped when the pitch received plus grades back to his prospect days. Lefties have a career .241/.318/.404 slash against him, while righties are at a comparable .266/.313/.400. He’s been hittable by all opponents but also not overexposed in platoon settings.

Gomber, 30, has pitched 87 2/3 innings this season and turned in a 4.72 ERA. That number has climbed by nearly two runs since the calendar turned to June. At the end of May, Gomber was sporting a tidy 2.76 earned run average, but he’s been blasted for 28 earned runs with an 18-to-7 K/BB ratio over his past 29 frames, dating back to June 2.

Rough patches of this sort are all too familiar for the Rockies and Gomber, who came to Denver as part of the regrettable Nolan Arenado trade with St. Louis. The former fourth-round pick is second (to Kyle Freeland) on the Rockies in innings pitched dating back to his acquisition, having piled up 466 2/3 frames over 99 appearances (83 starts). He’s posted a tepid 5.13 ERA in that time and actually generated slightly better results at Coors Field (4.96 ERA) than on the road (5.31 ERA). Look back through Gomber’s month-to-month splits in any given season, and there’s typically a month or two like his April/May run in 2024, but they’re largely offset by pronounced struggles that mirror his current slump.

Gomber punched out a solid 23.2% of his opponents in his first season with the Rox, but he’s at 16.1% this year and has seen the average velocity on his fastball drop from 91.6 mph in ’21 to 90.3 mph this season, per Statcast. He’s also scaled back the usage of his slider in favor of more curveballs and changeups. Back in 2021, Statcast credited his slider with a hearty 35% whiff rate, but the pitch is down to 17.7% this season and has been hit increasingly hard over the past couple seasons, so it’s not a huge surprise to see him moving away from it.

While neither Quantrill nor Gomber would fetch the type of haul that would seismically improve the Colorado farm system, both should generate interest. That’s true not only due to their relatively affordable salaries and extra year of club control, but also due to the simple lack of alternatives on the market for teams seeking rotation help. Quantrill is a borderline playoff starter at best, and Gomber is likely seen as more of a fifth starter who can help eat innings before sliding into a bullpen role in the playoffs. For some clubs, that type of stability is all they’re seeking.

It’s far from a given that the Rockies will ultimately move either pitcher. Quantrill has spoken positively about the experience of pitching in Colorado and at Coors Field specifically. He’s exceeded expectations since being acquired from Cleveland and, historically speaking, is the type of veteran the Rockies have looked to sign for multiple years rather than trade. Their ostensible willingness to listen to offers on him would be something of a change of pace but arguably a welcome one for a club that has at multiple times passed on trade opportunities that would’ve bolstered their minor league system only to eventually lose said players for no return at all when they become free agents. Whether either pitcher drums up enough interest to warrant an offer that convinces the Rockies to move remains an open question, though.

Colorado does have other arms that are controlled/signed beyond the current season, though most are performing poorly. Dakota Hudson has an ERA just shy of 6.00 with nearly as many walks as strikeouts. He’s arbitration-eligible this winter. Kyle Freeland is signed through 2026 and will earn $16MM in each of the next two seasons. In a healthy season, he might’ve drawn interest, but he only returned from the 60-day IL a couple weeks back after a lengthy stint due to an elbow strain. He’s looked sharp since returning (two runs in 12 2/3 innings) but was clobbered for a 13.21 ERA in four starts prior to his IL trip.

The Athletic also cites righty Ryan Feltner as a name who could draw interest despite an ugly 5.60 ERA of his own. There’s some sense to that as a potential buy-low candidate. Feltner averages 95 mph on his heater and has turned in a career-low 6.2% walk rate in this year’s 91 2/3 innings. His 19.3% strikeout rate is below average by a couple percentage points, but his 10.5% swinging-strike rate isn’t far from par and he has solid spin rates on his breaking pitches.

Feltner, 27, will be arb-eligible as a Super Two player this offseason. He’s controllable for four more seasons and has a pair of minor league options remaining. A contending club might not want to plug him directly into their rotation — particularly if said team is in a tightly contested division/Wild Card race. Other clubs looking to 2025 and beyond — or perhaps those with comfortable division leads but still needing some rotation depth — could view him as a longer-term project with good raw stuff who could benefit from a change of scenery.

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Colorado Rockies Newsstand Austin Gomber Cal Quantrill Ryan Feltner

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Rockies Designate Elehuris Montero, Reinstate Elias Diaz From 10-Day IL

By Mark Polishuk | June 30, 2024 at 10:56am CDT

The Rockies announced that first baseman Elehuris Montero has been designated for assignment.  The move opens space for the return of catcher Elias Diaz, who has been activated from the 10-day injured list after missing just short of three weeks due to a strained left calf.

Montero was one of five players Colorado obtained from the Cardinals in the Nolan Arenado trade in February 2021, and was arguably the highest-profile name of the group, considering how Montero drew some top-100 prospect buzz from Baseball America prior to the 2019 season.  His star has already started to dim after a lackluster showing at Double-A ball in 2019, and he missed a year of development when the pandemic shut down the 2020 minor league season, yet Montero emerged from that hiatus with a big performance at Triple-A Albuquerque in 2021.

More minor league success in 2022 paved the way for Montero’s MLB debut that season, but the production simply hasn’t come over Montero’s three seasons in Colorado.  After hitting .239/.283/.428 over 492 plate appearances in 2022-23, Montero’s numbers have cratered even further this year, as he has only a .206/.268/.305 slash line in 246 PA.  Among all players with at least 240 plate appearances in 2024, Montero ranks last in all of baseball in both wRC+ (48) and fWAR (-1.8).

Even though the Montero has improved his walk rate and drastically cut back on the strikeouts that plagued him over his first two big league seasons, he is still making contact at a below-average rate.  Montero also doesn’t provide much value on the basepaths or in the field, as his glovework has been subpar as both a third baseman and first baseman.

Kris Bryant’s injuries opened the door for Montero to receive pretty regular playing time at first base this season, but this might have essentially served as his last chance to prove himself as a part of the Rockies’ future.  Michael Toglia has already seemingly moved into the starting first base job, and with Charlie Blackmon and now Diaz both back from the IL, the roster was getting too crowded for the Rox to keep giving at-bats to a player going through such extreme struggles as Montero.

Since Montero is out of minor league options, however, a new team would have to either give Montero playing time at the big league level, or else DFA him again in order to potentially send him to Triple-A.  If Montero clears waivers, the Rockies might part ways entirely with a release, or option him to Triple-A after outrighting him off the 40-man roster.

Diaz was hitting .303/.352/.439 with five home runs in 216 PA at the time of his injury, and it is good news that the catcher is able to return in relatively short order.  Since Diaz is a free agent after the season, he stands out as a logical candidate to be moved at the trade deadline, though the Rox could have designs on trying to sign the catcher to another extension.

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Colorado Rockies Transactions Elehuris Montero Elias Diaz

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Alan Trejo Elects Free Agency

By Nick Deeds | June 29, 2024 at 5:31pm CDT

The Rockies announced this afternoon that infielder Alan Trejo has cleared outright waivers and opted to elect free agency rather than accept an outright assignment to the minor leagues. While Trejo does not have the requisite three year of service time typically necessary to reject the assignment, he was nonetheless able to do so after being outrighted previously back in January.

Trejo, 28, was a 16th-round pick by Colorado in the 2017 draft but didn’t make his big league debut until 2021, when he served as an up-and-down utility depth option for the Rockies around the infield. Trejo hit just .217/.260/.326 (36 wRC+) in 50 trips to the plate spread across 28 games that saw him split time between second base and shortstop. He enjoyed a bit more action the following year and had a career season at the plate, hitting a roughly league average .271/.312/.424 (92 wRC+) in 135 plate appearances, once again as a bench player. Much of that playing time came when Trejo was made one of the club’s September call-ups that year, and he slashed .291/.341/.468 in 24 games.

That hot September (combined with an early-season injury to Brendan Rodgers) earned Trejo a larger role for the 2023 season, but he found himself unable to capitalize on it as his offense came crashing back to Earth fairly quickly. While he received 227 plate appearances across 83 games that year, Trejo posted a lackluster slash line of .232/.288/.343 (56 wRC+). The infielder’s struggles reached the point where the Rockies decided to option him to the minors in early June of last year, and while he returned in July to post a slightly improved .221/.306/.379 slash line across his final 41 games, 2024 proved to be his worst performance yet as the 28-year-old hit just .142 with a .182 on-base percentage and zero extra-base hits across 67 plate appearances for the Rockies.

That brutal performance in 2024 was enough for Colorado to decide to part ways with Trejo, and the club designated him for assignment yesterday in order to make room for infielder Aaron Schunk on the club’s roster. The Rockies’ second-rounder from the 2019 draft, Schunk figures to fill a similar role on the roster as Trejo did, sacrificing the ability to play shortstop for stronger offensive numbers. That left the Rockies to place Trejo on waivers, where he went unclaimed by all 29 other clubs. Now a free agent for the first time in his career, Trejo figures to search for a minor league deal in an organization light on middle infield depth. While the infielder has never hit much in the majors, his glovework has generally been well-received by defensive metrics, as indicated by his +2 Outs Above Average in part time duty with the Rockies last year.

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Colorado Rockies Transactions Alan Trejo

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Rockies Designate Alan Trejo For Assignment

By Steve Adams | June 28, 2024 at 2:32pm CDT

The Rockies have designated utilityman Alan Trejo for assignment, per a team announcement. His spot on the roster will go to fellow infielder Aaron Schunk, whose contract has been selected from Triple-A Albuquerque. Colorado also recalled right-hander Riley Pint from Triple-A. The team had a vacant spot on the active roster after placing reliever Jake Bird on the injured list Thursday.

Trejo, 28, has played in parts of the past four seasons with the Rockies but never provided much offense outside a 35-game showing in 2022, when his .271/.312/.424 line clocked in just slightly below league-average. He’s a career .228/.276/.324 hitter, and the 2024 campaign has been a particular struggle — evidenced by a grim .143/.182/.143 batting line in 67 trips to the plate.

Trejo has never been on the roster for his bat, however. He’s a versatile infielder who can handle every position to the left of first base. He’s drawn particularly strong ratings at second base and third base. He doesn’t run particularly well, but Trejo has shown solid range and sure hands at multiple infield positions.

Because Trejo has exhausted all three of his minor league option years, the Rockies had to designate him for assignment rather than simply option him to Albuquerque. They’ll trade him or place him on outright waivers within the next five days (and waivers themselves would be another two days if he’s eventually placed).

Schunk, 27 next month, was the Rockies’ second-round pick back in 2019. The former Georgia Bulldog ranked among the organization’s 12 best prospects each year from 2020-22, per Baseball America, but an ugly 2021 season in High-A followed by a year of pedestrian offensive output at Double-A in 2022 caused him to fall down the system’s rankings. He hit .290/.350/.461 in Triple-A last season and is at a very similar .291/.339/.469 this year while repeating the level — this time with a far 17.7% strikeout rate that’s far lower than last year’s 24% mark. That said, while Schunk’s rate stats look strong, his overall offensive production is about 7% worse than league-average in the supercharged offensive environment of the Pacific Coast League.

Like Trejo, Schunk is a utility infield option who bats from the right side of the plate and is best suited for work at third base and second base (though he’s played sparingly at shortstop and first base as well). At his best, he ranked fifth in Colorado’s system, per BA, drawing praise for a plus arm, above-average contact skills and average power. The Rox will presumably hope that Schunk can fill the same bench role Trejo held but do so with some more offensive contributions.

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Colorado Rockies Transactions Aaron Schunk Alan Trejo Riley Pint

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MLBTR Podcast: Injured Trade Candidates, The Cristopher Sánchez Extension And Blue Jays’ Woes

By Darragh McDonald | June 26, 2024 at 11:59pm CDT

The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

  • The injuries to Patrick Sandoval of the Angels as well as Jesús Luzardo and Braxton Garrett of the Marlins, and the potential impacts on the trade deadline (2:30)
  • The Phillies and Cristopher Sánchez sign an extension (11:45)
  • The Blue Jays lose Orelvis Martínez to a PED suspension, on top of other struggles (18:45)

Plus, we answer your questions, including…

  • “What would it take for the Rockies to consider trading some young assets like Ryan McMahon or Brendan Rodgers?” (23:55)
  • “The Astros are clearly out of it, so why isn’t Ryan Pressly a top target of teams with bad bullpens?” (30:35)
  • “Would the Marlins or Nationals trade with the Mets, Phillies or Braves, with Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Lane Thomas being good fits?” (39:25)
  • “Will T.J. McFarland of the Athletics be traded to the Cubs or another contender?” (47:45)

Check out our past episodes!

  • José Abreu’s Release, Mookie Betts and Yoshinobu Yamamoto Hit The IL And Even More Injuries – listen here
  • Injured Astros, The Chances Of Bad Teams Rebounding In 2025 And More – listen here
  • Gambling Scandal, The State Of The Blue Jays And The Orioles’ Rotation Depth – listen here

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

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Atlanta Braves Chicago Cubs Colorado Rockies Houston Astros Los Angeles Angels MLB Trade Rumors Podcast Miami Marlins New York Mets Oakland Athletics Philadelphia Phillies Toronto Blue Jays Washington Nationals Braxton Garrett Cristopher Sanchez Jesus Luzardo Orelvis Martinez Patrick Sandoval T.J. McFarland

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Rockies Outright Geoff Hartlieb

By Steve Adams | June 26, 2024 at 9:12am CDT

Right-hander Geoff Hartlieb cleared waivers after being designated for assignment by the Rockies, per a club announcement. He’s been assigned outright to Triple-A Albuquerque. As a player who’d previously been outrighted in his career, Hartlieb had the right to reject the assignment in favor of free agency, but a source tells MLBTR he’ll accept the outright and return to Triple-A.

The 30-year-old Hartlieb pitched nine innings out of the Colorado bullpen and was tagged for nine runs during his short time with the club. He fanned seven batters, walked four and kept the ball on the ground at a 40.6% clip. While the raw run-prevention numbers obviously weren’t encouraging, Hartlieb sported a career-high 97.1 mph on his heater, per Statcast — a notable uptick from the career 95.9 mph mark he carried into the season. His sinker (95.7 mph vs. 94.3 mph career average) and slider (87 mph vs. 84 mph) also had pronounced velocity increases. Additionally, Hartlieb introduced a new cutter that sat at 92.8 mph.

For now, Hartlieb will head back to the Isotopes to continue working on his new-look arsenal. He’s pitched to a 5.61 ERA in a hitter-friendly setting there but carries a solid overall track record at the Triple-A level, including a nice showing with the Marlins’ affiliate last year (3.63 ERA in 44 2/3 frames). In 205 1/3 innings of Triple-A work, Hartlieb has a 4.21 earned run average while fanning 24.8% of his opponents against a 10% walk rate.

Given the general state of the Rockies’ bullpen (collective 5.73 ERA and 4.52 SIERA — both last in MLB) and the potential for some trades of relievers (impending free agent Jalen Beeks, in particular), there’s a decent chance that Hartlieb could get another big league look later this summer. In parts of five MLB seasons between the Pirates, Mets, Marlins and Rockies, the former 29th-round pick carries a 7.37 ERA with a 20% strikeout rate, a 14.4% walk rate and a 47.9% ground-ball rate.

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Colorado Rockies Transactions Geoff Hartlieb

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Marlins Claim Austin Kitchen From Rockies

By Darragh McDonald | June 25, 2024 at 3:10pm CDT

The Marlins announced that they have claimed left-hander Austin Kitchen off waivers from the Rockies. Right-hander Sixto Sánchez has been transferred to the 60-day injured list to open a 40-man spot. Christina De Nicola of MLB.com relayed the Kitchen claim on X prior to the official announcement, adding that the lefty will report to Triple-A Jacksonville.

Kitchen, 27, was just added to Colorado’s roster over the weekend as that club wanted a fresh arm. However, he was designated for assignment the very next day without getting into a game. Though he’s still looking to make his major league debut, the Marlins are intrigued enough to give him a roster spot.

The lefty hasn’t racked up a ton of strikeouts in his minor league career but has been able to keep the ball on the ground. He has a 3.95 earned run average in 225 2/3 innings on the farm overall, with a 19.4% strikeout rate and 6.3% walk rate. But he has kept at least 50% of balls in play on the ground at each stop along the minor league ladder.

Sánchez was placed on the 15-day injured list at the start of this month due to right shoulder inflammation. There haven’t been many updates since then, but that’s an ominous diagnosis since he has had multiple surgeries on that shoulder, which limited him to just one minor league inning pitched over the 2021 to 2023 period. Now that he’s been transferred to the 60-day IL, it seems the Marlins aren’t expecting him back by the end of July.

With that situation, the Fish essentially had a roster spot to burn and have used it to grab Kitchen. He’ll report to their Triple-A club and give them a bit of optionable bullpen depth. He has a full slate of options and essentially no service time, so he could stay on the 40-man roster for a long time if his performance justifies him hanging onto a spot.

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Colorado Rockies Miami Marlins Transactions Austin Kitchen Sixto Sanchez

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Latest On Rockies’ Deadline Outlook

By Steve Adams | June 24, 2024 at 8:00pm CDT

The Rockies enter this year’s trade deadline season in a familiar place. They’re sitting at the bottom of the NL West, 20.5 games out of first place and even a whopping nine games out of fourth place. Their 27-51 record has dipped behind the Marlins for the worst in the National League. Only the White Sox (21-58) have a worse record among MLB teams. They’re staring up at a 12-game deficit in the Wild Card race. Colorado isn’t mathematically eliminated from the postseason yet, of course, but the final nail on any faint playoff aspirations they may have harbored has long since been driven into the coffin.

Normally, this would set up a team to consider itself a pure seller at the deadline. The Rockies surely view themselves in that light to an extent, but not to the same extent as onlookers might expect. Reports more than a month ago indicated the team was quite unlikely to trade third baseman Ryan McMahon, for instance, and Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post doubles down on that sentiment in his latest look at the Rockies and the trade deadline, writing that there’s “nearly zero” chance McMahon will move. Specifically, he lists McMahon as a favorite of owner Dick Monfort, suggesting that even if GM Bill Schmidt and his crew wanted to field offers on the potential All-Star infielder, a deal wouldn’t necessarily be in the cards.

On a similar note, Jon Morosi of MLB Network reports that the Rockies have yet to hold any trade discussions surrounding right-hander Cal Quantrill. The team’s decision to buy low on the righty after the Guardians designated him for assignment last November — effectively a non-tender — has paid off in spades. Quantrill is sporting a 3.50 ERA in 90 innings out of manager Bud Black’s rotation. His 17% strikeout rate and 9% walk rate are both worse than average, but Quantrill’s 46.9% grounder rate is a career-best mark. His move to Coors Field also hasn’t dampened his characteristic knack for keeping the ball in the yard; Quantrill’s 0.90 HR/9 mark is not only better than the 1.06 mark he carried into the season — it’s a career-best rate for the former No. 8 overall draft pick.

Quantrill’s success is one of the best developments for the Rox this season, but he’s also not far from free agency. The righty is being paid $6.55MM in 2024 and has just one year of team control remaining. He could command around $10MM in arbitration this winter and would be a free agent following the 2025 season. Given his 2024 rebound, dwindling club control and mounting price tag, that would make him a logical trade candidate for most clubs.

The Rockies, however, have a history of extending just this sort of veteran. They’ve done so with Daniel Bard, C.J. Cron and Elias Diaz when all had previously stood as logical deadline trade candidates. Colorado has been particularly aggressive in extending pitchers, locking up Kyle Freeland, Antonio Senzatela and German Marquez to long-term deals. Of those three starting pitcher extensions, only the Marquez pact worked out in their favor. The Rockies weren’t successful in completing an extension with Jon Gray but still held onto him at the deadline three years ago (despite trade interest) in hopes of working out a long-term deal.

While there’s no firm word yet that the Rockies have approached or plan to approach Quantrill about an extension, it’s a logical conclusion to draw based both on their operating history and the lack of trade talks to date. Add in that Quantrill has spoken previously about being motivated by pitching at Coors Field, and it’s even easier to see Rockies brass being warm to the idea.

Indeed, Saunders writes in that same weekend piece that both Quantrill and teammate Austin Gomber could be candidates for such a deal. Gomber, like Quantrill, is enjoying a rebound campaign and is arbitration-eligible through the 2025 season. The 30-year-old southpaw has a spottier track record and lesser results but also a lower price tag (both on a contract and in a trade) as a result. It bears emphasizing that there’s no firm indication yet that the Rockies will steadfastly refuse to listen to offers on either pitcher, but history tells us it’s less than likely.

All of that raises the question as to which players the Rockies might actually consider moving. Saunders notes that one of Elias Diaz or Jacob Stallings is a fair bet to change hands, as is the case with reliever Jalen Beeks and outfielder Jake Cave. Diaz, Stallings and Beeks can become free agents this winter. Cave is controlled through 2025.

The two veteran catchers are having strong years at the plate — Diaz is hitting .303/.352/.439 (107 wRC+), Stallings is at .293/.371/.466 (123 wRC+) — though Diaz is currently on the shelf with a hamstring injury. Diaz is earning $6MM to Stallings’ $1.5MM. Stallings once graded as one of the game’s premier defensive catchers, but his glovework has deteriorated a bit in recent years and it’s actually Diaz who draws more favorable marks at this point.

Beeks, 30, has stepped up as the de facto closer in Black’s bullpen after much of the relief corps has struggled at large. He’s pitched to a 3.76 ERA and saved six games in 38 1/3 innings but has done so with a subpar strikeout and walk rates (18.8% and 10%, respectively). Beeks has a $1.675MM salary that’s plenty affordable and a nice track record outside of last year’s anomalous 5.95 ERA, but it’s unlikely other clubs would look at him as an option for the same type of high-leverage role he’s currently holding down for the Rockies. The 31-year-old Cave, meanwhile, is a career backup who’s hitting .258/.312/.336 (68 wRC+). He can play all three outfield spots and first base, but he hasn’t turned in even an average offensive season since 2019 with the Twins. It’s doubtful he’d fetch much in a swap, but Beeks could draw a marginal prospect from a club seeking left-handed bullpen help.

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Colorado Rockies Austin Gomber Cal Quantrill Elias Diaz Jacob Stallings Jake Cave Jalen Beeks Ryan McMahon

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Rockies Reinstate Kyle Freeland From 60-Day Injured List

By Anthony Franco | June 23, 2024 at 11:16am CDT

TODAY: The Rockies announced that they’ve activated Freeland from the 60-day IL. To make room for Freeland on the 40-man roster, lefty Austin Kitchen was designated for assignment. Kitchen was selected to the roster just yesterday and did not make an appearance in the majors during his brief stint with the big league club. The Rockies will now have one week to either trade Kitchen or attempt to pass him through waivers.

June 20: The Rockies will welcome Kyle Freeland back to the rotation for Sunday’s game against the Nationals. Colorado’s Opening Day starter has been out since April 19 because of an elbow strain.

Freeland avoided surgery despite that alarming diagnosis. He has made a trio of rehab appearances — one at the complex before a pair of games for Triple-A Albuquerque. Freeland made his most recent outing on Tuesday, tossing four innings while running his pitch count to 67. The veteran southpaw allowed only three runs over eight Triple-A frames.

The Rox will hope that kickstarts a turnaround for Freeland, who was battered over his first four starts of the season. He averaged fewer than four innings per appearance and was tagged for 25 runs across 15 2/3 frames. Freeland issued eight walks with nine strikeouts and allowed a trio of home runs.

Freeland is on the 60-day injured list, so the Rox will need to reinstate him onto the 40-man roster. They opened a 40-man spot earlier in the week by placing reliever Gavin Hollowell on waivers. Unless they make another 40-man transaction in the intervening three days, they’ll only need to option out a pitcher to clear space for Freeland on the active roster.

In other Colorado injury news, manager Bud Black told reporters that rookie infielder Adael Amador suffered a mild oblique strain in today’s loss to the Dodgers (relayed on X by Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post). While it doesn’t seem to be a long-term concern, Amador will probably land on the 10-day injured list. Colorado promoted Amador directly from Double-A Hartford earlier this month when Brendan Rodgers went on the IL.

It was a surprisingly aggressive promotion for one of the organization’s top prospects. The 21-year-old was hitting only .194/.337/.329 in Double-A. That made it quite unlikely that he’d produce in his first look at big league arms. Amador has struggled as expected, hitting .171 with one walk in his first 36 plate appearances.

Black suggested earlier in the week that the Rox planned to option Amador back to Double-A once Rodgers was ready to return (X link via Luke Zahlmann of the Denver Gazette). An injured list stint would delay that, but he’ll probably head back to Hartford once he’s healthy. Rodgers started a rehab assignment in Albuquerque tonight and could be back in the next few days.

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Colorado Rockies Transactions Adael Amador Austin Kitchen Brendan Rodgers Kyle Freeland

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