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Rockies Notes: Kauffmann, Rolison, Anderson

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The Rockies don’t have a starting pitcher listed for Friday’s game against the Rangers yet, as the team’s rotation has been decimated by injuries through the first quarter of the season. MLB.com’s Thomas Harding tweets that 25-year-old righty Karl Kauffmann was scratched from his most recent Triple-A start, however, and is expected to make his big league debut Friday. He’d need to be added to the 40-man roster, though the Rockies could easily accommodate that by moving German Marquez to the 60-day injured list.

Colorado entered the 2023 season with one of the weakest starting pitching groups in all of baseball, and they’ve quickly been stretched even thinner. Marquez is done for the year after undergoing Tommy John surgery. Antonio Senzatela returned from last year’s ACL tear but pitched just 7 2/3 innings before heading back to the IL with an elbow strain. The Rox are also without Ryan Feltner, who suffered a concussion and small fracture in his skull over the weekend when he was hit in the head by a comebacker. Righty Noah Davis is on the shelf with elbow inflammation, and the Rockies already released one member of their Opening Day rotation, Jose Urena, after a dismal start to the season.

That sequence has already prompted the Rockies to claim Chase Anderson following his DFA with the Rays — Anderson was excellent in last night’s team debut — and it’ll now ostensibly set the stage for Kauffmann’s MLB debut. He’ll join Anderson, Kyle Freeland, Austin Gomber and Connor Seabold if he indeed is called up and given a legitimate run in the rotation.

Kauffmann was the Rockies’ Competitive Balance (Round B) pick in the 2019 draft, coming off the board with the No. 77 overall selection. The right-hander had a decent showing in Double-A last year, posting a 4.06 ERA with more impressive strikeout and ground-ball rates (25.6% and 46.3%, respectively), but he’s been hit hard since moving up to Triple-A midway through that ’22 campaign. In 101 Triple-A frames dating back to last year, Kauffmann has a 6.68 ERA with an 18% strikeout rate against an 11.9% walk rate. The Rockies’ Albuquerque affiliate plays in a notoriously hitter-friendly setting, but it’s still been a rough showing.

That said, Kauffmann’s most recent start was sharp (six innings, seven hits, two runs, no walks, five punchouts), and the Rockies are thin on alternatives. General manager Bill Schmidt recently told Danielle Allentuck of the Denver Gazette that the team tried to add more rotation depth throughout the offseason but was generally unsuccessful in those pursuits. Pitching at Coors Field, of course, is no pitcher’s first choice, and even minor league depth options might bristle at the notion of playing home games in Albuquerque (and the Pacific Coast League at large).

The Rockies could soon have some reinforcement on the way, as left-hander Ryan Rolison embarked on a rehab assignment this week and tossed three shutout innings with three strikeouts and a walk for the Rockies’ Class-A affiliate. While the 25-year-old Rolison has never pitched in the Majors, he climbed to Triple-A in 2021 and likely would’ve been an option in 2022 had it not been for a torn labrum that required surgery and wiped out his entire season.

Rolison was the Rockies’ first-round pick back in 2018, going with the No. 22 overall selection. He’s been limited to just 234 2/3 professional innings thanks primarily to the canceled 2020 minor league season and last year’s shoulder surgery. In that time, he’s pitched to a 4.30 ERA with more encouraging ratios: 24.8% strikeout rate, 7.2% walk rate, 45% ground-ball rate.

Baseball America ranked Rolison second, third and fourth among Rockies prospects from 2020-22, respectively, calling him a potential “steady, reliable starter at the back of the rotation” in their 2022 report. How Rolison recovers from last year’s surgery is an open question, and his workload will likely be monitored this year — but that’s precisely the type of arm the Rockies could use with their starting staff currently in shambles. One would imagine that Rolison could be an option before too long if he can avoid any setbacks in his recovery.

In the meantime, it seems the Rockies will continue to give Anderson opportunities in the rotation, which is no surprise after he blanked the Reds — who traded him to the Rays for cash last month — and allowed just one hit through five innings in his team debut. Anderson told Allentuck that the Rockies “want me to start here” and added that he’s grateful for the opportunity to step back into a big league rotation. Interestingly, Anderson told Harding that both the Rockies and Reds hoped to claim him following his DFA with the Rays, but the Rockies had higher priority given their inferior record. At least for the time being, it seems the 35-year-old veteran will be leaned on to stabilize the starting staff.

Rockies Select Fernando Abad, Place C.J. Cron On IL

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The Rockies announced they’ve selected the contract of left-hander Fernando Abad and recalled infielder/outfielder Michael Toglia from Triple-A Albuquerque. In corresponding moves, first baseman C.J. Cron was placed on the 10-day injured list while right-hander Nick Mears was placed on the 15-day IL, retroactive to May 12, due to a left oblique strain. There was already a vacancy on the club’s 40-man roster for Abad, meaning no corresponding move will be necessary in that regard.

Abad gets back to the big leagues for the first time in two years. The veteran southpaw signed a minor league deal over the winter after spending 2022 in Triple-A with the Mariners. He went to Albuquerque and has performed exceptionally well in one of affiliated ball’s toughest parks for pitchers. Abad has thrown 16 innings of three-run ball, fanning 20 hitters while walking just a pair.

Now 37, Abad has pitched in parts of 10 big league campaigns. He carries a 3.77 ERA over 348 1/3 innings, striking out a below-average 19.6% of opposing hitters but keeping his walks to a reasonable 8.3% clip. He joins Brent Suter and Brad Hand as veteran left-handed options for manager Bud Black in relief.

Black told reporters yesterday the struggling Cron was likely to hit the IL with back spasms. Toglia comes up for the first time this season to at least factor into the first base mix. The former first round pick is hitting .257/.364/.493 over 37 games with the Isotopes. He had a tough go in his first major league action last season, putting up a .216/.275/.378 line over 120 trips to the plate.

Rockies Place Ryan Feltner On 15-Day Injured List

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9:34PM: The Rockies announced that Feltner was discharged from the hospital.

TODAY, 12:28PM: The Rockies announced that Feltner has been placed on the 15-day IL with a skull fracture. As relayed by MLB Network’s Jenny Cavnar, manage Bud Black described Feltner’s fracture as small, and notes that Feltner also suffered a concussion. Feltner will hopefully be released from the hospital later this afternoon, per Black.

May 14: In a terrifying moment, Rockies starter Ryan Feltner was hit in the head with a Nick Castellanos line drive in the second inning of tonight’s game.  Feltner immediately dropped to the ground but seemed alert and coherent, and he left the field under his own power, with some assistance from team trainers.

Following the game, Rockies manager Bud Black told reporters (including Patrick Lyons of the DNVR Rockies podcast) that Feltner was undergoing tests at a local hospital, and that details of those tests would be known tomorrow.  It would seem probable that Feltner will be placed on the seven-day concussion injured list for at least precautionary purposes, and if he is able to recover quickly from any symptoms, he might not even miss a start since the Rockies have an off-day on Thursday.

Feltner allowed four runs on four walks and two hits in the first inning of Saturday’s start, and his ERA now sits at 5.86 through 35 1/3 innings and eight starts for Colorado this season.  It seemed like Feltner was getting on track after a trio of nice starts from April 20-May 3, but his last outing was also rough, as he allowed four runs in 3 1/3 frames against the Mets on May 7.

This is the 26-year-old Feltner’s third MLB season, after being selected by the Rockies in the fourth round of the 2018 draft.  He had only a 6.16 ERA through 103 2/3 innings (starting 21 of 22 games) in 2021-22, but a lack of pitching depth ensured Feltner would get another shot in Colorado’s rotation this year.  That depth has been even further stretched by German Marquez’s season-ending Tommy John surgery, Antonio Senzatela being limited to two starts due to recovery from knee surgery and his current elbow sprain, rookie Noah Davis on the 15-day IL with elbow inflammation, and now the possibility that Feltner could miss time.

Rockies Likely To Place C.J. Cron On 10-Day Injured List

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C.J. Cron left today’s game with back spasms, as the Rockies first baseman was in visible discomfort while slowly leaving the batter’s box after a pop-up in the third inning.  Cron took only a few steps before stopping completely, and Mike Moustakas took over for Cron at first base when the Rox took the field in the top of the fourth.  Following the game, manager Bud Black told The Denver Gazette’s Danielle Allentuck and other reporters that Cron will probably require a trip to the 10-day injured list.

Back spasms also cost Cron 10 days of Cactus League action during Spring Training, and it’s fair to wonder if this issue (whether a lingering injury or a by-product of missed spring time) has contributed to Cron’s slow start to the season.  It could be that another 10-day absence or so is all Cron needs to recover, though since this is his second such injury in two months, the Rockies might opt to give him a bit of extra time beyond the minimum 10 days in order to fully get himself right.

The veteran first baseman has hit a modest .228/.277/.426 with six homers over 148 plate appearances for Colorado, and his 73 wRC+ is easily his lowest in any of his 10 Major League seasons.  Cron is still making a lot of hard contact and his .342 xwOBA is well above his .306 wOBA, so there is some element of misfortune involved in his numbers.  However, Cron is pulling the ball a lot more than in past years, and opposing pitchers are throwing him fewer four-seamers (a pitch Cron has generally hit well over the years) less than usual.  Most of the right-handed hitting Cron’s struggles have come against right-handed pitching this year, even though Cron has had relatively even splits for most of his career.

Moustakas is the likeliest candidate to fill in for Cron at first base, at least in the short term.  Moustakas has also had a tough year, hitting .232/.313/.375 over 67 PA with just one home run.

Rockies To Recall Riley Pint

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According to Russell Dorsey of Bally Sports, the Rockies are set to recall right-handed reliever Riley Pint. Pint is already on the 40-man roster, but of course a move to clear space on the active roster will be necessary to recall Pint, whose first appearance will be his MLB debut.

The 25-year-old Pint was the fourth overall pick in the 2016 draft by the Rockies, and quickly ascended prospect rankings to become a consensus top-50 prospect in the sport ahead of the 2017 campaign. Unfortunately, injuries and control issues lead to Pint being largely ineffective over five seasons in the minors, with an ERA of 5.56 over 68 appearances. Those struggles lead Pint to retire during the summer of 2021, at just 23 years old.

Pint would ultimately reverse course, returning to the Rockies ahead of the 2022 campaign. In 45 2/3 innings of work split across the Double-A and Triple-A level, Pint posted a 4.53 ERA with a strikeout rate near 30%, though he was held back by a 15.5% walk rate. Pint has spent the entire 2023 campaign so far at the Triple-A level, struggling to a 7.41 ERA through 17 innings. While that figure is certainly a cause for concern, as is his massive 18.6% walk rate, it should be noted that Pint is pitching in the notoriously hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, and that some peripheral stats indicate he’s been unlucky to this point, with an unusually high .395 BABIP and a strand rate of just 63.3%.

Pint joins a Rockies pitching staff that has been ravaged by injuries early in the season, with German Marquez, Antonio Senzatela, Noah Davis, and Dinelson Lamet all already on the injured list. That quartet may soon be joined by Ryan Feltner as well, as the right-hander was struck in the head by a line drive during last night’s game against the Phillies.

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).

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