Rockies Select Cole Tucker, Designate Coco Montes For Assignment
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 Outright Cole Tucker
The Rockies have sent utility player Cole Tucker outright to Triple-A Albuquerque, per the transaction log at MLB.com. He cleared waivers after being designated for assignment on Monday.
Tucker had a brief stay in Denver, appearing in three games while spending a week on the MLB roster. The return of Charlie Blackmon this week pushed him off the club. Tucker has been one of the better players in the Pacific Coast League this season, hitting .311/.419/.459 over 58 games. He’s only hit five home runs but is walking at a huge 15.7% clip against a decent 19.1% strikeout rate.
A former first round pick of the Pirates, Tucker has appeared in parts of five big league campaigns. He never established himself as a regular in Pittsburgh, posting well below-average offensive numbers in each of his limited looks. Through 477 career plate appearances, he owns a .214/.263/.316 batting line.
This is the second time in Tucker’s career in which he has gone unclaimed on outright waivers. As a result, he has the ability to test free agency in lieu of a return to Albuquerque. It isn’t clear whether he plans to do so.
Rockies Designate Cole Tucker For Assignment
The Rockies announced they’ve designated utilityman Cole Tucker for assignment. The move opens an active roster spot for Charlie Blackmon, who is back from the 10-day injured list. Colorado also reinstated Sean Bouchard from the 60-day IL and optioned him to Triple-A Albuquerque. The Rox’s 40-man roster remains full.
Tucker had a brief stay on Colorado’s roster. The Rox selected his contract one week ago, plugging him into three games. He collected three singles and a walk in eight trips to the dish. He’s out of minor league options, though, meaning Colorado had to keep him on the active roster or DFA him once they called him up.
They’ll now have a week to put him on waivers. A career .214/.263/.316 hitter in parts of five big league campaigns, the 27-year-old Tucker had a solid .311/.419/.459 showing this season in Albuquerque. Since he’s out of options, any team that claims him would have to plug him directly onto the MLB roster. Tucker has been outrighted before in his career, so he’d have the ability to become a minor league free agent if he clears waivers again.
Blackmon returns after missing more than two months. The veteran outfielder fractured a bone in his right hand in early June. He’ll return to the lineup carrying a solid .265/.347/.422 line through 56 games on the season. Blackmon is playing this year on a $15MM salary and will be a free agent in a couple months.
Bouchard has missed the entire season after undergoing biceps surgery in Spring Training. The 27-year-old impressed with a .297/.454/.500 showing over 97 plate appearances in his first big league action last summer. He’ll get more time in Triple-A before returning to the MLB roster but could get a chance to carve out a role in the first base/corner outfield rotation down the stretch.
Rockies Select Cole Tucker
The Rockies announced Monday that they’ve selected the contract of infielder/outfielder Cole Tucker from Triple-A Albuquerque. Infielder Coco Montes was optioned to Triple-A in a corresponding move. Colorado had a vacancy on its 40-man roster prior to today’s moves, so the team is now at capacity in that regard.
Tucker, 27, returns to the majors for the fifth straight year. The former first-round draftee had played parts of four seasons with the Pittsburgh club that drafted him. Tucker didn’t find much big league success with the Bucs, combining for a .211/.259/.314 line over 469 big league plate appearances.
Last June, the Bucs lost Tucker on waivers to the D-Backs. He struggled offensively with Arizona’s top minor league club, resulting in an outright that paved the way for him to elect free agency at season’s end. Tucker hooked on with the Rockies on an offseason minor league pact and has spent 2023 in Albuquerque.
Tucker has had a strong offensive showing there, even in the context of the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. He’s hitting .311/.419/.459 over 267 trips. Tucker only has five homers but is walking at a huge 15.7% clip against a modest 19.1% strikeout rate. Of the 92 PCL hitters with 200+ plate appearances, Tucker ranks 13th in on-base percentage.
While Tucker has plenty of shortstop experience, he has split his time with the Isotopes between the outfield and second base. He brings some defensive flexibility to Bud Black’s bench. Tucker is out of minor league option years, so the Rox have to keep him in the bigs or designate him for assignment now that he earned an MLB call. If he plays well enough to hold a roster spot all season, he won’t be eligible for arbitration until the end of next year.
Rockies, Cole Tucker Agree To Minor League Deal
The Rockies are in agreement with utilityman Cole Tucker on a minor league contract, reports Mark Feinsand of MLB.com (Twitter link). He’ll receive an invitation to big league Spring Training.
Tucker was a first-round selection of the Pirates, going 24th overall out of an Arizona high school in 2014. For the next half-decade, he appeared among the top ten prospects in the Pittsburgh system at Baseball America. A speedster who saw a fair bit of time up the middle of the diamond, Tucker never consistently performed offensively at the upper levels. He owns a .238/.333/.372 line over parts of three Triple-A campaigns.
Despite that tepid offensive output in the upper minors, Tucker got MLB looks with the Bucs in each of the past four seasons. He’s combined for 469 plate appearances at the top level, hitting .211/.259/.314 with five home runs. He’s walked at a below-average 6% clip while striking out 27.5% of the time. The Pirates waived Tucker at the start of June, and he landed with the Diamondbacks. Arizona ran him through outright waivers a month later, and he qualified for minor league free agency at the end of the season.
Now 26 years old, Tucker will join the third organization of his career. He offers the Rockies a solid athlete with the ability to play everywhere other than catcher. Coors Field offers plenty of ground to cover in the outfield, so Tucker’s plus speed would make him an interesting depth outfielder if he shows enough offensively to earn a big league job.
Diamondbacks Outright Cole Tucker
The Diamondbacks announced that infielder Cole Tucker has been outrighted to Triple-A Reno. There was no public announcement of Tucker having been designated for assignment, but the club evidently passed him through waivers in recent days. Arizona’s 40-man roster now sits at 39.
The fact that the 29 other teams in the league passed on a chance to grab Tucker for nothing shows how far his stock has fallen in recent years. Selected by the Pirates with the 24th overall pick in the 2014 draft, he was considered one of the better prospects in Pittsburgh’s system during his time in the minors. Baseball America ranked him one of the ten best Pirate farmhands for five straight years beginning in 2015.
Tucker was always considered a glove-first prospect, but the Pirates surely hoped for more offense than what Tucker was able to provide during his time in the organization. In 154 MLB games over 2019-2022, he hit just .211/.259/.314 for a wRC+ of 53. They eventually ran out of patience and designated him for assignment at the end of May.
The Diamondbacks snagged Tucker off waivers, perhaps hoping that a return to a familiar environment could reinvigorate his career. Tucker was born in Phoenix, played high school ball at Mountain Pointe High there and was committed to the University of Arizona before being drafted. It wasn’t a perfect homecoming, however, as the D-Backs weren’t willing to commit to having Tucker on the big league roster. He was instead optioned to the Triple-A team in Reno. In 22 games for the Aces, he’s hit .235/.297/.296 so far, producing a wRC+ of 50. He’ll now stay with the Aces but without occupying a spot on Arizona’s 40-man roster.
Diamondbacks Claim Cole Tucker From Pirates, Designate Jacob Webb
The Diamondbacks have claimed Cole Tucker off waivers from the Pirates, reports Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The club later announced the claim, with right-hander Jacob Webb being designated for assignment to create a spot for Tucker on the 40-man roster. Tucker has been optioned to Triple-A.
This will be a homecoming for Tucker, as he was born in Phoenix, played high school ball at Mountain Pointe High there, and committed to the University of Arizona before being selected by the Pirates in the first round of the 2014 draft.
Despite being a former first round selection, Tucker has struggled to cement himself in the big leagues so far. In 154 career games, he’s hit just .211/259/.314 for a wRC+ of 53. Though the club initially hoped that he could be their shortstop of the future, his tepid performance at the plate pushed them into moving him around the diamond in the hopes of creating a super utility player. As such, Tucker’s seen time at each infield position, as well as appearances in center and right field.
With the Diamondbacks, they likely intend to use Tucker to help with his original shortstop position. Nick Ahmed has been on the COVID IL for a couple of weeks and is still trying to get answers about the shoulder issues that have been plaguing him for years. With Ahmed out, the club has given the bulk of their shortstop starts to Geraldo Perdomo, who is taking walks but adding no power, producing a slash line of .215/.338/.277, 82 wRC+.
Tucker, 25, is in his final option year, meaning the D-Backs can give him regular playing time in Reno and see if he can get into a groove at the plate and earn his way onto the big league roster, though he’ll be out of options next year and will need to hold onto a spot on the active roster or else be sent into DFA limbo again.
As for Webb, he pitched for the Braves in each of the previous three seasons but was designated for assignment in April, landing in Arizona on a waiver claim. He had dealt with his share of injuries but provided good results when healthy. In 76 2/3 career innings in the big leagues, he has a 2.47 ERA, 21.9% strikeout rate, 9.6% walk rate and 38.7% ground ball rate. He’s logged just 5 1/3 Triple-A innings so far this year. He is in his final option year, meaning any team lacking in depth could be interested in picking him up and stashing him in Triple-A. Arizona will have a week to trade him or put him on waivers.
Pirates Designate Cole Tucker For Assignment
The Pirates have announced their acquisition of Yu Chang from the Guardians, which was reported yesterday. In order to create space for Chang on the 40-man roster, utility player Cole Tucker has been designated for assignment. A corresponding move on the active roster will be required once Chang reports to the team.
This potentially marks the disappointing end of the Tucker-Pirates relationship that was once so full of hope. Tucker was a first round selection of the Pirates in 2014, 24th overall. As he rose through the ranks of the minors, he was considered by Baseball America to be one of the club’s ten best prospects from 2015 to 2019.
Tucker often impressed with his defense and speed, stealing over 30 bags in the minors in both 2017 and 2018. Unfortunately, his bat never provided enough for him to earn any kind of extended look in the big leagues. This is his fourth season seeing MLB action, yet he’s never played more than the 56 games he got in his 2019 debut.
Tucker exclusively played shortstop that first season, when it was hoped that he could take the position and run with it for years to come. But after a tepid .211/.266/.361 batting line on the year for a wRC+ of just 60, the club tried transitioning him into a super utility type, slotting him in at each infield position as well as center and right field at times. He never really seemed to settle into a good home anywhere on the diamond, and the bat never did anything to justify his roster spot. He’s now played 154 games over the past four seasons with 469 plate appearances, roughly a full season’s worth. His career batting line is .211/.259/.314 for a wRC+ of just 53. He has a 6% walk rate and 27.5% strikeout rate, both of those being a bit worse than league average. Despite his speed, he only has four steals on his ledger.
The Pirates will now have a week to try and trade Tucker or put him on waivers. Despite all those struggles, Tucker is still just 25 years old and is in his final option year. Some rival team could put in a claim and send him to Triple-A for the final few months of the year and see if he can get into any kind of a groove. But he’ll be out of options next year, meaning he’ll need to keep his roster spot or else be designated for assignment again. Should he clear waivers, the Pirates can keep him in the minors without him taking up a spot on the 40-man roster.
Pirates Recall Rodolfo Castro, Reinstate Duane Underwood Jr., Option Cole Tucker and Max Kranick
After already claiming right-hander Tyler Beede from the Giants and designating right-hander Beau Sulser for assignment this morning, the Pirates announced a series of further moves this afternoon, optioning shortstop Cole Tucker and right-hander Max Kranick to Triple-A Indianapolis, recalling shortstop Rodolfo Castro from Indianapolis, and reinstating right-hander Duane Underwood Jr. from the 10-day IL.
Tucker’s demotion is arguably the most notable element of all this, given his former prospect pedigree. Selected by the Pirates 24th overall in the 2014 draft, he instantly became one of the club’s most intriguing prospects. Baseball America ranked him #8 in the system the following year and Tucker would stay in the top 10 for four further years after that, gaining particular praise for his speed and defensive abilities.
However, since making his MLB debut in 2019, his performance at the plate has undermined his abilities elsewhere. In 154 career games in the big leagues, he has a batting line of .211/.259/.314, producing a wRC+ of 53. He has one option year remaining, so today’s demotion will make him out of options next year, assuming he spends at least 20 total days in the minors on the season.
Underwood, 27, was acquired from the Cubs and did yeoman’s work for the Pirates last year. In 43 games, he logged 72 2/3 innings, putting up a 4.33 ERA with a 20.3% strikeout rate, 8.4% walk rate and 43.5% ground ball rate. This year, he faced one batter before a hamstring strain put him on the shelf.
Roster Notes: Rangers, Cubs, Pirates
The Rangers announced a pair of interlocking roster moves today, optioning Spencer Howard to Triple-A and recalling outfielder Zach Reks. Howard has been shelled in 6 2/3 innings of work this season, working to a 12.15 ERA, but the demotion is reportedly more about building him up as a “full-fledged” starter, per Jeff Wilson of Rangerstoday.com (via Twitter). Whatever the reason for the move, the Rangers will surely want to see a more productive couple of appearances in Triple-A out of Howard.
Reks, meanwhile, steps right into the starting lineup, starting today’s ballgame in left field. It will be Reks first appearance with the Rangers after being acquired from the Dodgers this past November. In other roster moves…
- The Cubs have optioned Mark Leiter Jr. to Triple-A, activating Locke St. John in his place, per Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune (via Twitter). Leiter Jr. appeared in four games for the Cubs, starting three, but yielding nine earned runs over 10 1/3 innings. St. John, meanwhile, was recently added to the 40-man roster to satisfy a condition of the minor league contract he signed over the winter. For now, he’ll join Daniel Norris and Sean Newcomb in a full Chicago bullpen.
- The Pirates have reinstated Cole Tucker from the COVID Injured List and optioned Tucupita Marcano to Double-A in order to give the infielder regular playing time, per Kevin Gorman of Tribune-Review Sports (via Twitter). Marcano, still just 22, was promoted to fill the void in the short-term. He was the key piece in last season’s trade that sent Adam Frazier to the Padres.