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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.

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 Place Germán Márquez On IL With Elbow Inflammation

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3:50pm: Márquez spoke to reporters about his situation today, including Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post. He says that he thinks he will be out up to six weeks, though that seems to still be up in the air. Tommy John surgery is ruled out for now but he says he’s worried he’ll need it eventually. Further testing is still to come as he’ll see another doctor on Monday.

2:20pm: The Rockies announced that right-hander Germán Márquez has been placed on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to April 27, due to right elbow inflammation. Fellow righty Connor Seabold has been recalled in a corresponding move.

It’s been a frustrating season for Marquez, who made three starts before going on the injured list with a forearm strain. It seemed as though he avoided a significant absence when he returned this week and took the ball for Wednesday’s game. Unfortunately, he was removed after calling the trainers to the mound and revealed after the game that he had soreness in his triceps. He was set to get an MRI in Denver yesterday and it seems there’s enough concern to put him on the shelf for at least a couple weeks.

It’s still not known exactly how much time he’s expected to miss, but it’s a blow to the Colorado rotation nonetheless. Márquez is the club’s best starting pitcher, having a 4.41 ERA through 176 appearances. Since he plays his home games at Coors Field, ERA estimators tend to agree that he deserves better, with his career FIP at 4.02 and his SIERA at 3.96. He has a 22.9% strikeout rate, 7% walk rate and 48.5% ground ball rate.

Any club would prefer to avoid losing its best starter, of course, but the Rockies will be especially challenged since their rotation hasn’t been a strong suit for them. Kyle Freeland, Noah Davis, Austin Gomber and Ryan Feltner are the remaining four in the club’s rotation, with Seabold now potentially joining them or perhaps serving a long relief role of the bullpen. He has 12 major league appearances under his belt but with an 8.81 ERA thus far.

Márquez is in the final guaranteed season of the extension he signed with the Rockies back in 2019. The club will have a $13.5MM decision to make on him at the end of the campaign, as they can trigger a $16MM option for 2024 or take a $2.5MM buyout. If his injury ends up being minor, then it should be a pretty easy call to keep him around for one more year at that price, but a more significant ailment could perhaps make it a bit trickier.

Germán Márquez To Get MRI For Triceps Injury

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3:10pm: Márquez provided reporters with updates after the game, as relayed by Harding and Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post. He says his pain is in his triceps, not in the forearm like the previous issue that sent him to the injured list. Initial testing didn’t show significant damage but he’ll get an MRI in Denver tomorrow.

2:10pm: Rockies’ right-hander Germán Márquez departed today’s game, with Thomas Harding of MLB.com among those to relay the details. Márquez was visibly distraught on the mound, leading to a visit from the training staff and Márquez departing without hesitation after having thrown 58 pitches.

A pitcher leaving a game as a precautionary measure is quite common, but this instance is noteworthy on a few fronts. For one thing, Márquez just came off the injured list today, having spent the past 15 days there for forearm discomfort. It appeared he avoided significant injury based on his minimal absence, but it now seems possible the injury has been re-aggravated or was perhaps more serious than previously thought.

This is all still speculative at this point, but it would be a blow to the Rockies if Márquez ends up needing to miss more time as he’s been their best starting pitcher for the past few years. In just over 1,000 career innings coming into today, he had a 4.40 career ERA, no small feat for a pitcher who throws half of his innings at Coors Field. He’s struck out 22.9% of batters faced, walked just 7% and kept the ball on the ground at a 48.6% clip.

No team wants to lose its best starter for any amount of time but that’s especially true for a Colorado club that hasn’t had strong rotations in recent years. Right now, Kyle Freeland has a serviceable 4.28 ERA but with his strikeout rate down at 15.9%, a few ticks below his career norm. Austin Gomber has a 9.28 ERA on the campaign. Ryan Feltner has a 4.68 ERA despite a 12.7% walk rate. Noah Davis has a tiny 0.93 ERA this year but in just two starts and only one inning of prior major league experience. José Ureña was sitting on 9.82 before he was designated for assignment to make room on the roster for the return of Marquez.

If Márquez needs to miss some time, they have Connor Seabold and Peter Lambert on the 40-man roster, both of whom have career ERAs north of 7.00 in the big leagues and are currently above 5.00 in Triple-A this year. Antonio Senzatela will be an option eventually but is still working his way back from last year’s torn ACL. He recently pitched in extended Spring Training but is likely still a few weeks away at least.

For Márquez personally, he’s in the final guaranteed season of the $43MM extension he signed with the club in April of 2019, making $15MM this year. The club has a $16MM option for 2024 that comes with a $2.5MM buyout, making it a net $13.5MM decision. It would be a fairly easy decision for them to trigger that and keep Márquez around for his age-29 season if he were healthy, though that calculus could change if he needed to miss significant time.

The Rockies are currently 8-17 and generally aren’t expected to be in contention this summer. That would theoretically make Márquez a trade candidate, given the looming end of his contract. However, the Rockies have often been surprisingly unwilling to part with their players in deadline deals, even when it makes speculative sense. Recent years have seen them cling to players like Trevor Story, Jon Gray and Daniel Bard even when outside observers thought a trade could be on the table.

Rockies Notes: Marquez, Grichuk, Bard, Senzatela

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The Rockies provided updates to MLB.com’s Thomas Harding (Twitter links) and other reporters about several injured players, including right-hander German Marquez.  After Marquez was placed on the 15-day injured list last Wednesday due to forearm inflammation, the initial diagnosis was Marquez had avoided any serious injury and might be back in relatively short order.  A good step was taken in that direction today as Marquez started throwing for the first time since his IL placement, engaging in a game of catch prior to the Rockies’ game with the Mariners.

It remains to be seen how long Marquez might be sidelined, as even with a minor forearm issue, the Rox aren’t going to rush the hurler back into action.  Marquez’s first three starts in the year resulted in a 4.41 ERA over 16 1/3 innings, and while it’s a small sample size, early points of interest include some improved control (a very good 3.2% walk rate) and a marked increase in Marquez’s usage of his slider.  The righty is still allowing a lot of hard contact and is striking out batters at a subpar rate, but that was also often the case for Marquez in his better seasons.

Randal Grichuk and Daniel Bard both started rehab assignments at Triple-A today, after first working in games during extended Spring Training.  Neither player has yet made their season debut — Grichuk underwent surgery in early February to correct a bilateral sports hernia, while Bard was placed on the 15-day IL just prior to Opening Day due to anxiety issues.  Grichuk naturally has a more set recovery timeline, as he was initially expected to be back by mid-April, and it looks like he’ll return to Colorado’s lineup only slightly after that projected date.  Bard’s timeline is more fluid due to the uncertainty of anxiety issues, but the start of a rehab assignment indicates that he might be closing in on a return to the Rockies’ bullpen.

Antonio Senzatela’s return is still a ways away, as the righty is recovering from a torn ACL suffered last August.  However, Senzatela did pitch two innings in an extended Spring Training game on Friday, and he’ll pitch in another extended camp game on Tuesday.  Depending on how Senzatela comes out of Tuesday’s outing, the Rockies might then set a course for his rehab plan.  The initial expectation was that Senzatela might be back in the majors by May, and Colorado starting the season with Senzatela on the 15-day IL (instead of the 60-day IL) is indicative of their hope that the right-hander don’t miss too much more time.

Rockies Place German Marquez On Injured List

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The Rockies are placing righty German Marquez on the 15-day injured list, Marquez himself told reporters prior to today’s game (Twitter link via Danielle Allentuck of the Denver Gazette). Marquez, who exited yesterday’s game due to forearm discomfort, has avoided any structural damage it seems. An MRI revealed only inflammation in his ailing forearm, but he’ll still be shelved for a bit to allow for some rest. A more precise timetable for his recovery has not yet been provided by the team. Corner infielder/outfielder Nolan Jones has been recalled from Triple-A to take Marquez’s spot on the active roster for now.

Marquez and lefty Kyle Freeland have been the Rockies’ only two effective starters thus far in the season, and an absence for him will place even further strain on a starting staff that has combined for a 5.07 ERA in its first 60 1/3 frames. Lefty Austin Gomber and righties Ryan Feltner and Jose Urena have combined to allow 24 runs in 25 1/3 innings over their collective six starts so far in 2023.

The Rockies’ options beyond Marquez are relatively thin. Antonio Senzatela is already on the injured list while rehabbing from last year’s ACL tear, and southpaw Ryan Rolison is rehabbing from last summer’s shoulder surgery. Relievers Ty Blach and Connor Seabold are both stretched out for multiple innings already and both have experience as starters. Triple-A righties Peter Lambert and Noah Davis are on the 40-man roster. Lambert has missed significant time due to injury in recent years and hasn’t had much success at the big league level. Davis has just one Major League frame under his belt.

Marquez has been the team’s most consistent starter since 2017, pitching to a cumulative 4.38 ERA in 991 1/3 frames over 169 starts during that time. He’s been one of the game’s most durable starters in that stretch, ranking fourth among all MLB pitchers in terms of games started.

Marquez is playing out the final guaranteed season of a five-year, $43MM contract extension he agreed to back in April of 2019. He’s earning a $15MM salary this season, and the Rox hold a $16MM club option over him with a $2.5MM buyout. So long as he’s healthy, that option seems like a fairly straightforward decision to exercise.

German Marquez Diagnosed With Forearm Strain, No Significant Structural Damage

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10:47pm: Márquez expects to be placed on the 15-day injured list, he said after tonight’s loss to the Cardinals (relayed by Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post).

9:24pm: Rockies starter Germán Márquez was sent for an MRI after leaving yesterday’s start with tightness in his forearm. Imaging revealed a muscle strain but no significant structural damage, Thomas Harding of MLB.com reports.

It’s a relief there are apparently no structural issues that would raise the specter of surgery. Nevertheless, it’s hard to envision Márquez avoiding the injured list after the revelation of a forearm injury. The Rockies haven’t yet made a roster move or provided any kind of timetable for his recovery.

Márquez is the top pitcher on the Rockies’ staff. He’s allowed eight runs in 16 1/3 innings this season but struck out 13 while issuing only two walks. The Venezuelan-born hurler had a down 2022 season, allowing nearly five earned runs per nine over 31 starts. Between 2017-21, he worked to a 4.25 ERA with an above-average 24% strikeout rate.

Rotation depth is a major concern for Colorado. Antonio Senzatela is still recovering from last summer’s torn ACL. Beyond Márquez and Kyle Freeland, the Rox currently have José Ureña, Ryan Feltner and Austin Gomber rounding out the starting five. Ureña and Feltner, in particular, have been hit hard in their first two starts. Long reliever Connor Seabold and Peter Lambert appear to be the top options to step into the rotation should Márquez miss any time.

It’s a crucial season for Márquez, who’s in the final guaranteed year of his contract. The Rockies aren’t expected to compete for a playoff spot and could listen to offers on players closer to the trade deadline. A healthy Márquez would be a target for a number of clubs, though Colorado has steadfastly refused interest in previous summers. They could well do so again, as the Rox hold a $16MM option on his services that comes with a $2.5MM buyout for next season. The net $13.5MM call is strong value if the right-hander is healthy. That calculus could change if he’s forced to miss a notable chunk of this season with a forearm issue but the timeline remains to be determined.

German Marquez Leaves Start With Forearm Tightness

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Rockies hurler Germán Márquez left tonight’s win over the Cardinals after just five innings and 62 pitches. He’d come out to warm up in the sixth but called out the trainer and gestured toward the outside of his forearm. Postgame, manager Bud Black called the issue forearm tightness (link via Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post).

It’s far too early for the Rox to have a definitive diagnosis. Black expressed hope the issue isn’t serious and didn’t rule out the possibility of Márquez making his next start. Thomas Harding of MLB.com tweets that Márquez also downplayed his concern, though he noted he’s also experienced some forearm tightness between his starts. Whether he’ll be able to avoid the injured list will be clearer after he undergoes further evaluation tomorrow.

Forearm tightness is an ominous diagnosis for any pitcher. It can be a precursor to ligament or muscular damage in the forearm/elbow area. That doesn’t inherently mean Márquez’s issue is serious, of course, but it’ll be cause for concern for Colorado until there’s more clarity on what’s causing the discomfort.

Márquez is the top pitcher on the Rockies’ staff. He’s allowed eight runs in 16 1/3 innings this season but struck out 13 while issuing only two walks. The Venezuelan-born hurler had a down 2022 season, allowing nearly five earned runs per nine over 31 starts. Between 2017-21, he worked to a 4.25 ERA with an above-average 24% strikeout rate.

Rotation depth is a major concern for Colorado. Antonio Senzatela is still recovering from last summer’s torn ACL. Beyond Márquez and Kyle Freeland, the Rox currently have José Ureña, Ryan Feltner and Austin Gomber rounding out the starting five. Ureña and Feltner, in particular, have been hit hard in their first two starts. Long reliever Connor Seabold and Peter Lambert appear to be the top options to step into the rotation should Márquez miss any time.

This Date In Transaction History: German Marquez Extension

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The most notable early April transactions tend to be extensions. Those talks often commence during Spring Training and can sometimes linger into the early portion of the regular season. One notable example occurred on this date four years ago, when the Rockies officially announced an extension with staff ace Germán Márquez.

That contract guaranteed the Venezuelan-born righty $43MM over five seasons. Márquez had between two and three years of service at the time. The deal bought out all four seasons of arbitration eligibility — he’d qualified for early arbitration as a Super Two player — and at least one free agent year. It also contained a club option for a sixth season, potentially pushing Colorado’s window of control out by two years.

It remains the second-largest extension for an arbitration-eligible pitcher within that service window, trailing only the $50MM deal Blake Snell had signed with Tampa Bay the month prior. Márquez was coming off the best season of his career, throwing 196 innings of 3.77 ERA ball with a 28.2% strikeout rate to help the Rox to a playoff berth.

The results over the past few seasons have been mixed. Márquez’s ERA backed up to 4.76 in 2019. His peripherals remained solid, although his strikeout rate dropped by almost four percentage points. Márquez rebounded with a 3.75 ERA over 13 starts during the shortened season, a strong mark for a pitcher who spends half his time at Coors Field. He earned his first All-Star nod in 2021, as he carried an excellent 3.36 ERA through that year’s first half. Opposing hitters teed off towards the end of that season, though, tagging him for more than six earned runs per nine innings after the All-Star Break.

Those struggles lingered into the following season. Márquez’s 2022 campaign was arguably the worst of his career. While he stayed healthy and soaked up 181 2/3 frames in 31 outings, his 4.95 ERA was his highest mark (excluding a six-outing debut in 2016). His 20% strikeout percentage was a hair below the league average. Márquez hasn’t missed bats as frequently as he did back in 2018 even though his average fastball velocity has held steady in the 95-96 MPH range. His slider and curveball speeds have gone up a couple ticks over the years but have lost some depth, contributing to the dip in whiffs.

Including his first two starts this year, Márquez owns a cumulative 4.58 ERA in 106 starts since the beginning of the 2019 season. He’s been durable and easily leads the team in innings, soaking up 628 2/3 frames over that stretch. Márquez has punched out 22% of opponents, kept his walks to a 7.1% rate and induced grounders at a 49.5% clip. That’s slightly above-average production after accounting for his home park, with a 4.08 SIERA painting him as a capable #3 type starter. Yet while he flashed top-of-the-rotation numbers at times, his past year and a half have been below his early-career standards.

The Rockies have gotten solid value out the Márquez extension and it’s a deal they’d likely sign again in hindsight. The organization has signed a few other arbitration-eligible players to extensions with mixed results. Ryan McMahon is signed through 2027, while the club locked up Kyle Freeland and Antonio Senzatela through 2026. The McMahon deal ($70MM over six years) looks like solid value. The club didn’t get much from Senzatela or Freeland last year, the first seasons of their respective contracts. A three-year, $14.5MM deal for backstop Elias Díaz didn’t go well in year one.

Colorado hasn’t found any team success over the past four seasons. They’ve finished either fourth or fifth in the NL West every year, and they’re generally expected to do the same in 2023. They’re potentially facing an inflection point with Márquez, as this is the final guaranteed season of his deal. The Rox hold the aforementioned club option next year, which is valued at $16MM and comes with a $2.5MM buyout. That still looks like decent value considering his career body of work. Jameson Taillon and Taijuan Walker, for instance, each secured $17-18MM annually over four years as free agents last offseason. If Márquez repeats his 2022 numbers, however, it could be a more borderline call for the Colorado front office.

The Rox might also have to again grapple with trade questions this summer. Colorado has made clear they wouldn’t listen on Márquez near the deadline in recent seasons. That could well again be the case considering the organization’s longstanding opposition to a retool or complete teardown. As the extension gets closer to its conclusion, that decision could become tougher for general manager Bill Schmidt and his front office.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Injury Notes: Marquez, Kopech, White

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German Marquez suffered a left hamstring injury during conditioning drills, though Rockies manager Bud Black told The Denver Post’s Patrick Saunders and other reporters that Marquez was able to do some light running on Friday and play catch.  The injury seems minor enough that Marquez expressed hope that he could still pitch for his native Venezuela during the second round of the World Baseball Classic, though Marquez will be sidelined for the first round of WBC play.

The right-hander is looking to bounce back from a disappointing 2022 campaign that saw him post a 4.95 ERA over 181 2/3 innings and some of the worst hard-contact numbers of any pitcher in baseball.  Any kind of delay in his spring work won’t help in Marquez’s rebound efforts, and a pitching-thin team like Colorado certainly can’t afford seeing its ace miss any time.  However, the injury may have taken place early enough that Marquez’s Opening Day status may not be in question — as Black put it, “we’re fortunate in a lot of ways, and German realizes this, that it’s the middle of February and not the middle of March.”

More on other injury situations around the sport…

  • Both Michael Kopech and White Sox manager Pedro Grifol think the right-hander is going to be ready for Opening Day, as they updated reporters (including the Associated Press) about Kopech’s status following an injury-marred end to his season.  Kopech spent time on the injured list due to shoulder inflammation and a left knee strain, and his season came to an early end when he underwent surgery to fix a tear in his right meniscus.  After an offseason of rehab work, Kopech is now “at a point where the knee’s feeling better, the shoulder’s feeling better.  But it’s just kind of smoothing things out and getting back to 100 percent.” With Kopech tossing only 119 1/3 innings in 2022, his first full season as a starting pitcher ended up being somewhat limited, though he overcame some very shaky metrics to post a 3.54 ERA.
  • Mitch White told MLB.com’s Keegan Matheson that he had a slight shoulder impingement in January that somewhat delayed his usual offseason routine, but the Blue Jays righty is now feeling “great.”  White is close to starting to throw side sessions, and that might provide a clearer picture of whether or not White is fully ready as camp opens.  Entering his first full season with Toronto, White struggled to a 7.74 ERA over 43 innings with the Blue Jays after being traded from the Dodgers, but White still enters camp in competition for the Jays’ fifth starter role.
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