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Rockies Select Ty Blach

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The Rockies announced that they’ve selected the contract of left-hander Ty Blach this morning. Right-hander Daniel Bard, who was sidelined for the season earlier this week by flexor tendon surgery, was placed on the 60-day injured list in a corresponding move. Colorado also announced that right-hander Noah Davis will join the club as a 27th man for today’s double-header against the Mariners.

Blach, 33, gears up for his seventh season in the majors and his third consecutive campaign in a Rockies uniform. The veteran southpaw was a fifth-round pick by the Giants in the 2012 draft and made his big league debut back in 2016. Over parts of four seasons in San Francisco, Blach proved to be a valuable swing man for the Giants with a 4.56 ERA (89 ERA+) and a 4.23 FIP in 87 appearances with the club, 39 of which were starts. Partway through the 2019 season, however, Blach was designated for assignment by the club and claimed off waivers by the Orioles. The lefty made five starts in Baltimore but struggled badly with an 11.32 ERA in 20 2/3 innings of work.

Blach found himself outrighted off the Orioles roster shortly thereafter but re-signed with the club on a minor league deal during the 2019-20 offseason. It appeared possible that Blach could make it back to the big leagues in Baltimore at some point during the 2020 campaign, but the season was shortened by the COVID-19 pandemic and Blach ultimately underwent Tommy John surgery in July of that year, just before the abbreviated campaign began. Blach remained with the Orioles on a minor league pact in 2021 and spent the season rehabbing in the minor leagues. He didn’t make it back to the big leagues before the end of the season but looked good in 16 appearances at the lower levels of the minors.

That performance was enough to earn Blach a look from the Rockies on a minor league deal prior to the 2022 season. It was the first of three consecutive minor league deals with the club and he’s been called up to the big league roster early in the season each year since. The lefty has returned to his familiar role as a swingman in Colorado with a 5.66 ERA (89 ERA+) with a 4.99 FIP in 44 appearances, 14 of which were starts. While with the Rockies, Blach has seen his velocity tick up slightly, though his 90.1 mph average on his fastball is still well below the league average and his 14.5% strikeout rate over the last two years leaves much to be desired.

Nonetheless, he’ll once again be an option for the Rockies in a long relief role or perhaps at the back of the club’s rotation. In the near-term, he’ll provide the club with a multi-inning relief option in today’s doubleheader against the Mariners alongside Noah Davis, who has struggled to a career ERA of 9.00 in 31 innings of work at the big league level since first debuting with Colorado back in 2022.

Rockies Place Kyle Freeland On Injured List With Elbow Strain

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4:25pm: Freeland told the Colorado beat that the injury is unrelated to the home plate collision (X link via Patrick Lyons). There’s no timetable for his return. The southpaw went for imaging but said he doesn’t expect it’ll reveal any ligament damage.

3:20pm: The Rockies announced that left-hander Kyle Freeland has been placed on the 15-day injured list with a left elbow strain, retroactive to April 16. Right-hander Noah Davis has been recalled in a corresponding move.

Freeland, 31 next month, is having a rough start to his season, having allowed 23 earned runs in 15 2/3 innings over his first four starts. Most recently, he was the subject of attention for a non-pitching appearance he made. After Freeland had started Sunday’s game, he entered Monday’s contest as a pinch runner.

Catcher Elias Díaz doubled with two outs in the top of the ninth, with the Rockies tied with the Phillies at the time. Freeland ran for Díaz and went to third on a wild pitch, then later tried to score on yet another wild pitch. But as he slid into home, he collided with pitcher Jeff Hoffman, who was receiving the ball from catcher J.T. Realmuto and attempting to make a tag. Freeland was ruled out and was visibly hurt on the play, grabbing at his non-throwing shoulder (Video via MLB.com).

After the game, manager Bud Black said that Freeland was fine, per Luke Zahlmann of the Denver Gazette. Black later explained to MLB Network Radio that a stomach virus was going around the club and a couple of guys on the team were not even present at the ballpark, meaning there was essentially no position player bench to draw from, which is why Freeland was tapped for the unusual assignment.

That injury was to Freeland’s right shoulder and today’s is a strain of his left elbow. The team has not commented on today’s injury announcement, though Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post says they’re unrelated.

Whether there’s any connection to the pinch-running situation or not, it’s bad news for the Rockies either way. They have started the season 4-15 and Freeland’s injury will further thin out a pitching staff that is arguably the worst in baseball. Collectively, Colorado pitchers have a 6.01 ERA, highest in the league. The Astros are 29th at 5.24 and will likely see some stabilization now that Justin Verlander is coming off the injured list, thus bumping everyone else down a peg.

The Rockies play in a very hitter-friendly setting but it’s still been bleak. As of a few years ago, the Colorado rotation was anchored by Freeland, Antonio Senzatela and Germán Márquez, with the Rockies signing extensions with all three of those pitchers. But the latter two both required Tommy John surgery last summer, leaving Freeland as the only member of that trio left standing.

As mentioned, Freeland wasn’t out to a great start, but in a tiny sample size. Over his entire career, he has a 4.53 earned run average despite pitching half his games at Coors Field. The Rockies gave him a five-year, $64.5MM extension going into the 2022 season. To this point, it’s unclear if Freeland is facing a significant absence, but the fact that he has an elbow strain will at least lead to some worry that yet another pitcher will be going under the knife. Even if that doesn’t come to pass, the Rockies will nonetheless be proceeding without any of their core starters for the next few weeks at least.

Davis was starting in the minors so perhaps he will step in Freeland’s rotation spot for the time being alongside Cal Quantrill, Dakota Hudson, Austin Gomber and Ryan Feltner. The club will presumably provide more details about Freeland’s prognosis, either before or after tonight’s game.

NL West Notes: Suter, Wacha, Sheehan

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The Rockies placed left-hander Brent Suter on the 15-day injured list yesterday due to a left oblique strain, and recalled righty Noah Davis from Triple-A in the corresponding move.  Suter has posted his typically low strikeout rate and his 8.1% walk rate is barely above league average, but the 33-year-old has nonetheless worked to a 2.81 ERA over 41 2/3 innings out of Colorado’s bullpen.  Suter has allowed only two home runs over those 41 2/3 frames, and he has some of the best soft-contact numbers of any pitcher in baseball, sitting in the 99th percentile of hard-hit ball rate and in the 97th percentile of barrel rate.

Losing Suter to the IL is another blow to the injury-riddled Rockies, but the particular timing of the oblique problem adds some doubt to the southpaw’s value as a trade chip.  Suter is a free agent after the season, and thus a logical player for the Rockies to shop in what looks like another non-contending season for the club.  While oblique injuries can vary greatly in severity, it appears that Suter’s issue is relatively minor, as he told MLB.com that he was still feeling good and was planning to continue playing catch.

More from around the NL West…

  • Knuckleballer Matt Waldron will start today’s game for the Padres, as Michael Wacha (the original scheduled starter) will skip a turn in the rotation due to some shoulder fatigue.  Manager Bob Melvin described the move as “proactive,” telling the San Diego Union-Tribune’s Jeff Sanders and other reporters that Wacha has “got a little bit of history there with the shoulder.  He’s been as good as any pitcher in the National League so this is something we don’t want to push.”  Wacha has missed some time with shoulder issues in three of the last four seasons but not any truly significant time, making this seemingly more of a nagging injury than a top-tier concern.  Wacha has a 2.90 ERA over 80 2/3 innings for San Diego this season, with a 1.7 fWAR that leads all Padres pitchers.  Despite a below-average strikeout rate, Wacha has relied on soft contact and good control to achieve that ERA, and both his changeup and (due to some batted-ball luck) four-seamer have been premium pitches.
  • Emmet Sheehan’s MLB career is off to a tremendous start, as the Dodgers prospect has a 1.50 ERA over his first 12 innings in the Show.  Sheehan held the Astros to two runs over six frames in yesterday’s 3-2 Los Angeles victory, earning his first big league win in the process.  Unsurprisingly, this success has earned Sheehan a continued look, as Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters (including The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya) that Sheehan will get another start next week.  Julio Urias, Noah Syndergaard, and Dustin May are all on the IL, and while Urias might be back within a week or so, L.A. has had to rely on younger arms to join Clayton Kershaw and Tony Gonsolin in the rotation.  Sheehan and Bobby Miller have done well to pick up the slack, while Michael Grove has been less consistent.  Roberts said that Grove will work as a bulk pitcher behind an opener on Wednesday, when the Dodgers play the Rockies.

Rockies Place Noah Davis On 15-Day IL, Recall Nick Mears

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Per a team announcement, the Rockies have placed right-hander Noah Davis on the 15-day injured list with right elbow inflammation. In a corresponding move, the club has recalled right-hander Nick Mears from Triple-A Albuquerque.

The loss of Davis is yet another blow to a Rockies rotation that has already lost German Marquez and has been without Antonio Senzatela since the end of last season. That leaves Colorado with just three healthy starters at the moment: Kyle Freeland, Austin Gomber, and Ryan Feltner. As noted by Danielle Allentuck of The Denver Gazette, however, Senzatela could be ready to return to big league action for the next turn through the rotation if his rehab start today goes well.

The 26-year-old Davis has made three starts for the Rockies to mixed results so far this season. While he’s allowed a concerning nine runs (eight earned) over 11 2/3 innings, he’s posted a strong 64.9% groundball rate and dealt with some bad luck as indicated by his allowed BABIP of .417, leaving his FIP at a much more palatable 3.96. With Davis unavailable and Senzatela unlikely to be ready before at the earliest, right-hander Peter Lambert or lefty Logan Allen seem like the most likely options to start Wednesday’s game against the Brewers, when the Rockies will next need another start outside of Gomber, Freeland, and Feltner.

In Davis’s place, the Rockies will turn to the 26-year-old Mears. Mears debuted with the Pirates during the shortened 2020 season and sports a career 4.75 ERA in 30 1/3 innings of work. Mears was claimed on waivers twice over the course of last offseason, first from the Pirates by the Rangers in December, then by the Rockies from the Rangers in January.

West Notes: Tepera, Davis, Davies, Gray

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Ryan Tepera left today’s game with a shoulder issue and will receive further examination, Angels manager Phil Nevin told MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger and other reporters.  Tepera needed 33 pitches to get through two-thirds of an inning against the Red Sox today, with two hits, a walk, and two catcher’s interference calls on Matt Thaiss resulting in three runs (one earned).

Losing Tepera to injury wouldn’t help an Anaheim bullpen that has already had its share of struggles in the early going, though Tepera has been part of those struggles with a 13.50 ERA over 3 1/3 innings of work.  The veteran reliever signed a two-year, $14MM free agent deal with Los Angeles during the 2021-22 offseason and was pretty solid in 2022, posting a 3.61 ERA over 57 1/3 innings with some elite soft-contact rates. [UPDATE: the Angels placed Tepera on the 15-day IL due to shoulder inflammation on Sunday. Tepera doesn’t think the injury is too serious, as he told Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register and other reporters that he plans to start throwing again after a few days off.]

More from around both the AL and NL West divisions as Jackie Robinson Day comes to a close….

  • The Rockies will call up right-hander Noah Davis from Triple-A to start Sunday’s game against the Mariners.  (The Denver Gazette’s Danielle Allentuck was among those who reported the news.)  With German Marquez now on the 15-day IL, Davis was seen as a logical candidate to take Marquez’s spot in the rotation, as Davis is already on Colorado’s 40-man roster and has plenty of experience as a starter during his time in the Rockies’ and Reds’ farm systems.  Davis is just a week away from his 26th birthday, and he made his MLB debut in the form of one inning of relief work with the Rockies last season.
  • Zach Davies was placed on the 15-day injured list due a strained left oblique last weekend, and Diamondbacks Torey Lovullo told reporters (including the Arizona Republic’s Nick Piecoro) that Davies will need “several weeks” to recover.  Lovullo was a little vague about the nature of Davies’ injury, stopping short of calling it a Grade 2 oblique strain, but also saying it was “more than” a Grade 1 strain.  Regardless, Davies now looks to miss some significant time, so Drey Jameson might get a long look at the replacement in Arizona’s rotation.
  • X-rays were negative on Rangers right-hander Jon Gray after Gray was hit on the elbow by a Yanier Diaz line drive in tonight’s game.  Texas manager Bruce Bochy even told MLB.com’s Kennedi Landry and other reporters that Gray isn’t expected to miss his next turn in the rotation.  An upcoming off-day on Thursday will give Gray an extra day to rest and recover, and while plans could change if his elbow/forearm area continues to be sore, it still counts as some real good fortune for Gray in avoiding what looked like a potentially serious injury.  Counting today’s abbreviated two-inning outing, Gray has a 3.21 ERA over three starts and 14 innings thus far in 2023.

Rockies Notes: Rotation, Senzatela, Rolison

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The Rockies were dealt a hit to their rotation this week. Germán Márquez left Monday’s start with a forearm strain that necessitated a 15-day injured list placement. While he and the club have downplayed their concern based on an MRI that didn’t reveal any significant structural issues, they’ll have to plug a short-term vacancy in the starting five.

Manager Bud Black addressed the situation with reporters this afternoon (relayed by Patrick Lyons of DNVR). Black pointed to righties Noah Davis, Peter Lambert and Karl Kauffmann as candidates to assume the vacant spot. All three are currently in Triple-A Albuquerque. Lambert and Davis were optioned there to start the season, while Kauffmann was assigned there as a player who is not currently on the 40-man roster.

Davis made his MLB debut last season with one relief outing. He spent the bulk of the year starting for Double-A Hartford, where he put up a 5.54 ERA over 26 starts. The 25-year-old struggled with walks and home runs but punched out more than a quarter of opponents at the level. He’s walked seven and struck out six over three starts in Albuquerque.

Lambert, also 25, logged 95 big league innings between 2019-21. The former second round pick was once a reasonably promising prospect. He struggled to a 7.48 ERA in his first 21 MLB starts, though, and injuries have robbed him of most of the last three seasons. Lambert has allowed three runs with three strikeouts and walks apiece in 4 1/3 Triple-A innings this year.

Kauffmann has yet to make his big league debut. He split last year between Hartford and Albuquerque, pitching to a solid 4.06 ERA over 15 starts at the former stop. He allowed more than six earned runs per nine innings over 13 outings upon being bumped up to the top minor league level. The 25-year-old has allowed eight runs in nine frames there this year.

Rotation depth has been a concern for the Rockies since the season opened. Beyond Márquez, only Kyle Freeland was an established member of the season-opening starting five. José Ureña and Austin Gomber posted middling numbers last year, while the Rockies turned to Ryan Feltner in the fifth spot. That’s in part because Antonio Senzatela is still rehabbing from the ACL tear he suffered last summer, though he’ll take a notable step forward this week.

Danielle Allentuck of the Denver Gazette tweets that Senzatela will make his first rehab start on Friday. He’s scheduled to toss two innings in a complex league game. The Rockies have maintained they expect Senzatela back on the Coors Field mound sometime in May and it seems he’s still on track for that target.

Meanwhile, left-hander Ryan Rolison threw a side session yesterday without issue, as reflected on the MLB.com injury tracker. He’s progressing towards game action. Colorado’s first round draftee in 2018, the southpaw is on the 40-man roster but hasn’t yet reached the majors. Rolison underwent shoulder surgery last June. He could be in line for his MLB debut at some point this season after starting ten games in Triple-A last year.

Rockies Select Three Players

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The Rockies on Friday announced three players have been selected to the 40-man roster: lefty Ryan Rolison, righty Noah Davis and infielder Ezequiel Tovar. All three are now protected from this offseason’s Rule 5 Draft. Colorado’s 40-man roster is up to a total of 39 players.

Rolison, 24, had a rough season in Triple-A this year but is still regarded as one of the better pitching prospects in a thin Rockies system. The 2018 first-rounder was clobbered for a 5.91 ERA in 45 2/3 frames with the Rockies’ top affiliate. An appendectomy operation interrupted his 2021 season and kept him on the shelf for a notable chunk of the summer, but the lefty pitched well prior to that surgery. He’s generally regarded as a potential big league starter with a full four-pitch mix — the type of prospect the Rockies are lacking in the upper minors.

Davis, an 11th-round pick by the Reds in 2018, came to the Rockies in their deadline Mychal Givens swap. He’s yet to advance to the Double-A level but did notch a 3.60 ERA with a 25.2% strikeout rate and 10.2% walk rate in 106 innings at Class-A Advanced between the two organizations. Ranked 18th among Rockies prospects at MLB.com, he’s seen as a potential fifth starter.

Tovar, a slick-fielding shortstop, split the 2021 season between the Rockies’ two Class-A levels and posted a .287/.322/.475 batting line. Most of his damage came in Low-A, and scouting reports on Tovar question how much he’ll ever hit against more advanced pitching. Tovar’s 2021 numbers were sound, however, and if he can continue to defy expectations at the plate he could factor into the big league equation by the 2023 season.

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