Ryan Feltner

Rockies Place Ryan Feltner On Injured List

By Anthony Franco | May 2, 2025 at 6:55pm CDT

The Rockies placed Ryan Feltner on the 15-day injured list with back spasms. The placement is retroactive to April 29. Righty Bradley Blalock is up from Triple-A Albuquerque in a corresponding move.

Feltner has been the best pitcher in a floundering Colorado rotation. He owns a 4.75 earned run average through 30 1/3 innings over six starts. His 18.5% strikeout rate is middling, but he’s getting grounders at a 48.5% clip while showing solid control. Feltner posted similar numbers in 30 starts a year ago. He pitched to a 4.49 ERA with a near-20% strikeout rate in a career-high 162 1/3 frames. It may not be the most exciting profile, but the former fourth-round pick has been a rare source of stability at the back of Bud Black’s rotation.

Colorado did not provide a timeline for Feltner’s return. According to the MLB.com injury tracker, he felt continued soreness in his lower back during a game of catch on Thursday. He also missed a bit of time in the second half of last season, but he made it back within a few weeks of going down with a shoulder strain.

If he’s in for a similarly brief absence, Feltner could find his name in trade rumors this summer. Colorado has been reluctant to entertain offers on players with contractual control — and sometimes on rentals even in losing seasons — but they’ll again enter deadline season as a seller. Feltner is playing on a $2.275MM salary in his first of four years of arbitration. The Rox’s track record suggests a trade is unlikely, but GM Bill Schmidt should receive calls from teams seeking affordable back-of-the-rotation help if Feltner is healthy.

Blalock could step into Feltner’s rotation spot, which is scheduled for tomorrow’s game against the Giants. Blalock started six of seven big league appearances last year as a rookie. He has come out of the bullpen for two of three MLB outings this season, allowing eight runs in seven innings. Blalock has started all three appearances with Albuquerque, giving up six runs while managing only 8 1/3 frames with 10 walks and seven strikeouts. Colorado’s other four starters — Kyle Freeland, Germán Márquez, Antonio Senzatela and Chase Dollander — have each posted an ERA of 5.22 or worse this season.

Germán Márquez Won’t Return In 2024

By Darragh McDonald | August 8, 2024 at 1:25pm CDT

Rockies right-hander Germán Márquez landed on the 15-day injured list last month due to elbow inflammation. Manager Bud Black tells Manny Randhawa of MLB.com that Márquez won’t be able to make it back to the mound this year. As Randhawa relayed on X, the righty’s ulnar collateral ligament is fine but he has a stress reaction in his elbow and won’t be able to throw for six to eight weeks. Since there’s just over seven weeks remaining in the regular season, he won’t be coming back this year.

2024 will ultimately go down as a mostly lost season for the righty. He underwent Tommy John surgery in May of last year and was able to come off the injured list in July. He made just one start, allowing three earned runs in four innings, before going back on the IL.

Today’s news is somewhat positive in the sense that the righty’s UCL is not affected and he can have a normal offseason in preparation for 2025. But it’s also less than ideal for him to be going into next year with just four innings thrown this year. Ideally, he would have had the last couple of months of the schedule to compile a decent workload to build off next year, but that won’t be possible now.

The Colorado rotation has been an issue this year, to put it mildly. The club’s starters have a collective 5.45 earned run average, worst in the majors. That’s not necessarily a surprise, between the usual challenges of pitching at Coors Field and the injury issues the club has had. In addition to Márquez, Antonio Senzatela has also missed the entire season thus far due to his own Tommy John surgery recovery. He’s slated to start a rehab assignment tonight. Kyle Freeland also missed a couple of months due to an elbow strain and has only made 12 starts this year.

With Márquez unable to come back this year, the group is unlikely to get back on track anytime soon. Just today, another domino fell as Ryan Feltner was placed on the 15-day injured list with a right shoulder strain, though it’s not yet known exactly how much time the club is expecting him to miss.

It’s theoretically possible to imagine the group being in better shape next year with with full and healthy seasons from Márquez, Senzatela and Freeland. The Rockies signed all three of those pitchers to extensions as they envisioned that trio as their rotation core. Márquez was in the final season of his deal last year when he went under the knife, but he and the club subsequently reunited on a second extension that goes through 2025.

The extended absence from Márquez complicates things somewhat. He only tossed 20 innings last year, meaning he’ll be going into 2025 with just 24 innings thrown in the previous two seasons. That could lead to tricky questions about how to handle his workload next year. He did toss 975 1/3 innings from 2017 to 2022 with a 4.38 ERA, tossing between 162 and 196 innings in each full season of that stretch as well as 81 2/3 frames in the shortened 2020 campaign, but it’s fair to wonder if his elbow will allow him to simply jump back to that level.

There are other questions to be answered as well. As mentioned, Senzatela will be rehabbing and could get some major league starts under his belt before the season ends. Freeland has been off the IL for about six weeks now and seems healthy apart from a blister he’s been dealing with lately, but he could finish with an ERA above 5.00 for the second straight season. Though to be fair, his .348 BABIP and 62.4% strand rate might be clouding things this year. His 4.13 FIP and 4.24 SIERA suggest a sunnier outlook.

Cal Quantrill figures to be in the mix since he has one more arbitration season left and wasn’t traded prior to the deadline. He has a 4.56 ERA over his 23 starts this year. Feltner is having a decent season and will be part of the calculus as well, as long as this shoulder injury doesn’t linger into next year. His even 5.00 ERA doesn’t look great but his .321 BABIP and and 62.9% strand rate are both on the unlucky side. His 20.1% strikeout rate is a bit low but his 7.3% walk rate and 45.4% ground ball rate are both solid, which is why he has a 4.30 FIP and 4.26 SIERA. Austin Gomber, like Quantrill, can be retained for one more arbitration season and is having decent campaign with a 4.66 ERA in 21 starts.

Though this year has been rough, the club arguably has six decent starters on hand for its 2025 rotation between Márquez, Senzatela, Freeland, Quantrill, Gomber and Feltner. Baseball rarely allows clubs to follow a script, however, and the picture will undoubtedly change between now and then. The latest on Márquez already puts a bit of a wrench in their plans, though ideally things will progress well after his upcoming shutdown period.

Rockies Will Listen To Offers On Cal Quantrill, Austin Gomber

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Injury Notes: Correa, Kim, Feltner, Gallegos

By Leo Morgenstern | September 18, 2023 at 11:00pm CDT

Carlos Correa exited Monday night’s game against the Reds in the first inning following a flare-up of his plantar fasciitis. The shortstop told reporters (including Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com) that he felt a tweak in his heel as he ran to catch a pop fly.

Correa has been playing through the painful condition throughout most of the season. He was diagnosed with plantar fasciitis and a muscle strain in his left foot arch back in May but has avoided a trip to the injured list thus far. The two-time All-Star suggested he could sit out a few games to preserve his body for the playoffs, although he emphasized that neither he nor the Twins have determined a course of action just yet. He acknowledged that time off his feet would do him some good, but even so, he might prefer to keep playing until Minnesota has officially clinched the AL Central crown.

The 28-year-old is in the midst of a down year, slashing just .230/.312/.399. His injury could certainly be responsible for his dip in production, in which case a few days of rest would make even more sense. The Twins are all but certain to reach October, and now is the time for Correa to focus on restoring his health. That being said, it’s understandable why he’d want to take the field every day down the stretch. As the most accomplished and highest-paid player on the roster, the 2017 World Series champion has a leadership role to play in the Twins’ clubhouse.

In other injury news around baseball:

Ha-Seong Kim sits out a second straight game, as he continues to deal with discomfort in his abdomen. The Padres infielder told reporters, including Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune, that he isn’t sure why he feels so unwell, and he’s waiting on test results that he hopes will reveal the cause. Kim has been a bright spot in a difficult season for San Diego, hitting 17 home runs, stealing 36 bases, and playing excellent defense all around the infield. Unfortunately, he has been slumping as of late, with a .204/.291/.282 slash-line over the past month; it’s unclear if his slump has anything to do with his abdominal pain.
The Rockies are preparing to reinstate starting pitcher Ryan Feltner ahead of Tuesday’s contest with the Padres, reports Thomas Harding of MLB.com. Feltner has been on the 60-day IL since late May, as he recovered from a concussion and a fractured skull. The Rockies have an open spot on their 40-man roster, so they can reinstate the righty without making a corresponding move. However, they’ll still need to free up a spot for him on the active roster. Feltner was off to a rough start in 2023 (5.86 ERA in eight starts) even before a liner off the bat of Nick Castellanos nearly ended his season. Suffice it to say, it’s remarkable that he’ll be returning to the field after such a scary injury.
The Cardinals have placed Giovanny Gallegos on the 15-day IL with right shoulder rotator cuff tendonitis. Jake Woodford was recalled from Triple-A to take his spot on the active roster. The team told reporters (including Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat) that the injury doesn’t seem serious, but they’re playing it extra safe as the season draws to a close. Indeed, they might have shut the righty down even sooner, but Gallegos wanted to ensure that he had properly addressed the pitch tipping issues he was having earlier in the season.

Rockies Reinstate Ryan Rolison, Transfer Ryan Feltner To 60-Day IL

By Anthony Franco | May 29, 2023 at 2:45pm CDT

The Rockies reinstated left-hander Ryan Rolison from the 60-day injured list this afternoon. Colorado optioned the former first round pick to Triple-A Albuquerque, so he won’t make his major league debut quite yet. In order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster, the Rox transferred righty Ryan Feltner from the 15-day to the 60-day IL. Colorado also placed Charlie Blackmon on the bereavement list and recalled Elehuris Montero before today’s game against the Diamondbacks.

Rolison has been out for almost a year. The Ole Miss product underwent shoulder surgery last June. Had he been healthy, he might’ve reached the majors last season. Rolison was already on the 40-man roster and had reached Triple-A in the second half of the 2021 campaign. Instead, the shoulder problem cost him all of 2022 and the first couple months of this season.

Colorado sent Rolison on a minor league rehab stint a couple weeks ago. He logged six innings over two starts in Low-A before tossing four innings of five-run ball for Albuquerque on Saturday. He’ll remain with the Isotopes and continue building up but could find himself in the mix for a big league look before long. The 25-year-old only has a 6.34 ERA in 49 2/3 innings in Triple-A but he’s punched out roughly a quarter of batters faced in his minor league career.

The Rockies have battled rotation uncertainty all season. Germán Márquez underwent Tommy John surgery and Antonio Senzatela suffered an elbow sprain. Feltner, meanwhile, was struck in the head by a Nick Castellanos line drive on May 14. He was eventually diagnosed with a skull fracture. Feltner told reporters over the weekend he hoped to make it back to the majors this season but understandably indicated his present focus is on getting back to normal after battling concussion symptoms. Today’s IL transfer officially rules him out of action through the All-Star Break.

NL West Notes: Garcia, Padres, Feltner, Dodgers, May

By Mark Polishuk | May 27, 2023 at 8:03pm CDT

The Padres placed Luis Garcia on the 15-day injured list today, as the left-hander is suffering from a left oblique strain. Righty Domingo Tapia was called up from Triple-A to take Garcia’s spot on the active roster. Garcia has a somewhat misleading 4.66 ERA this season, as nine of his 10 earned runs allowed came in two disastrous appearances (totaling two-thirds of an inning) against the Diamondbacks. Against every other team in baseball, Garcia has allowed just one earned run in 18 2/3 frames.

Despite a few shaky moments, the Padres’ bullpen has largely gotten on track, as San Diego’s relievers have combined for the sixth-best (3.31) bullpen ERA in baseball heading into Saturday’s action. Losing a generally reliable veteran like Garcia won’t help matters, and the team has yet to comment on the severity of the left-hander’s oblique strain, or how long Garcia might be sidelined.

Rockies Place Ryan Feltner On 15-Day Injured List

By Mark Polishuk | May 14, 2023 at 9:34pm CDT

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 To Select Jose Urena

By Anthony Franco | July 5, 2022 at 9:22pm CDT

The Rockies are planning to select right-hander José Ureña to start tomorrow night’s game against the Dodgers, tweets Danielle Allentuck of the Colorado Springs Gazette. Ureña, who signed a minor league contract in May, is not yet on the 40-man roster.

Since joining the organization, the 30-year-old has made five starts with Triple-A Albuquerque. Ureña has been tagged for a 7.29 ERA through 21 innings with the Isotopes, only striking out 13.9% of batters faced while walking more than 11% of opponents. The Rox’s front office clearly doesn’t believe that rough showing is representative of Ureña’s current form. Albuquerque is one of affiliated ball’s most hitter-friendly environments, which no doubt hasn’t helped his cause.

Ureña has struggled of late at the big league level as well. A former Marlin and Tiger, he posted an ERA above 5.00 in each season from 2019-21. He broke camp this season with the Brewers in a relief role and allowed five runs (three earned) in 7 2/3 frames, walking five while striking out three. Milwaukee fairly quickly cut bait, designating him for assignment a few weeks into the season. Ureña has remained adept at keeping the ball on the ground, though, and he posted a pair of sub-4.00 ERA seasons in Miami in 2017-18.

The Rockies lost Antonio Senzatela to the 15-day injured list last week, as the righty is dealing with shoulder inflammation. Ryan Feltner has been the top depth option behind the club’s primary starting five, but he’s been on the minor league injured list over the past week while dealing with a rhomboid strain. Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post writes that Feltner is expected to pitch for the Isotopes this weekend after a successful simulated game today, but he won’t be an option for tomorrow’s contest.

Colorado’s 40-man roster is full, so they’ll need to make a corresponding transaction to accommodate Ureña’s promotion. The Rox have just two players on the major league 10-day or 15-day IL: Senzatela and first baseman Sean Bouchard, who went on the shelf with an oblique strain last week. The Rockies could bring up Colton Welker from the minors and put him on the major league 60-day IL to free a spot on the 40-man roster, as Welker underwent season-ending shoulder surgery last month. Doing so would require paying him at the MLB minimum rate, however.

In other Rockies news, the team informed reporters that reliever Tyler Kinley underwent successful elbow surgery recently (Allentuck link). He’s expected to be sidelined roughly one calendar year. Colorado announced that Kinley would require a season-ending procedure in mid-June, but the team didn’t specify whether he’d need a full Tommy John procedure or a less invasive surgery. The one-year timeline would seem to point towards the latter outcome, although he’s apparently still unlikely to be back on an MLB mound much before next season’s All-Star Break.

Injury Notes: Padres, Rangers, Rockies

By TC Zencka | June 11, 2022 at 2:22pm CDT

The Padres placed Mike Clevinger and Adrian Morejon on the COVID injured list, recalling Ray Kerr and Reiss Knehr from Triple-A, per the team. Kerr, 27, will give the Friars a third southpaw out of the bullpen behind closer Taylor Rogers and Tim Hill. Though Clevinger has been starting, Knehr, 25 will probably pitch in relief for now. Knehr has been tagged with a 5.84 ERA across 51 2/3 innings in Triple-A so far this season while making 10 starts and appearing twice in relief. The Padres rotation currently goes six deep, even with Clevinger out. Brent Rooker was also added to the active roster to serve as the 27th man for today’s doubleheader.

Rangers outfielder Steele Walker was placed on the COVID injured list, per the team. Zach Reks has been placed on the active roster to take his place. This will be Reks’ third go-round with the Rangers already this summer, though he’s been limited to just 22 plate appearances over nine games. Reks has torn it up for Round Rock, however, slashing .340/.433/.631 in 120 Triple-A plate appearances. Walker was only recently recalled for his big league debut. He’s gone just 1-for-14 at the plate with a pair of walks over five games. His lone hit was a solo shot. Walker, 25, was a former second-round pick of the White Sox, acquired straight-up in the deal for Nomar Mazara in December of 2019.
The Rockies have placed southpaw Ty Blach on the 15-day injured list with a left wrist sprain, per the team. Ryan Feltner was recalled from Triple-A to take his roster spot. Justin Lawrence was also added to the active roster to serve as the 27th man for today’s twin bill. Blach, 31, has made 15 appearances on the year (one start) with a 6.61 ERA over 31 1/3 innings.

Kris Bryant Expected To Miss 2-3 Weeks

By Steve Adams | May 27, 2022 at 11:48am CDT

MAY 27: Colorado doesn’t seem particularly concerned about Bryant’s absence. General manager Bill Schmidt told Jon Heyman of the New York Post the former MVP is expected back in two-to-three weeks.

MAY 25: The Rockies announced Wednesday that left fielder Kris Bryant has once again been placed on the 10-day injured list due to a lower back strain. The IL placement is retroactive to May 23. Bryant missed nearly a month after being placed on the IL with this same injury in late April. He’d only been active for two games before being scratched from Monday’s contest and will now be out until at least June 2. Right-hander Ryan Feltner is up from Triple-A Albuquerque to take Bryant’s spot on the active roster.

Clearly, this isn’t the way that either Bryant or the Rockies envisioned his seven-year, $182MM contract beginning. The former National League Rookie of the Year, National League MVP and four-time All-Star has appeared in just 17 of the Rockies’ 42 games thus far and has yet to connect on his first long ball with the Rox. He’s hitting .270/.342/.333 through his first 73 plate appearances — well above league average in the first two of those three slash stats — but the lack of power and lack of time on the field are both glaring.

There’s no indication from the team as to just how long Bryant is expected to be shelved in this latest stint. It’s worth noting, however, that when Bryant originally hit the injured list back in late April, the Rockies suggested that he could be back on the field in a couple weeks’ time. Instead, as first reported by Nick Groke of The Athletic, Bryant required a cortisone injection a couple weeks into that original IL placement and was ultimately out of action for nearly four weeks. The Rox have a daytime tilt against the Pirates coming up in just under three hours, and it stands to reason that manager Bud Black will offer more information prior to gametime.

Colorado raced out to a 10-5 start to the 2022 season, igniting some hope among the fanbase that perhaps a turnaround of the team’s woeful 2019-21 performance was at hand. They’ve gone 10-17 since that start, however, and have been in a particular funk of late (just four wins in their past 15 games). The resulting 20-22 record and their -28 run differential are both the worst marks in the National League West.

With Bryant back on the shelf into early June, the Rockies will likely to turn to a combination of Connor Joe, Yonathan Daza and Sam Hilliard to cover the workload in left field. Joe has been in the lineup regularly, often as a designated hitter, but could see some extra outfield work now. Daza and Hilliard, meanwhile, figure to see an increase in at-bats with Bryant out.

In a strict platoon deployment, the left-handed-hitting Hilliard would see the bulk of the work, but he’s hitting just .160/.255/.296 to Daza’s .350/.404/.400 thus far in 2022, so perhaps the latter will receive a larger look. Daza’s batting line is being propped up by a .384 average on balls in play that he’s unlikely to sustain, but his minuscule 9.0% strikeout rate so far certainly gives him a chance to remain productive even as that BABIP trends back toward his career levels. Notably, Daza is starting in center field today against a right-handed opponent. Joe is in left field, with Hilliard available off the bench.

As for the 25-year-old Feltner, he’ll make his fourth career start later today when he takes the mound in Pittsburgh. His first three haven’t gone particularly well — he’s surrendered a dozen runs in 11 1/3 MLB innings to date — but the 2018 fourth-rounder is out to a solid start in Triple-A this year. Through 38 1/3 innings, Feltner carries a 3.76 ERA with a 30% strikeout rate, 7.5% walk rate and 38.9% ground-ball rate. With Antonio Senzatela on the injured list — also due to a back strain — Feltner could see an increase in his opportunities in the coming weeks, particularly if he shows well in today’s spot start.

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