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Thairo Estrada

Rockies Select Kyle Karros, Aaron Schunk

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The Rockies announced that they have selected the contract of infielders Kyle Karros and Aaron Schunk. Thomas Harding of MLB.com reported on those promotions prior to the official announcement. In corresponding moves, they have placed infielder Orlando Arcia on the 10-day injured list due to right elbow inflammation, transferred infielder Thairo Estrada to the 60-day IL and placed right-hander Angel Chivilli on the restricted list. It’s unclear why Chivilli has been placed on the restricted list.

Karros, 23, is the son of Eric Karros. The younger Karros was Colorado’s fifth-round draft pick in 2023. Since then, he has been climbing the minor league ladder, generally putting up good numbers. He has taken 1,010 minor league plate appearances across multiple levels with an 11.5% walk rate, 20.4% strikeout rate, .304/.393/.459 batting line and 135 wRC+. That includes a .301/.398/.476 line this year, mostly at Double-A but also with a few games at the Complex League and at Triple-A.

Baseball America currently lists him as the #14 prospect in the Rockies’ system. Their report notes that he is a strong defender at third base with a good arm. His offensive profile is highlighted by his contact ability, which matches with his numbers. His strikeout and walk numbers are good but he doesn’t appear to have a ton of power. He hit 15 home runs in High-A last year but has just six so far in 2025.

Schunk, 28, was outrighted off the roster in June. He has a dismal .230/.254/.311 line in 127 big league plate appearances. His minor league work has been better but still subpar. From 2023 to the present, he has 1,065 Triple-A plate appearances. His .293/.344/.469 line in that time looks impressive at first glance but actually translates to an 87 wRC+ in the context of the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League.

The Colorado infield took a few recent hits. Estrada landed on the 10-day IL two days ago due to a right hamstring strain. With today’s transfer to the 60-day IL, his season is done. With Arcia landing on the 10-day IL today, that’s two infield vacancies created this week. The club also lost Ryan Ritter to the IL last month due to a finger laceration.

Those injuries have created openings for Karros and Schunk. The Rockies don’t have a lot to play for this year but have long-term opportunities available. Aside from Ezequiel Tovar at shortstop, there’s not much certainty in the infield for future seasons. Guys like Warming Bernabel and Adael Amador are already getting some big league at-bats and now Karros and Schunk can join them.

Circling back to Estrada, this is the final nail in the coffin for his very challenging season. He had a solid three-year run with the Giants from 2021 to 2023. He slashed .266/.320/.416 for a 105 wRC+ in that time while stealing 45 bases and bouncing around the diamond to all three outfield spots and the three infield positions to the left of first base.

He had a rough campaign last year, however. He went to the IL multiple times due to left wrist sprains and slashed just .217/.247/.343 for a 65 wRC+. The Rockies gave him $4MM for 2025 with the hope of a return to form, a logical bet for a rebuilding club. If Estrada had been able to get back to his previous level of production, he could have been an intriguing midseason trade candidate.

That did not come to pass. He was hit by a pitch in spring training and broke his right wrist. That put him on the IL for the first two months of the season. He also missed time with a sprained left thumb and now this hamstring strain has put him out for the rest of the campaign. Around those injuries, he only got into 39 games and hit .253/.285/.370. He can be retained for 2026 via arbitration but is surely going to be non-tendered. He will return to the open market but his appeal should be light on the heels of these two injury-marred seasons.

Photo courtesy of Allan Henry, Imagn Images

Rockies Designate Sean Bouchard For Assignment

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The Rockies announced a series of roster moves Friday — unrelated to their reported trade of Ryan McMahon to the Yankees — most notably designating outfielder Sean Bouchard for assignment in order to open a spot on the 40-man roster for veteran reliever Nick Anderson, whose previously reported promotion from Triple-A is now official. Colorado also optioned infielder Adael Amador to Triple-A, reinstated infielder Thairo Estrada from the injured list and placed righty Victor Vodnik on the paternity list.

Bouchard, 29, has seen action in each of the past four seasons for the Rockies but has battled frequent injuries — most notably missing nearly the entire 2023 season due to a torn biceps. He showed plenty of promise early in his career despite lofty strikeout rates, slashing .304/.429/.563 in 140 plate appearances from 2022-23.

Bouchard struggled considerably since returning from that biceps injury, however, hitting only .178/.272/.274 in 181 big league plate appearances. His previously strong numbers in Triple-A have dropped off this season, too, as his minor league strikeout rate has spiked to 33.2% (and his big league strikeout rate, in 73 plate appearances, jumped to 37%).

At his best, Bouchard looked the part of a potential power-hitting right fielder with average speed and solid defense. He’s now 29 years old, however, and struggling for a second straight season after incurring a major injury during his age-27 season. This is his final minor league option year as well, and with the Rockies breaking in several young outfielders (most notably Jordan Beck), Bouchard’s opportunities have dried up.

The Rox will have five days to trade Bouchard or place him on outright waivers. He hasn’t been outrighted in the past and doesn’t have three years of major league service time, so if he passes through waivers unclaimed, he’d stick in the organization as a non-roster depth piece in Triple-A for at least the remainder of the current season.

Rockies Place Thairo Estrada On IL With Thumb Sprain

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The Rockies announced today that infielder Ezequiel Tovar has been reinstated from the 10-day injured list. In a corresponding move, fellow infielder Thairo Estrada goes the other way. He’s been placed on the 10-day IL due to a sprained left thumb, retroactive to July 11th.

It’s a notable development for Estrada and the Rockies, as he is one of the most obvious trade candidates this month. He’s a veteran playing for the worst team in the league, so all signs were pointing to him being on the block.

Unfortunately, his value was already low due to a previous injury. He signed a one-year, $3.25MM deal with the Rockies in the offseason but then broke his right wrist on a hit-by-pitch during spring training. Since he missed time in 2024 due to left wrist sprains, it was a less than ideal development for him.

He was reinstated from the IL at the end of May. Since then, he stepped to the plate 125 times with a .284/.312/.397 batting line. That looks okay at first glance but translates to an 83 wRC+ due to the favorable conditions of Coors Field.

Estrada had a strong three-run with the Giants from 2021 to 2023. He slashed .266/.320/.416 for a 105 wRC+ over those seasons, stealing 45 bases in the process. But he hit just .217/.247/.343 last year while battling those wrist issues. That got him bumped from the roster, which led to his deal with the Rockies.

If he had been able to bounce back to that 2021-23 form, he would have been an intriguing piece at this year’s deadline. Unfortunately, he’s now coming up on two years of being hurt and fairly ineffective. Given that the IL stint is backdated, he could come back in a week. But even in that best-case scenario, that doesn’t give him much time to change his trade value. He can be retained for 2026 via arbitration but is trending towards a non-tender.

Photo courtesy of Ron Chenoy, Imagn Images

Rockies Designate Nick Martini For Assignment

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The Rockies announced Friday that outfielder Nick Martini has been designated for assignment. His roster spot will go to fellow outfielder Sam Hilliard, who’s back for another stint with the Rockies and has had his contract selected from Triple-A Albuquerque. Colorado also reinstated infielder Thairo Estrada from the 60-day injured list and optioned infielder Adael Amador to Albuquerque.

Martini, 34, signed a minor league deal with the Rox over the winter and broke camp with the club after a big spring performance. He’s received 111 plate appearances in the first two months and been shielded almost entirely from left-handed pitching (just five plate appearances) but has only mustered a .225/.288/.294 line at the plate. It’s a second straight season of struggles, as Martini logged a tepid .212/.272/.370 in 163 plate appearances with the 2024 Reds.

As recently as 2023, Martini posted a .264/.329/.583 slash in an admittedly small sample of of 79 plate appearances with Cincinnati. From 2018-23, he received sparse big league playing time — despite an excellent Triple-A track record — and hit .268/.362/.412 with an 11.2% walk rate in 412 plate appearances. Martini has always walked at a huge clip and has been an on-base machine in the upper minors; he’s played in parts of eight Triple-A seasons and is a .294/.399/.454 hitter there.

Obviously, that type of production didn’t play out in 2025. The Rockies will either trade Martini or place him on waivers within the next week. Assuming he clears, he’ll have the right to reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency.

Hilliard returns for what’ll be his sixth season with the Rockies. He was a 15th-round pick by Colorado back in 2015 and suited up with the Rox from 2019-22 before bouncing to the Orioles and Braves via waivers. He appeared in 40 games with the 2023 Braves, then returned to the Rockies via waivers in February 2024. He’s since been removed from the 40-man roster but chose to stick with the Rockies and accepted an outright assignment.

Hilliard is having a nice season in Triple-A. The 31-year-old is batting .288/.372/.538 — about 15% better than league average in that hitter-friendly setting, by measure of wRC+ — and has swatted six home runs along the way. He’s striking out too often (26.1%), as is typical for him, but he’s also drawn walks at a hearty 12.2% clip.

The 31-year-old Hilliard is heading back for what’ll be his seventh partial season in the big leagues. He’s long shown an intriguing blend of power and speed, but his inability to consistently make contact has left him with a .219/.296/.438 batting line in 875 major league plate appearances. Hillard has struck out in a massive 34.1% of those trips to the plate.

Estrada, 29, will make his team debut when he first takes the field. Colorado signed him to a one-year, $4MM contract over the offseason, but he’s missed the entire year so far after suffering a broken wrist when he was hit by a pitch in spring training.

A longtime division rival, Estrada had a mostly productive run in four years with the Giants. From 2021-23, he hit a combined .266/.320/.416 with strong glovework around the infield. He was San Francisco’s primary second baseman for much of his time there and enjoyed consecutive seasons with 14 home runs and 20-plus steals in 2022-23.

Estrada’s production tanked in 2024, however. He hit .217/.247/.343 in 381 plate appearances while battling a pair of sprains in his left wrist (the opposite wrist from the one he fractured this spring). The Rox signed him hoping for a rebound, which could still play out, but Estrada has now missed time in three straight seasons due to hand/wrist injuries, making it fair to wonder what type of toll that may ultimately take on his offensive output.

Kris Bryant To Undergo Ablation Procedure On Back

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Kris Bryant is headed for an ablation procedure on his lower back tomorrow, Rockies manager Bud Black tells reporters (including Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post). The skipper called it “a minimally invasive procedure” and expressed optimism that Bryant could resume baseball activities within a few days.

It’s nevertheless the latest frustration as Bryant tries to manage his persistent back pain. He has been out since April 14 with what the team called lumbar degenerative disc disease. It’s the ninth injured list placement of the former MVP’s three-plus seasons in Colorado. Six of them have been related to his back and/or side. Bryant also battled left foot issues early in his Rox tenure and fractured a finger in 2023.

Bryant owns a .244/.324/.370 slash line over 170 games in a Colorado uniform. The Rockies used him exclusively at designated hitter early this season to reduce his workload. He hit .154 with two extra-base hits (both doubles) in 11 games. This is the fourth season of his seven-year, $182MM free agent deal. Bryant unsurprisingly made clear last month that he’s not thinking about retirement.

Black provided a few other injury updates this evening (via Thomas Harding of MLB.com). Infielders Ezequiel Tovar and Thairo Estrada are ramping up baseball activities, while starter Austin Gomber has pushed his long toss regimen to 90 feet. It’s most relevant regarding Gomber, who has been out all season with shoulder inflammation. He opened the season on a rehab assignment but suffered a setback that necessitated a move to the 60-day IL last month. Gomber received a platelet-rich plasma injection and is back throwing, though he’s still a ways off another rehab stint.

Rockies Select Owen Miller

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The Rockies announced the selection of infielder Owen Miller onto the major league roster. Colorado optioned third catcher Braxton Fulford back to Triple-A Albuquerque in a corresponding move. The Rox opened a 40-man roster spot by transferring Thairo Estrada from the 10-day to the 60-day injured list.

Miller reaches the majors for the fifth consecutive season. He played somewhat regularly with Cleveland between 2021-22, combining for a .231/.283/.338 slash over 190 games. The Guardians traded him to Milwaukee over the 2022-23 offseason. Miller posted a .261/.303/.371 line in 314 plate appearances during his first season with the Brewers. He wasn’t much of a factor last year, appearing in only 14 games before being designated for assignment in July.

The right-handed hitter cleared waivers and remained in Triple-A with Milwaukee for the rest of the year. The Brewers dealt him to the Rockies in the opening days of the offseason. He made 28 appearances this spring as a non-roster invitee. Miller began the year in Triple-A, where he’s hitting .244/.322/.372 with two homers through 90 trips to the plate. While that’s not especially impressive in the Pacific Coast League, Miller posted a more respectable .276/.354/.392 line in Triple-A last year. He’s not an option at shortstop but can back up the other three infield positions.

Ryan McMahon is the everyday third baseman. The injury to Ezequiel Tovar has pushed Aaron Schunk into regular shortstop work. Youngster Adael Amador is starting at second base on most days, while Kyle Farmer is also mixing into the middle infield. Miller joins Farmer on Bud Black’s bench. He’s out of minor league options, so the Rockies would need to designate him for assignment if they decide to take him off the MLB roster.

Estrada’s IL transfer officially rules him out for the first two months of the season. The 60-day minimum backdates to Opening Day. Estrada broke his right wrist when he was hit by a pitch late in Spring Training. He would have opened the season as the starting second baseman after signing a $3.25MM free agent contract.

Thairo Estrada To Miss Four To Eight Weeks With Broken Wrist

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Rockies infielder Thairo Estrada has a broken right wrist, suffered after being hit by a pitch yesterday, and will miss four to eight weeks. Manager Bud Black passed the information on to reporters, including Bob Nightengale of USA Today and Thomas Harding of MLB.com.

Estrada, 29, was set to be the club’s regular second baseman. They had Brendan Rodgers in that job for much of the past few seasons but non-tendered him after 2024. They signed Estrada to fill that opening, giving him a one-year, $3.25MM deal.

While he was coming off a down year, Estrada had a strong three-year run with the Giants prior to that. Over the 2021 to 2023 seasons, Estrada slashed .266/.320/.416 for a wRC+ of 105. He was mostly at the keystone in that time but also had enough versatility to play shortstop, third base and the outfield on occasion. He stole at least 21 bases in both 2022 and 2023.

But as mentioned, last year didn’t go well. He made multiple trips to the injured list due to left wrist sprains and hit .217/.247/.343 for a 64 wRC+. The Giants outrighted him off the roster at the end of August.

He and the Rockies were surely hoping he could bounce back in 2025 and he looked good in camp. He put up a line of .400/.421/.457 in 38 Cactus League plate appearances. Unfortunately, whatever momentum he was building for the regular season will now be put on hold for an extended stretch. Wrist problems are often tough to come back from, being obviously important for hitting. Estrada had left wrist problems last year and now has a broken right wrist, so it’s anyone’s guess what he’ll look like a few weeks from now.

With the schedule set to begin in a week, the Rockies will have to decide how to proceed. Harding reports that the first priority will be to try Kyle Farmer at second. Farmer also got a $3.25MM deal from the Rockies this winter, though he’s more of a glove-first player. He has hit .252/.313/.396 for a wRC+ of 93 over the past four years but with strong glovework at all four infield spots and the occasional appearance in left field.

Farmer was previously slated to serve in a multi-positional infield role. If he slides in as the regular second baseman, they will need to find another infielder for the bench. They only have four other regular infielders on the 40-man roster. Ryan McMahon is the regular third baseman, with Ezequiel Tovar at short. Michael Toglia will be in the first base job. Adael Amador is one of the club’s best prospects and has made a brief MLB debut, but he’s not yet 22 years old and hasn’t yet played at the Triple-A level. Greg Jones has some infield experience but played more in the outfield last year. Owen Miller isn’t on the roster but a non-roster depth option.

Nightengale suggests they could look to the open market, naming Nicky Lopez and Garrett Hampson as possibilities. Lopez was released by the Cubs today. Hampson has triggered an opt-out in his deal with the Diamondbacks, but they could add him to their roster this weekend. Players like Nick Ahmed and Jose Iglesias also have opt-outs in the coming days.

Photo courtesy Mark J. Rebilas, Imagn Images

Rockies To Sign Thairo Estrada

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The Rockies have agreed to a one-year, $3.25MM contract with Thairo Estrada, reports Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. The deal comes with a mutual option for 2026 or a $750K buyout. However, if either side declines the mutual option, the Rockies will still have the opportunity to retain Estrada via arbitration for one more year due to his Super Two status.

Estrada, 29 in February, began his career with the Yankees but broke out after a trade to the Giants in 2021. He carved out a role for himself in San Francisco with a league-average bat, above-average speed, valuable defensive versatility, and a plus glove at second base. Over 312 games from 2021-23, he slashed .266/.320/.416 with a 105 wRC+, 45 stolen bases, and 7.4 FanGraphs WAR.

Unfortunately, the 2024 season was rough for Estrada. He spent two separate stints on the injured list with a sprained wrist, and while he only missed a handful of weeks, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area notes that he was playing through injury throughout the season. It certainly showed in his numbers. Estrada still came up with 9 Outs Above Average at second base, but his offensive production was dreadful. Over 96 games, he slashed .217/.247/.343 with a 64 wRC+. Eventually, the Giants were no longer willing to keep him on the roster, sending him outright to Triple-A at the end of August. He elected free agency after the season.

Thomas Harding of MLB.com linked Estrada to Colorado last week, noting that the club was looking for a new second baseman. The Rockies are set with Ezequiel Tovar at shortstop and Ryan McMahon at third base, but they had a gap on the right side of the infield after non-tendering Brendan Rodgers earlier in the offseason. While they signed Kyle Farmer to a one-year, $3.25MM guarantee in November, Farmer is older and lacks Estrada’s upside. He’s better suited to a utility role, which is the role he’s played for most of his career.

Estrada also drew interest from the Yankees this offseason. Yet, in Colorado, he will get everyday playing time as he looks to rebuild his value. Eventually, he could have competition from top infield prospect Adael Amador, but Amador won’t turn 22 until April, and his aggressive call-up in 2024 proved he wasn’t ready for the majors. Indeed, he has yet to play a single game at Triple-A. If Amador continues to progress and Estrada bounces back, Estrada could become a valuable trade chip for the Rockies next winter.

Yankees Interested In Thairo Estrada

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The Yankees are interested in signing Thairo Estrada, MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reports (X link).  New York is now the second team known to be in on Estrada’s market, as the Rockies were also linked to the veteran earlier this week.

There’s plenty of familiarity between the two sides, as Estrada was an international signing for the Yankees back in 2012 and he appeared in 61 games for New York during his first two Major League seasons (2019-20).  It wasn’t until after the Yankees traded Estrada to the Giants in April 2021 that the infielder broke out as a productive big leaguer, hitting .266/.320/.416 over 1203 plate appearances for San Francisco during the 2021-23 seasons.

Estrada’s performance dropped off badly last season, however, and the Giants outrighted him off their 40-man roster at the end of August after Estrada batted only .217/.247/.343 in 381 PA.  Wrist problems plagued Estrada for much of the summer, further hampering an offensive approach that has never led to much hard contact.  Estrada has also been limited in his capacity to get on base, and his 2.6% walk rate in 2024 was the second-lowest of any player in baseball with at least 350 PA.

In the wake of this down year, Estrada surely isn’t being viewed as a starting candidate in the Bronx, though his versatility makes him an interesting candidate for a part-time or bench role.  The large majority of Estrada’s MLB playing time has come at second base, but he has seen a decent amount of time as a shortstop while also chipping in as a third baseman and corner outfielder.  Estrada’s career splits are pretty even, yet on paper, his right-handed bat could complement the left-handed hitting Jazz Chisholm Jr., who is expected to hold down the starting role at either second or third base.

Chisholm and shortstop Anthony Volpe have two of the starting infield jobs spoken for, and Chisholm’s versatility gives New York some flexibility in deciding how to address second or third base.  Conceivably, the Yankees could add Estrada to their in-house collection of DJ LeMahieu, Oswaldo Cabrera, and Oswald Peraza and let that whole group serve as something of a rotating bench/platoon mix while rotating Chisholm between the keystone and the hot corner.  Or, the Bronx Bombers could go bigger with more of an everyday infield option, though those endeavors are probably on hold until the Yankees learn whether or not Juan Soto will be returning to the team.

Rockies Pursuing Second Base Addition

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The Rockies remain in the market for a second baseman, tweets Thomas Harding of MLB.com. Former division rival Thairo Estrada could be a target, Harding adds.

Colorado moved on from Brendan Rodgers at last month’s non-tender deadline. They immediately followed up by signing Kyle Farmer to a $3.25MM free agent contract. Farmer is the projected starter at the keystone for now, but he’s coming off a .214/.293/.353 season. He’s a better fit for a utility job than everyday second base work going into his age-34 season.

The Rox are hoping that 21-year-old Adael Amador will be the long-term answer. Amador played in 10 MLB games this past season while Rodgers was on the injured list. He otherwise spent the year at Double-A Hartford. He had a middling season, hitting .230/.343/.376 across 455 plate appearances. That probably takes him out of Top 100 consideration, but he still ranks as the #6 prospect in the Colorado system at Baseball America.

Amador needs more reps in the upper minors. Colorado will look for stopgaps at the keystone but isn’t likely to make a long-term commitment. This year’s free agent class isn’t conducive to a long-term signing regardless. Gleyber Torres and the rehabbing Ha-Seong Kim headline the class. Options beyond that include Jorge Polanco, old friend Jose Iglesias, Adam Frazier and Cavan Biggio.

Estrada is a rebound candidate among that group. The 28-year-old (29 in February) slumped to a .217/.247/.343 mark over 96 games. San Francisco outrighted him off the 40-man roster late in the season and let him depart in minor league free agency. Estrada was a solid everyday player between 2021-23. He combined for a .266/.320/.416 slash in a little over 1200 plate appearances during that stretch. Estrada is a strong defender, so something close to league average offense makes him a quality regular.

If the Rockies pursued Estrada, he’d be available on either a minor league contract or an MLB deal with a salary close to Farmer’s. He hasn’t reached five years of service time, so he’d remain eligible for arbitration next offseason.

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