Colorado Rockies news and links for Monday, April 28th, 2025
Despite non-tendering second baseman Brendan Rodgers over the off-season, the Colorado Rockies entered spring training in 2025 with what seemed like a surplus of infield goods. Now one month into the regular season and with a miserable 4-23 record, the Rockies’ depth is being stretched to its limits.
Thairo Estrada was signed to play second base over the off-season as a stop-gap with the departure of Rodgers. He suffered a wrist fracture during spring training after being hit by a pitch and was given a 4-8 week timeline for return. Unfortunately, the fracture is not healing as quickly as anticipated, and he was moved to the 60-day injured list last week.
Second baseman and outfielder Tyler Freeman—obtained from the Cleveland Guardians in exchange for Nolan Jones—aggravated an oblique strain while taking swings in the batting cage and was placed on the IL retroactive to April 11.
Ezequiel Tovar sustained a left hip injury in the Rockies’ very first series of the season against the Tampa Bay Rays. The injury had been nagging him throughout the early season, and the Rockies finally chose to place him on the injured list. He will exceed the initial ten days on the injured list, and manager Bud Black has suggested the injury could persist throughout the season, even if he returns.
Utility infielder Aaron Schunk was called upon to fill in for Tovar at shortstop and was doing admirably, but sustained a groin strain in Friday’s series opener against the Cincinnati Reds.
After the spate of injuries, the Rockies were left with just Adael Amador and 34-year-old Kyle Farmer up the middle, and Farmer has been dealing with injuries of his own in the form of an intercostal strain and back issues.
Meanwhile, catcher Drew Romo has missed the first month of the season with a broken finger sustained in spring training, right-handed reliever Victor Vodnik is dealing with shoulder inflammation, and Austin Gomber has yet to resume throwing after being moved to the 60-day IL with shoulder soreness. The ongoing saga of Kris Bryant and his degenerative disc disease has also continued, with no return in sight for the beleaguered former MVP.
The depth concerns also extend to the corners of the infield. They selected the contract of utility player Owen Miller earlier this week, but he has never played shortstop at a big league level. Down in Triple-A the Rockies have no natural first or third basemen. They do have some players who can play various positions, but none are on the 40-man roster.
The Rockies reached a point where they were potentially unable to give a brutally slumping Ryan McMahon a desperately needed day off. McMahon—who had played in all of the Rockies’ first 26 games—had just two hits in his last 50 at-bats dating back to the beginning of the team’s road series against the San Diego Padres.
This led the Rockies to seek out a familiar face. They acquired infielder Alan Trejo from the Texas Rangers for cash considerations and added him to the roster on Sunday morning. Trejo started at shortstop on Sunday with Farmer at third base to give McMahon the day off.
The move to bring back Trejo made some sense. He’s a versatile defender that can play third and second base in addition to his natural shortstop. He also knows the Rockies system and was/is well-liked in the clubhouse. Should the Rockies need to free up space on the 40-man roster, he and Owen Miller are easy candidates to be designated for assignment.
However, the move also puts the cracks in the foundation on full display.
The Rockies were always going to be a bad team in 2025—maybe even a 100-loss team—in large part due to the organization dragging its feet on any meaningful change or pulling the trigger on an actual rebuild.
However, this team is so much worse than advertised.
The hitting is bad, with the Rockies being one of the worst offensive units in the league. They have some of the fewest runs scored and home runs while leading the league in strikeouts. They also have the worst run differential in the league at -67, more than 30 runs worse than any other team in baseball.
Despite owner Dick Monfort bragging to the contrary this off-season, the Rockies also have one of the worst defenses in the league. They have the third most errors, lead the league in throwing errors so far this season, and are tied for third worst in Defensive Runs Saved with -15 DRS.
It often seems like the team has to be forced into playing the young players. Adael Amador (no. 3 PuRP) still isn’t getting every day starting time despite there being no other true second baseman on the team.
Kyle Farmer—brought in to rotate around the diamond to spell other starters—has appeared in 25-of-27 games with 13 starts at second base and four at shortstop. Despite a strong start, he has joined the rest of the offense in struggling and is 1-for-25 since April 19th.
Owen Miller started over Amador on Sunday, despite the latter going 3-for-4 with his first home run on Saturday. Miller went 0-for-2 with a walk and a strikeout.
Catcher Braxton Fulford has already been called up and optioned twice since April 14th and has appeared in just four games.
And finally, the Rockies would rather bring back Alan Trejo as a “safe” option—designating left-handed pitcher Lucas Gilbreath for assignment in the process—rather than calling up shortstop prospect Ryan Ritter (no. 17 PuRP)
It all screams of a team that is both broken and directionless.
Off to one of the worst starts in the history of the league—alongside the 1936 St. Louis Browns, 1988 Baltimore Orioles, 2003 Detroit Tigers, and 2022 Cincinnati Reds—at 4-23, the Rockies are making ignominious history. They started the season off with all the depth in the world, but the depth wasn’t particularly strong, and they had no idea what to do if that depth was tested. They may have fired hitting coach Hensley Meulens, but they don’t appear to have much of a plan for where things go from here.
Meanwhile, the Rockies keep skidding, and the fans are tired. The players are, too.
“A lot of these guys are feeling the tension of what’s going on with our offense and what’s happening on the field,” said embattled manager Bud Black after Sunday’s loss.
Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be any relief coming to ease that tension.
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On the Farm
Triple-A: Reno Aces 8, Albuquerque Isotopes 2
Left-handed starter Carson Palmquist managed to hold the Reno Aces (Arizona Diamondbacks) to two runs (one earned) over five innings of work despite walking five batters. He struck out seven and allowed only one hit before handing the reigns to Ryan Rolison. Things quickly unraveled from there. In his first real rough outing of the season, Rolison gave up six runs (five earned) on five hits with the damage coming in the seventh inning. The Isotopes never recovered. Their two lone runs came via a Trevor Boone triple and a Warming Bernabel double. Bernabel was the only ‘Topes hitter with multiple hits.
Double-A: Hartford Yard Goats 13, Somerset Patriots 5
The Yard Goats brought the thunder against the Somerset Patriots (New York Yankees) in the form of three home runs, including a Zach Kokoska grand slam in the top of the ninth to slam the door shut. Benny Montgomery enjoyed a 2-for-4 day at the plate with a three-run homer and an RBI double. Cole Carrigg and GJ Hill also went 2-for-4, with Carrigg hitting a double and Hill hitting a home run.
High-A: Spokane Indians 9, Eugene Emeralds 6
Jared Thomas and Aidan Longwell made up the bulk of the offense in the Indians’ victory over the Eugene Emeralds (San Francisco Giants). Thomas went 3-for-4 with a three-run home run and an RBI triple and drew two walks to cement himself as the game’s offensive MVP. Aidan Longwell hit a grand slam in a 2-for-5 outing, and Skyler Messinger was the only other Indians hitter with an RBI via a sacrifice fly.
Low-A: San Jose Giants 8, Fresno Grizzlies 6 (F/10)
Nothing hurts more than an extra-innings walk-off, which is how the Grizzlies dropped the series finale against the San Jose Giants (San Francisco Giants). With one out in the bottom of the tenth inning, Grizzlies reliever Fidel Ulloa gave up a two-run home run to earn the loss. Tommy Hopfe continued a strong stretch at the plate by going 2-for-3 with a walk and scoring three times. Shortstop Jacob Hinderleider went 2-for-5 with two RBIs.
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Healthy Rolison back on track with big leagues in sight | MLB.com
After constant injuries and setbacks since being drafted out of Mississippi in 2018, former first round pick Ryan Rolison is enjoying a strong start to 2025 as a reliever. While he struggled in Sunday’s series finale against the Reno Aces, Rolison has quietly been one of the Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes’ best pitchers with 20 strikeouts in 15 innings. He’s aiming to finally make his long-awaited MLB debut this year.
“I felt like my back was against the wall, that maybe some people had written me off,” Rolison said. “I was coming in to make my case that I was a first-round pick for a reason. I take a lot of pride in that. I know what I can do when I’m healthy.”
Struggling McMahon waiting on ‘one pitch to get a feeling back’ | MLB.com
Rockies third baseman Ryan McMahon is having a rough 2025 so far, and has just two hits in his last 50 at-bats. The 2024 All-Star has been humbled as he rode the bench on Sunday for a desperately needed day off. When he returns to the lineup, McMahon is looking for just one solid hit on one pitch to help him regain his rhythm at the plate.
“I’ve got to start producing, got to start helping the team,” McMahon said. “I can’t be in the 3-hole, doing what I’m doing.”
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