Charlie Culberson Optioned To The Minors

Aug 17, 2014; Denver, CO, USA; Cincinnati Reds center fielder Billy Hamilton (6) slides into second base for a double before Colorado Rockies second baseman Charlie Culberson (23) can put the tag on during the ninth inning at Coors Field. The Rockies won 10-9. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

It’s official – Charlie Culberson has been optioned to the minor leagues, according to Thomas Harding of MLB.com:

Culberson hit .195/.253/.290 last season in 233 plate appearances, and never really got going. He struck out 62 times against just 12 walks, too, and with guys on the roster who already do that (like Drew Stubbs and Brandon Barnes), those ratios get mighty redundant.

This will probably open the door for Rafael Ynoa to join the big league club for Opening Day, which we’ve certainly advocated, and that would be awesome. Though, this could also mean that just Daniel Descalso will be an Opening Day bench infielder depending on how many pitchers the Rockies carry, too. Guess we’ll see about that soon.

Either way, the Culberson era in Denver has changed, but it’s probably not over. We know a certain shortstop who has trouble staying on the field, so Charlie may be back soon.

Other news from this morning:

Audry Perez traded to the Orioles. In that same tweet from Harding, he notes catcher Audry Perez has been traded to the Baltimore Orioles for cash. Perez played in a three big league games with the Cardinals the last two years, and probably didn’t figure to do anything with the Rockies this season, so, hopefully he gets an opportunity in Baltimore.

From the Rockies perspective, this is now the third catcher they’ve traded away in three months, and none of them are named Wilin Rosario. HALP.

Eddie Butler out of the starting rotation battle. This shouldn’t be a surprise considering his scare yesterday, but the Denver Post‘s Nick Groke has a good piece on what Butler felt on the mound, what it means for the rotation jobs up for grabs, and more. Also in the piece – Jon Gray tweaked his groin during his disastrous outing against the Cubs the other day. Please, baseball gods. No more.

That’s all the news and notes this morning. We’ll update you if anything changes.

In the mean time, please answer this extremely important poll question that we are in no way biased about because Rafael Ynoa is clearly and empirically the best player on the field at all times, and that’s just not up for debate.