Ian Desmond scheduled to return from the disabled list

Rockies outfielder/first baseman Ian Desmond is scheduled to be return from the 10-day disabled list on Sunday.

Before Sunday’s game at 11:10 MST against the New York Mets, Rockies outfielder Ian Desmond is supposed to return from the 10-day disabled list after completing pre-game workouts without any issues before Friday and Saturday’s games.

The injury and 2017 injury history

Desmond was on the disabled list due to a right calf strain and he was placed on the DL on July 3 when Carlos Gonzalez came off the DL (as we reported here). The injury happened on Sunday, July 2 in Arizona in the 4th inning when he was coming in for a routine fly ball. He caught the ball but he was hobbling and almost immediately, he came out of the game.

As you may remember from Spring Training, Desmond had an injury as well as he had a fractured left hand as he was hit by Cincinnati Reds pitcher Rookie Davis as mentioned in this article from our own Kevin Henry from then. That pushed back Desmond’s start of the regular season to April 30 (also in Arizona).

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Desmond in 2017

Desmond has struggled in his first season in a Rockies uniform. Part of it could be that he has not fully recovered from his hand injury but either way, he has only appeared in 57 games and he has 62 hits but only 12 are for extra bases (six doubles, one triple, and five home runs), and 26 RBIs. His batting average is not bad at .283 (only a two point drop from 2016) but his on-base percentage is down 14 points from .335 in 2016 to .321 in 2017. With the reduced extra base hits, his slugging percentage is down 58 points from 2016 (.446 to .388). His OPS+, as a result of the lack of extra base hits and by not seeing increased production in Coors Field, has dropped from 104 in 2016 to 74 in 2017 (100 is league average and it’s adjusted to park).

Resulting Move

As a result of Desmond being activated from the disabled list, the Rockies will have to make a corresponding move to the 25-man roster. I am going to go out on a limb and predict that it will be Trevor Story. He’s had a disastrous 2017 campaign as he’s only hitting .222 with an on-base percentage of .301. He also only has 11 homers, 35 RBI’s, and an OPS+ of 69. He might need a breather or work on the mechanics of his swing or his game, in general, without having to deal with the pressure of being a team that is bound to go to the playoffs but scuffling as a whole. AAA Albuquerque’s manager Glenallen Hill and hitting coach Darin Everson could work with Story to try to fix him for the long term.

If Story isn’t sent down, other people that could potentially be moved off the roster are Raimel Tapia, Alexi Amarista (he would have to be designated for assignment), and Pat Valaika.

Next: Tyler Chatwood leaves Saturday start early

Final Thoughts

The Rockies need Desmond to be at his full potential to break out of the funk they’ve been in before and after the All-Star break. It will be interesting to see if he is activated today and if he will be able to break the Rockies out of their snafu.