Chad Bettis optioned to Triple-A, Chris Martin called up

Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

When last we saw Chad Bettis on the mound for the Colorado Rockies, he did this.

MLB.com

That black eye combined with his struggles on the season (7.15 ERA in 11 appearances) have earned Bettis the opportunity to head back to the Colorado Springs Sky Sox to work things out. Taking his place will be relief pitcher Chris Martin. To make everything work the Rockies also had to make a move with Brett Anderson. Per Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post:

"So the Rockies optioned Bettis to Triple-A Colorado Springs and called up right-hander Chris Martin before Friday’s game against the Dodgers. The Rockies had to add Martin to the 40-man roster, so in order to make room, they put lefty Brett Anderson on the 60-day disabled list.”"

Some people who follow the Rockies, silly people indeed, had high hopes for Bettis this season as a guy in the middle of the Rockies’ bullpen. The quality of his stuff still might be enough that he will play an important role for the team, but he simply has to figure out how to command it first. Along with so many young pitchers who struggle, Bettis is learning just how ugly things get when you do not locate your pitchers, in particular your fastball. He still has the wipeout stuff to be valuable for the Rockies, but it might be a while before we see him again.

As for Martin, he is the man known for his journey from warehouse employee to big league pitcher. He is not exactly lighting the world on fire for the Colorado Springs Sky Sox: he has an 8.22 ERA in eight games. That said, statistics can be misleading down there, and he still might have the right makeup for this role. As the gents over at Rockies Zingers observe:

The Rockies next have a day off on May 12th. As they work through this trying stretch of their schedule these might not be the last moving parts.