Colorado Rockies Rumors: Roster spot means Matt Holliday return?

The Colorado Rockies unexpectedly had a 40-man roster spot open up on Wednesday afternoon. That could mean the return of a Rockies legend to Coors Field in the very near future.

On Wednesday, the New York Yankees claimed catcher Chris Rabago off waivers from the Colorado Rockies. That moved Rabago off Colorado’s 40-man roster and opens up a spot for the Rockies to fill with a player who could make a difference as the Rockies chase their first-ever National League West crown.

That player could well be Matt Holliday, who was hitting .345 with the Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes heading into Wednesday’s action. The 38-year-old Holliday could well be the person who takes the open roster spot, according to Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post.

Of course, there are other possible options for the 40-man spot along with Holliday. Mike Dunn is eligible to return from the disabled list on September 3 and would need a 40-man spot. Brendan Rodgers, their top prospect, is also vying for playing time as the September call-ups draw near and would need a 40-man spot as well.

Holliday, originally a seventh-round pick of the Rockies in the 1998 draft, was signed to a minor league deal by the Rockies on July 29. After spending some time at rookie league Grand Junction (Colo.), Holliday was sent to Triple-A and has proven that there is still plenty of pop left in his bat.

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Putting together a slash line of .345/.455/.600 with an OPS of 1.055, Holliday has totaled three homers and 15 RBI in 55 at-bats. He has also drawn 10 walks (one intentionally) while striking out nine times.

Holliday, who scored the decisive run in the 2007 National League playoff game in one of the most iconic moments in Rockies history, played five seasons with the Rockies from 2004-2008, earning three All-Star bids and finishing second in the 2007 Most Valuable Player race when he batted a league-high .340 with 36 homers and 137 RBI. His 386 total bases were the most in Major League Baseball that season.

Colorado signed Holliday with the hopes that he could provide some offensive punch (likely off the bench or in a designated hitter role in American League parks). So far, he has shown in Triple-A that he could likely do just that.

We predicted in this article that Holliday would be called up in time for next week’s series at the Los Angeles Angels. Could it happen before that? It’s very possible.