Colorado Rockies roster move: Chi-Chi Gonzalez called up from Triple-A Albuquerque; Rodgers to IL

According to the Denver Post, the Colorado Rockies have just announced that they have made a roster move, calling up their starting pitcher for tonight’s game against the San Francisco Giants.

Per Kyle Newman of The Denver Post on Twitter, the Rockies have added right-handed pitcher Chi-Chi Gonzalez to the 40-man roster and called him up to the major leagues on the 25-man roster. Since the Rockies only had 39 players on their 40-man roster, they were able to add Gonzalez on without having to designate somebody for assignment or move somebody to the 60-day injured list.

However, on the 25-man roster, they did need to make a roster move so the corresponding roster move is that infielder Brendan Rodgers will head to the 10-day injured list with right shoulder inflammation.

Gonzalez, 27, will be making his first major league appearance in nearly three calendar years as the last time he took a major league mound was on July 7, 2016 as a member of the Texas Rangers.

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He made his MLB debut in 2015 and for the playoff-bound Rangers, he had some decent results for them as he went 4-6 with a 3.90 ERA (109 ERA+) in 14 games (10 starts). In 2016, though, he only appeared in 3 games (all starts) and fared much worse (8.71 ERA and 5.66 FIP in only 10 1/3 innings).

Overall, he has made 17 appearances (13 starts) in his MLB career and he has pitched to a 4.54 ERA (95 ERA+) in 77 1/3 innings. His main problem at the major league level is that he walked a lot (4.8 BB/9) compared to a very low strikeout rate (4.3 K/9).

In Spring Training 2017, he was diagnosed with a torn UCL so he needed Tommy John surgery, which put him on the mend for all of the 2017 season and much of the 2018 season, as he only made 3 appearances in the low minor leagues for rehab. He also pitched in the Dominican Winter League this past offseason before being signed by the Rockies.

In Albuquerque, he has pitched to a 4-5 record and a 5.66 ERA in 14 starts in the extremely hitter friendly Pacific Coast League. In his 14 starts, he has pitched 76 1/3 innings while allowing 83 hits,  33 hits, 14 home runs. He also has 3.9 walks and 8.1 strikeouts per nine innings.

Rodgers

It’s a bit surprising that Rodgers is heading to the injured list and it may take some fans aback, as considering the struggles of Pat Valaika, most people expected him to be sent back to Albuquerque.

However, Rodgers has also struggled as, in his past 11 games going back to June 6,  he is hitting .147/.194/.147, going 5-for-34, with all five hits being singles. The injury could be contributing factor to his struggles.

With the injury to Trevor Story as well, at least for a few days, the Rockies will be utilizing Garrett Hampson and Pat Valaika at shortstop, which will be interesting considering that each of them have struggled mightily in their time at the major league level this year.

However, with Story potentially coming back soon, the Rockies may only have to have those two at short for a few days.