Colorado Rockies roster moves: The first round of September call-ups

The Colorado Rockies have added three players for  for their September call-ups.

The Colorado Rockies have only recalled three players to join their active roster on Sunday, as rosters have expanded to a maximum of 40 players.

The Rockies just announced that they have called up right-handed pitcher Jeff Hoffman, left-handed reliever James Pazos, and infielder Pat Valaika to join the active roster in the series finale against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Hoffman, 26, was the most suspected to be called up today due to the Rockies needing a starter as Rico Garcia, who started on Tuesday for the Rockies, was sent back to Albuquerque after the start. Garcia started in place of German Marquez, who went to the 10-day injured list due to right arm inflammation.

Hoffman will indeed start for the Rockies on Sunday and it will be his 10th start of the season. In his nine starts, he has gone 1-4 with a 7.81 ERA, a 6.44 FIP, and a 1.661 WHIP.

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Pazos, 28, has spent the entire season in the minor leagues between the Phillies and Rockies and has struggled mightily. In 46 games, he has pitched to an 8.42 ERA, with a WHIP of 2.084. Pazos does have a decent amount of major league experience as he has spent parts of four seasons in the majors, including the last two seasons with the Seattle Mariners.

In 2017 and 2018, he appeared in 119 games at the major league level for the Mariners and he pitched to a 3.39 ERA (122 ERA+) and a 1.322 WHIP.

Valaika, 26, has shown, yet again, this season that he is a Quadruple-A player as he has succeeded in Albuquerque (22 homers, 75 RBI, .320/.364/.589 hitter) but struggled mightily in the majors (.128/.226/.213 hitter in 26 games with the Rockies in 2019).

The last time he appeared in a major league game was on July 5 for the Rockies, as a late game defensive replacement for Nolan Arenado in the Rockies 8-0 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The Rockies will have plenty more callups in the coming days as the Isotopes season will end tomorrow and for the seventh straight season, the Rockies top minor league affiliate will a) not make the playoffs and b) finish the season with a losing record.