Colorado Rockies: What the Chris Owings-Ashton Goudeau roster move means

On Sunday afternoon, while the Colorado Rockies and New York Mets were finishing up a three-game series at Coors Field, the Rockies made a roster move that is likely to have lasting impacts in the schedule prior to the All-Star break.

Suffering from what has been called a sprained left thumb, infielder/outfielder Chris Owings has been transferred from the 10-day injured list to the 60-day injured list. Taking his place on the 40-man roster is right-handed pitcher Ashton Goudeau, who was originally put on waivers by the Rockies in late November. He was picked up by Pittsburgh, and has been selected off waivers by Baltimore, San Francisco, and the Los Angeles Dodgers, who waived him before the Rockies picked him back up and put him on the 40-man roster on Sunday.

So what does this roster move mean for the Colorado Rockies?

On the offensive side

Owings was originally placed on the injured list on April 10, shortly after knocking a pinch-hit triple late in a road loss to the San Francisco Giants. Rockies manager Bud Black later said that Owings caught his thumb on his other hand prior to the at-bat, causing the sprain.

Black added that more testing would be done on Owings this weekend when the Rockies returned to Denver after their six-game swing through San Francisco and Los Angeles. At the time, Black said that it looked like any fractures had been avoided in the thumb, but testing obviously revealed more, hence the move to the 60-day injured list and a “surgical procedure.” See the update at the end of this article.

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Owings, who started the season hitting 8-for-15 (.533) in just seven games, will not be able to return until mid-June at the earliest. In the meantime, the Rockies are also waiting for infielder Brendan Rodgers to return from a hamstring injury, but Black said last week that Rodgers was “not close to playing in games.”

Alan Trejo, who was called up to make his Major League debut when Owings was originally placed on the 10-day injured list, will likely continue to be a part of Colorado’s active roster, spelling Trevor Story at shortstop when needed and serving as a pinch hitter off the bench.

Trejo, however, does not play outfield, so the innings that Owings was seeing in the outfield will likely continue to be consumed by Garrett Hampson on a primary basis. Hampson and Owings can both play infield or outfield, so Hampson’s versatility will continue to be employed by Black.

On the pitching side

Goudeau will provide depth for the Rockies, but don’t expect Colorado to rush him into game play any time soon. He saw action in four games last season for Colorado, allowing 15 hits in 8.1 innings of work out of the bullpen.

The 28-year-old Goudeau gave up at least one run in every outing in 2020, so he will likely spend time at the alternate site before heading to Triple-A when Albuquerque’s season begins on May 6.

Note: We will update this story after the Mets and Rockies finish their Sunday game and Black speaks with the media.

UPDATE: Black said after the game that Owings will require “a surgical procedure” on the injured thumb and will be out for at least eight weeks. Black referred to it as a “setback” for Owings, in his second season with the Rockies, both of which have had their shares of injuries and games missed.