Colorado Rockies injury updates: Raimel Tapia and Brendan Rodgers

Prior to the Colorado Rockies opening a six-game road trip through Houston and San Francisco, manager Bud Black gave an update on the health of outfielder Raimel Tapia and infielder Brendan Rodgers.

Here is the latest we know about two Colorado Rockies position players dealing with injuries.

Tapia was placed on the 10-day injured list on Tuesday with what is officially being called a right big toe strain. He has been dealing with the injury for more than a week, including over the weekend in a home series against the Miami Marlins where it flared up again. He didn’t start on Saturday (going 0-for-1 as a pinch hitter), and then was pulled after just one inning in Sunday’s win after noticeably not running at full speed.

“This was a nagging injury that just wasn’t going to heal in a short period of time,” Black said, who added that he expected Tapia to be ready to return once the 10-day span ended.

To take Tapia’s place on the active roster, the Rockies called up Taylor Motter for his first appearance with Colorado. We had an exclusive chat with Motter, who has 372 MLB career at-bats to his credit with Tampa Bay and Seattle, during our recent visit to Triple-A Albuquerque.

In Tuesday’s lineup, Motter was slotted eighth in the batting order as the designated hitter.

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Tapia has been hot at the plate, going 9-for-27 (.333) over his last seven games and 19-for-59 (.322) over his last 15 games as Colorado’s leadoff hitter.

Rodgers, meanwhile, has apparently dodged what could have been a serious injury after being hit in the right hand during an at-bat and suffering what was called a contusion in Saturday’s 7-4 win over Miami.

While not in the starting lineup on Tuesday night, Black said Rodgers was still sore, but progressing.

“He’s probably not to the point where he could start a game, but it’s improving,” Black said. “He could be as ready as early as tomorrow if he gains as much traction as he did from yesterday to today as far as feeling good.”

The former third overall pick is currently riding a 14-game hitting streak (the longest of his career) and is hitting .333 (24-for-72) since the All-Star break, a stretch where he has hit safely in 16 of 18 games. That includes a .417 clip in 24 August at-bats.

Rodgers is also showing he can hit away from Denver as well. Over his last 22 road games (since June 9), he has a .321/.391/.654 slash line. That includes three doubles, one triple, seven home runs, and 13 RBI. That .654 mark, by the way, is the fourth-highest slugging percentage in the National League during that time.