SENZATELA MOVED TO HELP BULLPEN
san francisco» What could be the start of a revolving door for the Rockies’ rotation began Monday.
Rookie left-hander Kyle Freeland will now start Wednesday’s game against San Francisco and rookie right-hander Antonio Senzatela will work out of the bullpen. Right-hander Jon Gray, meanwhile, out since suffering a stress fracture in his left foot here on April 13, is penciled in as the starter for Friday’s game at Arizona.
Senzatela, 9-3 with a 4.79 ERA, had never pitched above Double-A until this season. His move to the bullpen is designed to lessen the workload on his arm but is also a move to try to strengthen a Rockies rotation that has been pitching poorly.
“We have been discussing a lot of things, in real time, as things go on,” manager Bud Black said. “We are paying very close attention to the rookie pitchers. We are getting to the point of the season where you could see some things developing with how we manage our young pitchers . ... This is a pretty fluid situation.”
In regard to Senzatela, Black said: “You can a make case that this is maybe a step to manage his innings. But if you look at his last four starts (2-1, 8.86 ERA, .314 batting average against), you can look at his performance and see that it’s time for him to take a little step back and spend some time in the ’pen.”
CarGo, Anderson to DL.
The Rockies placed right fielder Carlos Gonzalez (right shoulder strain) and left-handed starter Tyler Anderson (left knee inflammation) on the 10-day disabled list. The club recalled right-hander reliever Jairo Diaz from Triple-A Albuquerque and reinstated righthanded reliever Chad Qualls (lower back spasms) from the DL.
Anderson’s return from the DL lasted only a short time. He started Sunday in Los Angeles but lasted only three innings when pain returned to his left leg. Anderson initially thought he was suffering from a cramped hamstring, but Black said the cramping might be connected to the inflammation in Anderson’s knee.
Gonzalez had hoped to avoid the DL, but the club decided the wise move was to give him a full 10 days off. His stint on the disabled list is retroactive to Friday.
Diaz would be making his first appearance in a Rockies uniform in two years after missing the entire 2016 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery.
Diaz has gone 0-1 with a 4.66 ERA, two walks and 12 strikeouts in 10 appearances between High-A Lancaster (Calif.) and Triple-A Albuquerque.
Prospects swapped.
Colorado acquired left-hander Zac Rosscup from the Chicago Cubs in exchange for right-handed pitcher Matt Carasiti. Rosscup was added to the 40-man roster and optioned to Triple-A.
Rosscup, 29, was designated for assignment by Chicago on Thursday. He went 3-1 with a 5.32 ERA, 32 walks and 57 strikeouts in 62 relief appearances in parts of four season for the Cubs.
He spent the entire 2016 season on the 60-day DL with left shoulder inflammation.
Carasiti, 25, made 19 appearances for Colorado in 2016, going 1-0 with a 9.19 ERA, 11 walks and 17 strikeouts.