SPORTS TOP PROSPECT RODGERS MAKES IT TO MAJORS
Top prospect expected to play second, short starting Friday at Philadelphia
BOSTON» Infielder Brendan Rodgers, the Rockies’ top prospect, will be called up to the majors Friday and added to the big-league roster.
Rodgers, just 22 and Colorado’s top pick in the 2015 draft, has been swinging a red-hot bat for Triple-A Albuquerque, hitting .356 with nine home runs and 21 RBIs in 35 games for the Isotopes.
A major-league source confirmed the move, although the club is unlikely to make an official announcement until Friday when it opens a three-game series at Philadelphia.
The Rockies have been closely monitoring Rodgers’ play, and have been impressed by his improvement as a second baseman. Rodgers has been sizzling as of late, batting .382 with a 1.152 OPS and eight home runs since April 11. That included a two-homer game Monday in his return from being hit in the head by a pitch a couple of days prior.
“He’s in a good spot,” Rockies manager Bud Black said Tuesday. “He’s doing really well. The reports from (Isotopes manager) Glenallen (Hill) are that he’s swinging well and that he’s in a good spot. We are moving him around the diamond, having him play second and short.”
It’s unclear what the corresponding roster move will be. All-star shortstop Trevor Story suffered a bruised left knee during a collision with left fielder Raimel Tapia in the ninth inning of Colorado’s 6-5, 10-inning loss to the Red Sox on Wednesday. Story, however, is not headed to the injured list. He hopes to play Friday.
One possible roster move is the return of veteran first baseman Daniel Murphy to the injured list. Although Black said Wednesday that Murphy’s injured left index finger is fine, Murphy has hit just .212 (11-for-52) in 17 games since returning from a stint on the IL that cost him 22 games.
Murphy has not started in five of the Rockies’ last six games. Surgery was not performed to repair Murphy’s fractured finger, but he continues to play while wearing a splint. Should Murphy return to the 10-day IL, Ryan McMahon could move to first base, where he has seen extensive playing time, and Rodgers would play at second base.
Another potential roster option to clear space for Rodgers would be to option utility infielder Pat Valaika (recalled this week and hitting .069) to Triple-A.
Meanwhile, Rodgers has overcome a couple injuries of his own to finally earn his long-awaited call-up. A shoulder injury suffered at the end of the 2018 Triple-A season kept him out of the Arizona Fall League, and prior to that, the Winter Park, Fla., native dealt with a tweaked hamstring.
Rodgers, a natural shortstop who has also seen time at third base in the minors, made 25 of his 34 starts at second base for the Isotopes this year. It’s a position where Rodgers still has plenty of room to grow, even as the club is confident he can man the position in the majors right now.
“There’s some intricacies of the position that he’s still working on,” Rockies farm director Zach Wilson said. “Some of it is double plays around the bag, some of it is all the plays you have to make going toward first base. Unlike shortstop, everything is across your body. So it’s fine-tuning the angles, routes to the baseball on the ground, and then some things around the bag.”