The Rockies have sent left-hander Josh Rogers outright to Triple-A Albuquerque, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. That indicates he cleared waivers after being designated for assignment earlier this week. He has the right to elect free agency but it’s not yet clear if he has chosen to do so.
Rogers, 30, began the year with the Rockies on a minor league deal. He started the year with nine Triple-A starts, posting a 5.44 earned run average in those outings in the Pacific Coast League. He only struck out 14.6% of opponents but kept his walk rate down to a tiny 4.4% rate.
The Rockies added him to their roster at the end of May as the club needed some innings. Austin Gomber was scratched from his start on May 27, leaving the club to deploy a bullpen game, with Rogers allowing two runs in five frames that day.
He eventually made four other appearances and was sitting on a 6.75 ERA when he landed on the 15-day injured list due to a left shoulder rotator cuff strain. He was reinstated from the IL July 14 and optioned to the minors, getting designated for assignment the next day.
The lefty will now have to decide whether to report to Albuquerque or head to the open market. If he sticks with the Rockies, there might be opportunities opening up on the staff later in the year. The club is one of the clearest sellers at 34-63 and they could perhaps move guys like Gomber, Cal Quantrill or others. If they do end up flipping a pitcher or two, they may need some help covering innings in the final few weeks of the season.
He had previously appeared in the big leagues with the Orioles and Nationals. His work with Colorado this year has bumped his career totals to 97 1/3 innings over 35 big league appearances, with a 5.55 ERA, 10.9% strikeout rate and 8.8% walk rate.