The Rockies have sent left-hander Josh Rogers outright to Triple-A Albuquerque. MLBTR has confirmed the move, which was reflected on the lefty’s transaction tracker at MLB.com. There was no previous public indication that Rogers was removed from the club’s 40-man roster, so their count drops to 39.
It’s the second outright of the year for Rogers. Signed to a minor league deal in the offseason, he has twice been selected to the roster but without pitching a ton at the big league level. He was first added at the end of May but he landed on the injured list in the middle of June with a left shoulder rotator cuff strain. He came off the IL a month later but was quickly optioned, designated for assignment and outrighted to Albuquerque.
Since he had previous career outrights, Rogers had the right to elect free agency but chose to accept his assignment. That allowed him to be selected back to the club’s roster on Sunday and he tossed an inning and two thirds for Colorado that day. After that outing, he was optioned to Albuquerque and it appears the club quietly put him on waivers as well, passing him through unclaimed in recent days. He still has the right to elect free agency but may accept as he did earlier in the year.
Around those transactions, Rogers has thrown 11 innings for the Rockies this year, allowing eight earned runs for a 6.55 ERA. Combined with his previous work with the Orioles and Nationals, he has a 5.55 ERA in 99 career innings. His 8.9% walk rate is around league average but his 10.9% strikeout rate is far below par. He’s also thrown 57 2/3 Triple-A innings this year with a 6.71 ERA, 14.4% strikeout rate and 4.5% walk rate.