Rockies Gold Glove second baseman Brendan Rodgers’ season may be over before it gets started. And left-handed reliever Lucas Gilbreath is likely facing Tommy John surgery, which would wipe out his season, too.
That was the double-whammy of bad news reported by manager Bud Black Thursday morning from the Rockies’ spring training facility at Salt River Fields in Scottsdale, Ariz.
“The results were, to put it bluntly, not what we had hoped for,” Black told MLB.com after receiving the results of Rodgers’ MRI. “(There’s) a little more damage than what we thought. We were hoping for the best on this one but we didn’t get that news.”
Black said that Rodgers will likely have to undergo surgery and said that could “potentially cost the season.”
Rodgers dislocated his left shoulder diving for a ball in the second inning of a Cactus League game on Tuesday. He had an MRI on Wednesday.
“Multiple doctors read the imaging,” Black said. “We are going to have one more doctor look at it, but there is a scenario where he would potentially be headed toward surgery.”
Black added that Rodgers suffered some labrum damage in his shoulder capsule.
Rodgers, 26, was primed to take his career to the next level, but he’s once again been felled by an injury.
“That’s the most frustrating thing for Brendan and for us,” Black said. “We have talked about his place now on the team and where he is in his career, with his experience. I was going to quit referring to him as a young player.
“So this setback is a tough one. I really think he was ready for a big year, he was in great shape and in a good frame of mind mentally, with confidence. Everything was going in the right direction for success and now this is a blow.”
Rodgers, who won his first Gold Glove last year, was hoping to become a more powerful and consistent hitter this season. But now the third overall draft pick in 2015 will be rehabbing another injury.
In 2021, Rodgers sustained a hamstring strain during spring training March 13 and was not reinstated on the big league roster until May 21. Rodgers made his major league debut on May 17, 2019, but played in just 25 games before right shoulder surgery ended his season.
Last season, he played in a career-high 137 games, though he did spend time on the injured list from Sept. 19-29 with a left hamstring strain.
Rodgers ranked third among all second basemen with 137 hits, tied for third with 30 doubles and was fourth with 46 extra-base hits. After hitting .078 (4 for 58) in April, he hit .286 (136 for 476) from May 1 through the end of the season.
Now the Rockies have to find a replacement for Rodgers at second base. Black said general manager Bill Schmidt could potentially go outside the organization to find an experienced player.
Currently, the Rockies have middle infielder Alan Trejo, who has bounced between Triple-A. They also have non-roster candidates Harold Castro and Cole Tucker as possibilities. The Rockies are also giving non-roster player Coco Montes a long look during camp.
Ryan McMahon, a two-time Gold Glove finalist at third base, has played a lot at second and is considered very good at that position. The Rockies might consider moving him over to second.
Gilbreath, who turns 27 on Sunday, looked to be one of Colorado’s most promising relievers. He debuted in 2021, going 3-2 with a 3.38 ERA in 47 appearances. He went 2-0 with a 4.19 ERA in 47 games last season, coming on strong after opening the season on the COVID-19 injured list.
Gilbreath began experiencing elbow pain later in the season and was shut down on Aug. 27 with a left elbow flexor strain. He had a platelet-rich injection (PRP) and the club hoped he could avoid Tommy John surgery. But his elbow pain returned during camp and test results showed that Tommy John surgery to reconstruct his elbow is likely needed, Black said.
“It always stings,” Gilbreath told MLB.com. “It’s part of the job. As unfortunate as it is to say, it happens. Nobody wants to miss game time and nobody wants to miss part of the season, especially when all you do is work your butt off to play baseball.”
The Rockies have struggled to find quality left-handed relievers, but they were encouraged by Gilbreath’s performance and they have high hopes for veteran Brent Suter, who was claimed off waivers from Milwaukee and signed to a one-year, $3 million contract.
