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Tracy Ringolsby is reporting that Jordan Pacheco has been recalled from AAA Colorado Springs to rejoin the Rockies for the Saturday's game against the Atlanta Braves.
Jordan Pacheco to rejoin Rockies today. Called up from AAA.Who goes down? Rosario? Moscoso? Someone elae?
— Tracy Ringolsby (@ROOTSPORTS_TR) May 5, 2012
Pacheco was sent down earlier this season to work on his defensive play at 3B and get consistent ABs with the Sky Sox.
Pacheco was on the Opening Day 25-man roster, and in limited playing time posted a .200/.273/.400 batting line in 11PA. The move was almost certainly just to get Pacheco reacclimated to playing the hot corner, but along with the time spent defensively at 3B, Pacheco also rewarded the Sky Sox with a .419/.471/.597 line over 69PA along with 3 longballs and 2 doubles.
After last night's 11-inning affair which saw Wilin Rosario make his first professional appearance at 3B, have his first defensive chance at 3B, make his first defensive assist at 3B, and also make SportsCenter's Top-10 (#10) with a ridiculous throw from foul territory, it seems that manager Jim Tracy would like to get more mileage out of the bats of his 2 catchers. Having a guy like Pacheco back in the majors will free the Rockies bench to use a backup catcher in a PH situation while not losing the safety net of an emergency catcher. Pacheco spent most of his minor-league career behind the plate, and wil be a corner infield utility man.
That said, the Rockies have gotten a combined .233/.320/.360 batting line from the 3B position thus far in 2012, partially fueled by a recent hot streak from utilityman Jonathan Herrera (.273/.385/.636 over his last week of play - 16PA). Should Herrera not be able to maintain his season .297/.366/.514 batting line, Pacheco will more than likely be competing for reps at 3B.
***UPDATE***
Guillermo Moscoso has been optioned to AAA Colorado Springs, Eric Young Jr. was placed on the bereavement list, and Adam Ottavino has been recalled along with Pacheco.
Moscoso was recalled to replace Jeremy Guthrie in the rotation after Guthrie injured his shoulder falling off of his bike. Over his 2 starts with the Rockies, Moscoso's extreme fly ball tendencies - which were mostly mitigated by Oakland's cavernous home field - were severely exposed by Coors Field. Moscoso posted excellent strikeout numbers, passable walk numbers (especially in the context of his near-10 strikeouts-per-nine rate), and an ERA over 11, fueled by a .467 BABIP and nearly 2HR per 9 inning. Given Moscoso's peripherals, more time to pitch through his struggles would likely show some regression to the mean - and thereby improvement - but with a stable of young pitchers waiting for their turn in the majors, Moscoso's troubles are harder to work through.
Ottavino has been pitching competently in AAA Colorado Springs, sporting a 4.15 ERA over 9 outings (13 IP) with excellent strikeout numbers (over 12 punchouts per nine innings). He will provide additional bullpen relief for the Rockies.