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Michael Cuddyer to the DL, Charlie Culberson called back up

Since the leg injury Michael Cuddyer suffered in last Thursday's game against San Diego isn't healing fast enough, the Rockies have decided to put him on the disabled list and recall Charlie Culberson.

By Matt Gross
Denis Poroy

Michael Cuddyer is headed to the disabled list after the hamstring tweak he suffered last Thursday in San Diego is not healing as fast as the team had originally hoped. Charlie Culberson, who was optioned to AAA Colorado Springs when Tyler Chatwood was activated from the disabled list on April 13th, is getting the call and is in the lineup for the Rockies for tonight's game against San Francisco.

Cuddyer's injury occurred in the seventh inning of Colorado's 3-1 victory against the Padres last Thursday. The Rockies right fielder hit a weak ground ball to shortstop and pulled up lame around the bag, immediately forcing his exit from the contest. At first, the Rockies hoped Cuddyer would only miss a couple of games as the injury was said to be more behind the knee than in the heart of the hamstring. However, the injury has not healed quickly enough for the medical staff's liking, and Cuddyer will now join Brett Anderson and Jhoulys Chacin on the disabled list.

The Rockies hope that this will be of the minimum 15 day variety. If this is the case, Cuddyer would be eligible to return to the lineup on Saturday May 3rd against the Mets on the next home stand.

This is the third consecutive season that the Rockies have had to put Cuddyer on the disabled list. In 2012, Cuddyer missed most of the season's final two months with an oblique injury and last season he was shelved for a good chunk of May with a neck injury.

The loss of Cuddyer will hurt as he was off to a fast start at the plate hitting .317 with a .903 OPS. The loss of Cuddyer also hurts the Rockies because it takes away their ability to use him as a swing at first base when Justin Morneau needs a day off.

Despite bouncing up and down between the majors and AAA since 2012, Culberson still only has 147 plate appearances at baseball's top level. He does however have 985 plate appearances in three seasons at AAA where he's hit .285 with a .787 OPS. He can play several different positions on the diamond, but unfortunately he doesn't play any of them particularly well.

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