The Colorado Rockies activated Tom Murphy from the 10-day disabled list today, and he is batting eighth in tonight’s lineup. In a corresponding move to make room for him on the active roster, the Rockies optioned backup catcher Ryan Hanigan.
Murphy has been out the entire regular season with a broken forearm that he suffered in spring training when he hit Anthony Rizzo’s bat on a throw to second base. While he was originally only expected to miss 4-6 weeks, the location of the break being down by the wrist cause the recovery time to be much longer.
Murphy was assigned to the Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes for a rehab assignment on June 3. There was some concern that the length of his time on the DL would result in a lengthy rehab stint. However, Murphy’s bat got on track extremely quickly and he hit .414/.419/.724 in seven games.
Hanigan was signed to a minor league contract with the Rockies right before the regular season, and was called up when Tony Wolters went on the 7-day concussion DL. Partly due to his performance while Wolters was out and also due to his roster status, Hanigan stayed with the team and Dustin Garneau was optioned when Wolters returned. In 13 games Hanigan has hit .256/.304/.395.
While Hanigan does have options, his service time prevents the Rockies from using them without his consent However, Hanigan accepted the optional assignment returning him to Triple-A to continue to provide depth in case something happens to either Wolters or Murphy.