Update 1:57 pm MT
McMahon is not in the Rockies lineup tonight. Hopefully, he’ll get a pinch-hit opportunity and still make his MLB debut tonight.
In a surprise move, the Colorado Rockies selected the contract of Ryan McMahon from Triple-A Albuquerque and added him to the active roster, the team announced on Friday. To make room for McMahon on the active roster the Rockies optioned Raimel Tapia to Triple-A. The Rockies also needed to clear a space on the 40-man roster for McMahon, and to do so they designated Sam Moll for assignment.
Coming into this season, McMahon, 22, had lost some of his prospect shine after a difficult 2016 season with the Hartford Yard Goats. McMahon quickly rebounded this season and earned a promotion to Triple-A on June 1 after hitting .326/.390/.536. Like David Dahl last season, McMahon made child’s play of Triple-A competition upon arrival. In 59 games for the Isotopes, McMahon hit .375/.409/.625 and has pounded down the door to the majors. McMahon McMahon will wear 1 on the back of his uniform. Brandon Barnes was the last Rockies player to wear that number.
Tapia has struggled to get regular playing time for the Rockies despite performing well when given the opportunity for consistent action. The Rockies are committed to their veteran outfielders, and even with Ian Desmond on the disabled list, Tapia has been on the bench more often than not unless the designated hitter was an option. This move will allow Tapia to continue to develop with more consistent playing time in Triple-A.
The Rockies added Moll to the 40-man roster this past offseason to protect him from being a possible Rule 5 selection. Unfortunately, it appears that the Rockies no longer value him as highly as they did last offseason after a somewhat disappointing 2017 season. The left-handed Moll has a 4.18 ERA in 471⁄3 Triple-A innings this year; he’s struck out 7.42 batters per nine innings and walked 3.42, which almost exactly mirror what he did in 2016.
Moll’s DFA means that he can be traded at any time over the next seven days. Otherwise, he will be passed through irrevocable waivers. If no one claims him he would most likely be outrighted to the Albuquerque roster. There is a small chance that he could be released, but that seems unlikely since he can’t reject the outright assignment.
McMahon could see his first major league action as early as tonight in Miami. With Mark Reynolds possibly needing more time to rest his sore hand, McMahon would provide a good backup option. That games starts at 5:10 MT.