Update, 1:02 p.m. MT
The Rockies have announced this move, so it’s now official.
The Colorado Rockies will reportedly make a couple moves in their bullpen on Friday before they start their weekend series against the New York Mets. Thomas Harding reports that the Rockies will activate Chris Rusin before the game and option Antonio Senzatela to Triple-A.
Rusin has been on the disabled list since April 23 with a right intercostal strain. The normally steady lefty has had a rougher go of things so far in 2018, posting a 4.97 ERA in eight games of work. He’s issued more works than we’ve been used to seeing to create some of those jams. Hopefully his return with a clean bill of health will get him on track as the swiss-army knife of the bullpen.
As for Senzatela, he has served to date as a flexible option in the bullpen. The righty has mostly worked as a long-man or in mop-up situations. His results have also been a bit rocky: he sports a 6.23 ERA through 10 games. In addition to stretching him out for potential starts, the Rockies might just be interested in having Senzatela reset a little bit in the minors.
The long relievers in the bullpen handle a challenging and often thankless job. The Rockies have been spoiled to have Rusin be so good in that role while also occasionally handling other match-up or even set-up situations late in the game. With his talent, Senzatela might very well be able to bring similar value as a right-handed pitcher at some point. For now, the Rockies will hope that both guys can pitch more effectively after these moves on Friday.