He passed the tests, now Matt Holliday is near rejoining the Rockies. “I want him here,” Nolan Arenado said. | The Athletic ($)
Entering Wednesday’s action, Matt Holliday was slashing .346/.452/.596 through 62 Triple-A plate appearances for the Albuquerque Isotopes. Even for the Pacific Coast League, this amounts to a very impressive 173 wRC+. Holliday seems assured to reach the big leagues with the Rockies in short order. He must be called up by August 31 for him to be eligible for the postseason roster. A 40-man spot for Holliday opened on Wednesday, as the New York Yankees claimed catcher Chris Rabago off waivers from the Rox. Rabago has an 81 wRC+ in Double-A for the Hartford Yard Goats.
Nolan Arenado made his feelings known in an interview with Nick Groke of The Athletic. While Arenado never played with Holliday in a Rockies’ uniform, he does fondly recall watching Holliday play for the Rox while in his prime. Arenado says that he would certainly like to see Holliday get called up to participate in any capacity with the club. It seems that Arenado will get his wish sooner rather than later.
Rockies Manager Bud Black says that the primary focus is on how Holliday feels physically. Holliday himself says that he’s feeling great after being tasked with playing first base and left field for nine innings.
It’s Not Entirely Clear What the Rockies Are Doing | FanGraphs
On Tuesday, the Washington Nationals made the decision to sell off short-term assets in Daniel Murphy and Matt Adams, who went to the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals, respectively. To make trades after the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline, a club must place a player on trade waivers. If the player is claimed, the club can work out a trade with the claiming team, or revoke the waiver. Waiver claims are prioritized by the previous season’s record. Thus, the Rockies had an opportunity to claim Murphy before he got to the Cubs. Obviously, the Rockies did not place a claim on Murphy.
Jeff Sullivan of FanGraphs wonders exactly what the Rockies are doing by not making a move. Primarily a second baseman, it isn’t immediately likely that Murphy would dethrone DJ LeMahieu from the keystone. However, Murphy also has a fair share of experience at first base. Sullivan opines that Ian Desmond could easily be moved into the outfield to make room for Murphy at first. On the other side of the equation, this would also create an even larger blockage of playing time for David Dahl in the outfield. There are also concerns (at least, from my perspective) about Murphy in the clubhouse.
From a pure performance standpoint, Murphy has a solid 108 wRC+ overall, and a 132 wRC+ since June 22. Murphy had a rough start to the season coming off major knee surgery, but has since rebounded to look like his former self. Defensively, Murphy grades out poorly at second base, but around average at first.
Do you think the Rockies should have staked a claim for Murphy? Take a vote in the poll below.
Rajai Davis had his hemorrhoids outed on live TV | Let’s Go Tribe
Rajai Davis of the Cleveland Indians was placed on the 10-Day Disabled List with a “non-baseball medical condition” on Wednesday. The club was not disclosing what that injury was, likely out of respect to Davis. As Matt Lyons of Let’s Go Tribe points out, Matt Underwood, play-by-play announcer for the Indians, was not afraid of discussing the injury, and revealed on the live broadcast that Davis is dealing with hemorrhoids.