The Rockies placed prized rookie right-hander Chase Dollander on the 15-day injured list Thursday with right forearm tightness. The move is retroactive to Monday.

It’s another blow for a team that entered Thursday afternoon’s game against the Phillies with an 8-41 record and on pace to lose more games than any team in the majors’ modern era (since 1901).

The Rockies have not yet commented on Dollander’s injury.

Dollander was scheduled to pitch on Friday night against the Yankees at Coors Field. The club recalled right-handed pitcher Juan Mejia from Triple-A Albuquerque in a corresponding move.

Dollander, 23, has made eight big-league starts, going 2-5 with a 6.28 ERA. The raw numbers aren’t good, but the Rockies have been pleased with his development and project him to be the No. 1 starter in the rotation, sooner rather than later. Dollander, the ninth overall pick out of the University of Tennessee in 2023, has 38 strikeouts over 38 2/3 innings but has also issued 18 walks and given up 10 home runs.

Toglia benched. The Rockies always knew Michael Toglia was far from a finished product. Still, they were counting on much more from the first baseman than he’s delivered this season.

That’s why Toglia was out of the starting lineup for the second straight game. The Rockies are intent on fixing a swing and approach that’s led to 38.6% strikeout rate and a major league high 71 Ks. Toglia is slashing .205/.272/.367 with six home runs and 19 RBIs in 47 games.

“We are just giving him a breather and just trying to get him back on track,” manager Warren Schaeffer said before the Rockies hosted the Phillies Thursday afternoon at Coors Field. “Sometimes this is the best way to do it. Thinking about and talking with the coaches, we have a plan in place for Mike.

“He’s not performing like he wants to, at the moment, so we are giving him a couple of days off.”

Asked if Toglia’s high strikeout rate was the main reason to take him out of the lineup, Schaffer said, “I think the Ks are the result of an issue. There is some stuff they are working on in the cage, big-time. They are hammering it, in terms of bat path, analyzing the launch angle, hitting to all fields, in-zone miss. And analyzing between the ears. There are just a lot of things. He needs to decompress for a couple of days and I think it will be very beneficial for him.”

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Originally Published: May 22, 2025 at 12:24 PM MDT