The Rockies are dealing with injury concerns for their young pitcher. Chase the Dollar lefty to start this afternoon at Pittsburgh in the second inning due to right arm stiffness.
Dollander told MLB.com’s Thomas Harding postgame that the club had not planned the photo shoot. “I don’t know, I’m not sure,” he replied when asked about the extent of his concern. “I don’t want to say too much before something else happens – not to upset myself or anyone else.”
The ninth pick in the 2023 draft, Dollander struggled at Coors Field as a rookie last season. He took a big step forward this year, entering today’s outing with a 3.35 ERA in 43 innings. He struck out 26% of opponents while averaging 99 mph on his four-seam fastball. Pittsburgh held him to five hits and three runs in an inning-plus today, though it’s fair to say a rough start due to arm discomfort.
Dollander tells Harding that he first felt discomfort in his starting arm last Friday in Philadelphia. He had a slight velocity dip this afternoon, sitting at 97-98 mph with the heater instead of his usual 99. That’s not a concern in itself — it was the first inning and the temperature of the game was in the high 40s — but it becomes more alarming in conjunction with the arm discomfort.
The Rox did not disclose whether Dollander will go on the injured list. It would force them to guard against a very important member of their pitching staff. Today’s loss dropped Colorado to an NL-worst record of 17-27. They are still early in what will be a long-term rebuild, so the focus should be on Dollander’s health.
Tanner Gordon helped save the bullpen by throwing four innings of one-run ball in mop-up work. Gordon wasn’t even on the active roster until this morning, as Colorado recalled him to Triple-A Albuquerque before the game. That came as a complementary move to release Jimmy Hergetwho went on the 15-day injured list with a shoulder sprain.
Claimed to be waived after the 2024 season, Herget pitched the Rox 83 1/3 innings of 2.48 ERA ball last year. He has a 5.06 ERA in 16 innings this year, although he has the same strikeout and walk rates as he posted last season. Herget always attacks the strike zone. He doesn’t have the big stuff but he misses a good number of batsmen with a heavy dose of breaking balls from side arm deliveries.
Herget is playing with a $1.55MM arbitration salary and has one year of control left. He won’t be a top target for the Bulls but he could draw deadline interest as a middle-of-the-pack reliever if he’s healthy. The Rockies might be happy to move him for a lottery ticket if the opportunity presents itself.
In other cases of injury, it is a relief Jeff Criswell was assigned to Albuquerque this week as he continues his rehab assignment. The righty is working his way back from Tommy John surgery he suffered in Spring Training 2025. That derailed a promising start to Criswell’s MLB career. The University of Michigan product has struck out 31% of opponents with a 2.75 ERA in his first 19 2/3 innings back in 2024.
