The Rockies announced this morning that they had activated right-hander Victor Vodnik from the 15-day injured list. In a matching transaction, left-hander Ty Blach was assigned. Colorado’s 40-man roster now has 39 players.
Blach, 33, is now in his second stint on the Rockies’ major league roster this season. This year, he has a 6.94 ERA and 6.28 FIP in 20 appearances, 12 of which were starts. Blach, a fifth-round pick of the Giants in 2012, had early success as a solid swingman in San Francisco. From 2016 to 2018, Blach had a 4.36 ERA (93 ERA+) and a 4.14 FIP in 299 1/3 innings of work divided between 85 appearances and 39 starts. Overall, Blach compiled a 4.56 ERA and 4.23 FIP in a Giants uniform but suffered through five disastrous starts with the Orioles after being shipped to the club in 2019. Those wound up being the last appearances he’d make at the big league level until he resurfaced with the Rockies back in 2022.
When the lefty signed a minor league contract with the Rockies in 2022, it began a three-season stretch in which the veteran journeyman alternated between Triple-A and the majors for the team. While he hasn’t pitched well for the Rockies, with a career 6.13 ERA (78 ERA+) and 5.46 FIP that are below average even for a pitcher who calls Coors Field home, he’s served as a veteran depth option, allowing the Rockies to avoid rushing young, promising pitchers to the big leagues in the wake of the club’s recent rotation injuries. If Blach clears waivers, he will be able to reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency.
