Rockies designate Michael Toglia for assignment, trade for lefty
The Rockies search for a consistent power-hitting first baseman is back to square one On Tuesday the club designated first-round draft choice Michael Toglia for assignment as it reset its -man roster The strikeout-prone Toglia selected out of UCLA with the rd overall pick never became the player that former general manager Bill Schmidt envisioned In games over parts of four big-league seasons Toglia slashed OPS with home runs Though Toglia manifested flashes of power his high strikeout rate made him a liability at the major league level For his career Toglia has a strikeout rate including a K rate in Related Articles Rockies Journal Paul DePodesta facing whole different world from Moneyball NFL Renck Rockies Dick Monfort passes torch to son Walker Please don t take it back Rockies VP Walker Monfort introduces Paul DePodesta in first day of our future after years of struggles Rockies Paul DePodesta views trades as way to upgrade historically bad starting pitching Rockies Paul DePodesta on taking job with Colorado I m a sucker for a challenge The Rockies also hoped that Kris Bryant would emerge as an option at first base but his chronic back issues have sabotaged his career and there is a chance he won t play baseball again In other moves the club acquired left-handed reliever Brennan Bernardino from the Red Sox in exchange for outfield prospect Braiden Ward The Rockies also selected the contracts of left-hander Welinton Herrera right-hander Gabriel Hughes and outfielder Sterlin Thompson adding them to the -man roster Bernardino was at times a productive reliever for Boston last season posting a ERA and WHIP over outings innings Opponents hit just against him but walks have hurt him walks per nine innings Bernardino pitched in games for the Red Sox over the last three years posting a ERA with strikeouts The speedy Ward a left-handed hitter has yet to make his big-league debut He swiped bases on attempts in games for Double-A Hartford and Triple-A Albuquerque in He batted with a OPS two home runs doubles four triples and RBIs in plate appearances at two minor league levels The Rockies also cleared space on the -man roster by designating right-hander Ryan Rolison for assignment Rolison was a first-round pick nd overall in the draft out of the University of Mississippi Rolison battled shoulder injuries before he made his big-league debut in He appeared in games posting a ERA Want more Rockies news Sign up for the Rockies Insider to get all our MLB analysis
