The Rockies announced they’ve placed Mickey Moniak on the 10-day injured list with right ankle tendinitis. Rookie outfielder Sterlin Thompson is up from Triple-A Albuquerque to take his spot on the roster. Thomas Harding of MLB.com reported the moves before the official announcement.
It’s the second IL stint of the season for Moniak, who missed the first week and a half with a finger sprain on his right hand. Manager Warren Schaeffer tells team reporter Kelsey Wingert-Linch that Moniak injured his ankle when he collided with the wall during a mid-May series against the Pirates. He has played through the injury for a couple weeks but will need some time on the shelf.
Moniak has probably not coincidentally been in a slump since that series. He’s 2-20 over his last seven games. Moniak had been one of the more productive hitters in the sport before that and still carries a strong .280/.335/.607 slash line across 164 plate appearances. He leads the team with 12 home runs, a top 10 mark in the National League.
The former first overall pick has found his stride since signing with the Rockies on the eve of Opening Day 2025. He’s a .272/.314/.541 hitter in 625 plate appearances over his year-plus in Colorado. That’s almost all against right-handed pitching and has disproportionately come at Coors Field, yet Moniak has certainly hit well enough to put himself on the radar as a midseason trade candidate. He’s making $4MM and under arbitration control through 2027. If he’s healthy, he could be a platoon corner outfield/designated hitter target for a contender.
Thompson, a supplemental first-rounder from the 2022 draft, is up for the second time in his MLB career. He went 1-8 in a three-game stretch last week before being optioned back to Triple-A. The Florida product is in the lineup at DH tonight against Arizona righty Michael Soroka. Colorado is shorthanded in the outfield with Moniak and Brenton Doyle landing on the injured list in consecutive days. Thompson should get fairly regular playing time as part of an outfield that also includes Jake McCarthy, Troy Johnston and Tyler Freeman.
