The Colorado Rockies placed standout catcher Elias Diaz on the 10-day injured list prior to Friday’s home game against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The move was retroactive to Tuesday.
The reigning All-Star Game MVP sustained a strained left calf during Monday’s loss to the Minnesota Twins. The club was hopeful Diaz could avoid an IL stint but the injury isn’t healing fast enough.
Outfielder Nolan Jones (back) was activated from the IL in a corresponding move.
Diaz, 33, is batting .303 with five home runs and 28 RBIs in 55 games this season.
Diaz drove in a career-best 72 runs last season while hitting .267 with 14 homers. In the All-Star Game, Diaz hit a go-ahead, two-run homer in the eighth inning that held up for a 3-2 victory, giving the National League its first win since 2012.
Diaz has a .254 career average with 61 homers and 286 RBIs in 683 games over parts of 10 major league seasons with the Pirates (2015-19) and Rockies.
Jones batted just .170 with one homer and seven RBIs in 26 games before going on the IL on April 30. He had to shut down his first rehab stint in mid-May due to knee soreness.
Jones, 26, showed promise last season by batting .297 with 20 homers, 62 RBIs and 20 steals in 106 games.
–Field Level Media
