The Rockies announced Monday that they’ve selected the contract of infielder/outfielder Cole Tucker from Triple-A Albuquerque. Infielder Coco Montes was optioned to Triple-A in a corresponding move. Colorado had a vacancy on its 40-man roster prior to today’s moves, so the team is now at capacity in that regard.
Tucker, 27, returns to the majors for the fifth straight year. The former first-round draftee had played parts of four seasons with the Pittsburgh club that drafted him. Tucker didn’t find much big league success with the Bucs, combining for a .211/.259/.314 line over 469 big league plate appearances.
Last June, the Bucs lost Tucker on waivers to the D-Backs. He struggled offensively with Arizona’s top minor league club, resulting in an outright that paved the way for him to elect free agency at season’s end. Tucker hooked on with the Rockies on an offseason minor league pact and has spent 2023 in Albuquerque.
Tucker has had a strong offensive showing there, even in the context of the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. He’s hitting .311/.419/.459 over 267 trips. Tucker only has five homers but is walking at a huge 15.7% clip against a modest 19.1% strikeout rate. Of the 92 PCL hitters with 200+ plate appearances, Tucker ranks 13th in on-base percentage.
While Tucker has plenty of shortstop experience, he has split his time with the Isotopes between the outfield and second base. He brings some defensive flexibility to Bud Black’s bench. Tucker is out of minor league option years, so the Rox have to keep him in the bigs or designate him for assignment now that he earned an MLB call. If he plays well enough to hold a roster spot all season, he won’t be eligible for arbitration until the end of next year.
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