Rockies Place Hunter Goodman On Injured List

The Rockies announced they’ve placed star catcher Hunter Goodman on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to August 15, with a left shoulder strain. Braxton Fulford is up from Triple-A Albuquerque to replace him on the active roster.

It doesn’t seem to be a major concern. Manager Warren Schaeffer told the Colorado beat that he expects Goodman to return when first eligible a week from now (video relayed by Troy Renck of The Denver Post). The power-hitting catcher was in last night’s initial lineup but scratched pregame with the shoulder continuing to bother him. He hasn’t made an appearance since August 12. Teams can only backdate an IL placement by up to three days, however.

Colorado obviously doesn’t have a ton to play for at this point in the season, so it’s sensible to take precautions with their best player. Goodman leads catchers and is fifth among all players with 34 home runs. It’s his second straight 30-plus homer season. The Memphis product has 65 combined longballs over the last two years, during which he’s a .266/.321/.529 hitter in more than 1000 plate appearances.

Brett Sullivan figures to take over as the primary catcher for the next week. He’s having a decent season in the backup role, batting .244/.287/.451 with 19 extra-base hits in 179 trips to the plate. Sullivan has started the last five games as the only healthy catcher on the active roster, so he’ll get a deserved breather with Fulford drawing in tonight against Dodger southpaw Eric Lauer.