Rockies place outfielder on IL ahead of Opening Day

The Colorado Rockies are scheduled to face off against the Miami Marlins on Friday for their first game of the 2026 season. Unfortunately, Colorado was hit with some injury news, as the club is sending an outfielder to the IL.

Reports indicate that Mickey Moniak, who is 27 years old, is being placed on the 10-day IL, according to baseball writer Thomas Harding. Moniak is dealing with a sprained right finger. The Rockies are recalling catcher Braxton Fulford from Triple-A Albuquerque to fill out the major league roster.

“Rockies OF Mickey Moniak has been placed on the 10-day injured list (retroactive to March 24) with a sprained right ring finger,” reported Harding. “C Braxton Fulford had been recalled from Triple-A Albuquerque.”

Moniak’s debut for his seventh MLB season will be on standby for the time being. It’s a brutal blow for the Rockies’ Opening Day matchup (or, their version of it at least), as he proved to be a reliable at-bat for Colorado in 2025, having a career year in his first campaign with the franchise.

The veteran outfielder ended last season with a .270 batting average (career-best) and .306 OBP while recording 117 hits (career-high), 24 home runs (career-high), 68 RBIs (career-high), and nine stolen bases (career-high). Playing at Coors Field certainly helped, but those are solid numbers regardless.

Luckily, Moniak is only on the 10-day IL. So, he’s only expected to miss a short amount of time before returning to action. He played 135 contests in 2025, so he’s still on pace to potentially play the same number of games for the Rockies this season.