Rockies lose rookie reliever for season to torn UCL

The elbow injury that landed Rockies rookie relief pitcher Welinton Herrera on the injured list last week ended up being a worst-case scenario: a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his left elbow that will end his season and almost certainly keep him out deep into the 2027 campaign.

No timeline has been set for surgery, manager Warren Schaeffer said prior to Monday’s game against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, but the left-handed Herrera became the third Rockies pitcher to suffer a torn UCL in recent months.

RJ Petit, a Rule 5 draft selection last year, tore his UCL in February and underwent Tommy John surgery. Pierson Ohl, a 26-year-old right-hander who arrived in January as part of the trade for Edouard Julien, was diagnosed with a torn UCL in spring training and had subsequent surgery.

The Rockies transferred Herrera to the 60-day injured list Monday, four days after moving Jose Quintana to that same list with an elbow sprain that will not require surgery.

Last Saturday, the Rockies placed Herrera on the 15-day injured list.

HERRERA SHOWED PROMISE AFTER ROCKIES CALL-UP

Herrera made his major-league debut last week after being promoted from AAA Albuquerque and made three appearances: two in the Rockies’ series at Los Angeles and one last Friday night against the San Francisco Giants.

He fared well agains the Dodgers, but gave up a single and a walk in one-third of an inning in what turned out to be his final appearances of the season.

Herrera was one of the Rockies’ two representatives in the Futures Game last summer, alongside 2024 first-round pick Charlie Condon. He was also one of the Rockies’ allocations to the Arizona Fall League last October. He spent last year at high-A Spokane and AA Hartford before starting this season in Albuquerque.

In the most recent edition of MLB Pipeline’s prospect rankings, Herrera ranked 14th in Colorado’s system. Barring a trade, there will undoubtedly be another opportunity for him down the road. But that appears unlikely to come until well into the 2027 campaign.

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