Brenton Doyle is back for Rockies, Veen optioned to Triple-A

The Colorado Rockies have been missing Brenton Doyle for the better part of the past two weeks as the 2024 Gold Glove winner has been on the bereavement list after dealing with a quad injury. He hasn’t played a full game since April 10, but had a plate appearance as a pinch hitter against the Dodgers on April 16. The club announced Wednesday morning that Doyle has been reinstated with the team.

The Rockies announced today that they have reinstated OF Brenton Doyle from the bereavement list and have optioned OF Zac Veen to Triple-A Albuquerque.

Additionally, LHP Evan Justice has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A.

— Rockies Club Information (@RockiesClubInfo) April 23, 2025

Doyle recently announced that he lost his daughter, who was expected to be born in the fall, at the 12-week mark, the reason for why he was on the bereavement list.

At the expense of Doyle’s return, Zac Veen, the rookie who was awarded the Rockies’ Spring Training MVP award, will be heading back down to the minor leagues as a result of the transaction. Veen hasn’t been great at the plate so far, as he’s posted a slash line of just .118/.189/.235. In 34 plate appearances, he has just four hits and two walks with 14 strikeouts.

Before being called up to the major leagues recently, Veen was doing damage down in Albuquerque with the Isotopes, slashing .387/.472/.677 in 37 plate appearances. He now finds himself back where he got off to a hot start this season.

What good does it do for the Rockies to send one of their best hitting prospects back down to the minor leagues? The only way to improve is to play against the pros, not other prospects down in Triple-A. Veen also just hit his first home run of his MLB career, a 412-foot no-doubter to right field.

Zac Veen's first MLB homer for the @Rockies is CRUSHED 😯

412 feet | 103.4 EV pic.twitter.com/tGV5hCdODL

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) April 20, 2025

For Doyle, his presence is much needed back in the lineup. With three home runs and 17 hits (second-most on the team), he’s been slashing .315 (team best)/.351/.537. On the defensive side of the ball, the Rockies rank third-to-last in the MLB in errors (20) and fielding percentage (.976). While he can’t fix all of the Rockies’ problems (would Shohei Ohtani be able to do that?), he can at least help on both sides of the ball to try and provide a spark for the MLB’s worst team.

The Rockies are in action on the road tonight against the Kansas City Royals. First pitch is set for 5:40 p.m. Denver time.

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