Rockies move closer to finalizing Opening Day roster

With Opening Day just five days away and the starter for that game already finalized, the Rockies’ roster to start the campaign is nearly set.

As reported by Thomas Harding of MLB.com, only one spot among position players remains unknown, with Tyler Freeman’s status up in the air due to a back issue. Aside from that, the Rockies will head to Miami thusly:

CATCHERS: Hunter Goodman, Brett Sullivan

INFIELDERS: Willi Castro, Edouard Julien, Kyle Karros, Ryan Ritter, TJ Rumfield

OUTFIELDERS: Jordan Beck, Brenton Doyle, Jake McCarthy, Mickey Moniak

The moves coincided with the team’s decisions to option catcher Braxton Fulford to AAA Albuquerque while reassigning infielder Nicky Lopez, infielder/outfielder Chad Stevens and left-handed pitcher Parker Mushinski to minor-league camp.

DOLLANDER WON’T BE IN ROCKIES’ ROTATION TO START THE YEAR

The Rockies’ 2023 first-round pick, Chase Dollander, had an eventful rookie season, marked by a few promising starts and ghastly home-road splits. But his work early in the season will come out of the bullpen, as right-hander Ryan Feltner nailed down the fifth spot in the rotation, as reported by Harding:

The other four spots were set: opening-day starter Kyle Freeland and offseason pickups Michael Lorenzen, Jose Quintana and Tomoyuki Sugano.

Dollander’s move to the bullpen came in the wake of Rule 5 draft acquisition RJ Petit undergoing Tommy John surgery, per Harding.

The Rockies are expected to set their bullpen Monday.

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