Rockies will be without a starting pitcher for next two months

The Rockies will have to make do without starting pitcher Jose Quintana for the next two months.

Thursday, the team transferred the left-hander from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day list in the wake of the elbow sprain that struck in last Sunday’s loss at Arizona, dealing another blow to a rotation that has seen a majority of its starters land on the injured list at some point this season.

An MRI revealed that Quintana’s injury will not require surgery, as first reported by MLB.com’s Thomas Harding. But his absence will nevertheless deal a blow to the rotation, as he and Tomoyuki Sugano had emerged as reliable starters in recent weeks — along with Chase Dollander, who landed on the 15-day injured list on May 15 due to a right-elbow sprain.

Prior to Quintana’ injury-truncated start last Sunday, his form had been on the upswing. After posting a 6.23 ERA in his first three starts — one of which came before his first injured-list stint this season, which transpired due to a right-hamstring strain — he notched a 3.04 ERA in the five starts that followed, three of which came at Coors Field.

He’d become a reliable component for a rotation struggling to find them, and now the Rockies will have to adapt without him. They should get Ryan Feltner back over the weekend; he returned to the club after completing a rehab stint following right ulnar nerve inflammation. Feltner made his most recent start for AAA Albuquerque on Sunday and appears in line to start for the Rockies on Saturday.

ROCKIES COULD LOSE A POTENTIAL TRADE CHIP

The move to the 60-day injured list has long-term implications, as well. Since Quintana won’t be able to return until late July, the Rockies would have minimal chance to display him for interested teams prior to the Aug. 3 trade deadline.

If Quintana were to return exactly 60 days from now, the Rockies could get two starts out of him before the deadline. But that requires everything breaking right in his recovery.

Quintana is playing on a 1-year, $6-million contract.

In a corresponding move, the Rockies moved reliever Jeff Criswell off of the 60-day injured list and optioned him to AAA Albuquerque, where he’s pitched recently while not being on the 40-man roster. Criswell missed all of 2025 due to Tommy John surgery and has a 5.91 ERA over nine minor-league appearances this year since making his return April 29 at High-A Spokane.

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