Colorado placed RHP Nelson Cruz on the disabled list yesterday. Cruz began experiencing shoulder soreness in late April, but he failed to report the problem to the Rockies until after making three starts in which they noted his velocity was down around 5 mph. Colorado responded by pulling him from the rotation, though they allowed him to make two appearances out of the pen when he reported improvement. However, when he began having additional trouble with his arm, the Rockies decided it was time to put him on the DL, so he could treat the problem with rest. An MRI reportedly revealed no structural damage, and the team doctors have diagnosed him with biceps tendinitis. I expect his DL stay to last between two and six weeks.

In addition to placing Cruz on the DL, the Rockies also called up LHP Vic Darensbourg and RHP Scott Elarton while demoting RHP Jason Young. Colorado had promoted Young in early May to replace Cruz in the rotation. The Rockies drafted Young out of Stanford University with their second round pick of the 2000 draft. He spent all of 2001 at A+ Salem in the Carolina League and then split last season between AA Carolina in the Southern League and AAA Colorado Springs of the Pacific Coast League. He's posted solid strikeout rates at every level, though his control still requires considerable work. At the time of his promotion, he had compiled a 21:19 K:BB with 33 H and 4 HR allowed in 33 IP for a 3.82 ERA over six starts, which represented a decline from his 2002 AAA numbers. However, that decline likely only denotes the difference between his late season and early season form.

Young made his major league debut as the starting pitcher in the Rockies' May 12th game against the Mets. He walked the first batter he faced as a major league pitcher, 2B-S Roberto Alomar, before retiring IF-R Jay Bell on a grounder to third for his first major league out. Later in the inning OF-L Cliff Floyd became the first person to get a hit off Young in the majors with a double that scored Alomar. IF-R Ty Wigginton struck out swinging to lead off the second for Young's first major league K. LHP Javier Lopez relieved Young prior to the sixth inning. The 23-year-old left the game having compiled a 5:2 K:BB with 8 H, 2 HR, and 5 ER allowed in 5 innings. His second start went better, and he might pitch effectively if left in the majors for the remainder of the year, but giving him additional time to develop at AAA will probably make him a stronger pitcher next year when he should break camp in the Rockies' rotation.

In order to clear room on the roster for Young, the Rockies designated RHP Dan Miceli for assignment, choosing to send him to the minors through waivers. While he successfully passed through waivers, Miceli chose not to accept his minor league assignment and subsequently signed a minor league deal with Cleveland. He's currently in the minors, but the Indians are expected to bring him up whenever they have an opening in the bullpen. Outside of Colorado, he should be an effective reliever.

This year Darensbourg has compiled a 15:5 K:BB with 24 H and 1 HR allowed in 22.2 IP for a 3.57 ERA over 20 appearances at AAA Colorado Springs in the Pacific Coast League. The Rockies already have two strong left-handed pitchers in the pen with Brian Fuentes and Rule 5 pick Javier Lopez, who is doing an outstanding job so far this season. Consequently, I don't expect Darensbourg to make a lot of appearances and he'll have to do quite well when he does pitch to hold onto his roster spot.

Early this month, Colorado activated Elarton from the disabled list and sent him to AAA. The 27-year-old was no longer experiencing soreness in his shoulder, but the Rockies wanted him to log some additional innings at AAA before bringing him to the majors. Elarton will now replace Young as Cruz's substitute in the rotation. While he's reportedly recovered from his March of 2001 labrum surgery, fully rebounding from that type of shoulder surgery is difficult. Therefore, we should not expect him to return to striking out nearly a batter an inning as he did in 1998 and 1999. Since the Rockies are no longer paying him a substantial sum, they won't hesitate to send him back to AAA if he struggles and they want the rotation spot for someone else.

On May 1st, Colorado placed OF-L Chris Richard on the disabled list with a strained left hamstring. However, a week later the Rockies decided Richards needed season-ending surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder, as he's lacked the strength to make throws from the outfield. Hopefully, this surgery will finally eliminate the shoulder problems the 28-year-old has experienced over the last few years. As he's undergoing the procedure fairly early in the season and doesn't use his arm the way a pitcher does, he could be ready to play in Spring Training, though his history with this injury casts some doubt on that projection.

The Rockies called up 1B-L Mark Sweeney to replace Richard on the roster. Sweeney primarily will work as a left-handed pinch-hitter off the bench, making a rare start at first or one of the corner outfield positions.