Rockies Latest Injury Continues To Test Warren Schaeffer's Starting Pitching Depth

The injuries continue to mount with the starting rotation.

Warren Schaeffer | Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

After being hired as the president of baseball operations by the Colorado Rockies, Paul DePodesta didn't make many drastic moves over the offseason. In fact, he pointed to the direction he was going to be taking in his first season in Denver by signing some veterans to short deals.

Two of those were veteran pitchers Michael Lorenzen and Jose Quintana. The early returns from the beginning of the season to Memorial Day Weekend haven't been what DePodesta or Colorado had hoped for. However, in what is a transition season with some change in the front office, expectations were not that high to begin with.

Injuries have hit manager Warren Schaeffer's rotation and the latest to land on the injured list is Quintana after a rough start on Sunday against the Arizona Diamondbacks in a 9-1 loss.

Rockies Mounting Injuries Continue With Jose Quintana Going on the IL

Jose Quintana | Anna Carrington-Imagn Images

The last month hasn't been too kind to Schaeffer in terms of his starting rotation and injuries. Quintana is the third starter to go down, joining Chase Dollander and Ryan Feltner. That is putting the Rockies' depth to the test at a time when they can't afford to be doing that.

After a 5-3 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday night in Southern California, Colorado is just 3-7 in their last 10 games. They are slipping behind in the basement of the National League West after being passed by the San Francisco Giants.

As for Quintana, Sunday's start against Arizona was his worst start in May. He lasted just 1.1 innings and allowed six earned runs on six hits, throwing just 33 pitches. He fell to 2-3 and saw his ERA rise to 5.27 after signing a one-year, $6 million contract over the winter.

It was announced before the series opener against the Dodgers that Quintana was going on the 15-day injured list with a left elbow sprain. They called up left-handed pitcher Welinton Herrera from Triple-A Albuquerque.

Before going on the injured list, the thought was that Quintana was going to be able to make his next start this upcoming weekend against the San Francisco Giants. That isn't happening and now Schaeffer and his staff will have to figure out how to move forward with a rotation that includes Kyle Freeland, Tanner Gordon, Lorenzen, and Tomoyuki Sugano.

Gordon pitched very well Monday night against Los Angeles, going five innings, allowing six hits and one run, and left with a 2-1 lead. However, the Rockies' bullpen imploded in the bottom of the seventh and allowed four runs.

In other news, Colorado also announced on Monday that it traded left-handed pitcher Carson Palmquist to the Washington Nationals in exchange for cash considerations. He was previously designated for assignment on May 21.