Dollander (right elbow sprain) optimistic despite trip to IL

DENVER - The Rockies lost a core member of their starting rotation Friday when Chase Dollander, their first-round pick (No. 9 overall) in the 2023 Draft, was placed on the 15-day injured list following his early exit Thursday in Pittsburgh.

He left the game feeling tightness as he extended his arm on his fastballs -- which were down a couple ticks in velocity -- and his changeup, and an MRI Friday revealed a right elbow sprain for the second-year player.

Dollander seemed relieved that the injury was relatively minor, noting before Friday’s series opener against the D-backs in Denver that he had feared the injury could lead to Tommy John surgery.

“It’s just a very minor UCL sprain,” Dollander said. “The MRI showed I had a little inflammation around the ligament, nothing to be too concerned about. I’m just thanking God it wasn't more than that. Honestly, it's probably the best-case scenario. I’m trying to look at the positives.”

Dollander, 24, has been a positive throughout the first seven weeks of the season, appearing in 10 games. Over his past four appearances, he made three starts after previously working in relief behind an opener, typically covering four to seven innings. He’s 3-3 with a 3.89 ERA (19 earned runs over 44 innings) this season, with 18 walks and 47 strikeouts.

“If anything happens to that area, your mind automatically goes to the worst-case scenario,” Dollander said. “That's what happened, but as I started to sit with it and talk to some people, I kind of knew going into the MRI this morning that it probably wasn't what I thought it was. Thank God that it wasn't. This could be a very different conversation.”

There is no timetable for Dollander yet, and he was content to slow down and not rush his recovery.

“He’s going on the IL and he's gonna rehab,” manager Warren Schaeffer said. “The elbow area is always scary, but everybody's happy about it at this moment.”

Whether he was starting or pitching the bulk of the innings after an opener, Dollander has been a key piece of the pitching puzzle, essentially filling the fifth spot in the rotation. Tanner Gordon is a likely candidate to fill his spot after pitching four innings following Dollander's exit in the second inning Thursday, and at least three innings in each of his six relief appearances this season. His previous 23 big league games were all starts.

“We haven’t had a chance to sit down [and talk about the rotation], but it looks like Gordon threw all those innings yesterday on Chase's day, so it seems like a good fit to slide out,” Schaeffer said.

Gordon has allowed 13 earned runs across 21 innings for a 5.57 ERA with five walks and 25 strikeouts.

In a corresponding roster move, the Rockies recalled left-handed pitcher Sammy Peralta from Triple-A Albuquerque.

The club also put infielder/outfielder Tyler Freeman on the three-day paternity list and recalled outfielder and Colorado native Sterlin Thompson from Triple-A. Thompson was born in Longmont, about 40 minutes north of Denver, and when he gets in a game it will be his big league debut.

Thompson, the Rockies' No. 15 prospect per MLB Pipeline, was slashing .344/.491/.496 with five doubles, one triple, four home runs, 27 RBIs and eight stolen bases in 36 games with Albuquerque.

Though he only lived in Colorado for six months, Thompson would become the fourth Colorado-born player to make his Major League debut with the Rockies, joining John Burke (1996), Kyle Freeland (2017), and Lucas Gilbreath (2021). He would be the first position player born in Colorado to make his MLB debut with the Rockies.