Right ankle tendinitis lands Moniak on IL; Thompson (No. 15) recalled

PHOENIX -- Rockies outfielder Mickey Moniak fought right ankle tendinitis for 10 days before he and manager Warren Schaeffer saw a disturbing pattern emerge.

Moniak sustained the injury in a crash with the center-field wall in the first inning of a May 12 game in Pittsburgh. The next night -- to celebrate his 28th birthday -- Moniak finished a single shy of the cycle and drove in five runs in a victory. Since then, however, he has gone 2-for-23.

Schaeffer used Moniak as a pinch-hitter late in Thursday night’s 2-1 loss to the Diamondbacks, but was planning to send in a pinch-runner had he reached base. On Friday, the two talked and recalled Moniak’s struggles in 2024, his final season with the Angels.

Moniak sustained two injuries to the ankle and tried to play through the pain to his detriment, as evidenced by a .219/.266/.380 slash line. It was the beginning of the end of his time with the Angels. Moniak won an arbitration case after the season, but the Angels released him toward the end of Spring Training and escaped much of the salary.

Moniak signed with the Rockies two days later and batted .270 with 24 home runs and 68 RBIs. This year, he signed for one year and $4 million to avoid arbitration and has been one of the Rockies’ most productive players, despite the recent downturn, at .280 with team highs in homers (12) and RBIs (28).

But playing injured was limiting his abilities, so the Rockies placed him on the IL and recalled rookie outfielder Sterlin Thompson, their No. 15 prospect per MLB Pipeline, from Triple-A Albuquerque.

“It’s all communication,” Schaeffer said. “Our trainers are very good, so it’s what they think about the guy, the trust in the player – in Mickey’s case, him telling me about how this happened to him in 2024, where he’s at right now.

“Mickey never wants to go on the IL. He’s a warrior. He’s a battler. It’s just honest, man-to-man conversation about what’s best for him, what’s best for the team. He agrees.”