DENVER -- AJ Reed, the former Astros second-round Draft pick who was one of the top prospects in baseball entering 2016, was designated for assignment Tuesday to make room on the 40-man roster for Jose Urquidy, who started at Coors Field in his Major League debut.

To make room on the 25-man roster, relief pitcher Reymin Guduan was optioned to Triple-A Round Rock.

When a player's contract is designated for assignment -- often abbreviated "DFA" -- that player is immediately removed from his club's 40-man roster, and 25-man roster if he was on that as well. Within seven days of the transaction (it was previously 10 days), the player must either be traded, released or placed on irrevocable outright waivers.

Reed, 26, was a two-way All-American when the Astros drafted him out of Kentucky in 2014, and he reached the Majors in 2016 after putting up impressive numbers in the Minor Leagues. He led all the Minors in home runs (34) and RBIs (127) in 2015 en route to being named Astros Minor League Player of the Year.

Reed hit 34 homers at Triple-A in 2017 while getting six at-bats for the World Series champions. Overall, he appeared in 48 games across three seasons with the Astros, hitting .153 with three homers, eight RBIs and 50 strikeouts in 131 at-bats.

This year, Reed was hitting .224 with 12 homers, 35 RBIs and 67 strikeouts in 192 at-bats for the Express. Reed’s strikeout rate has jumped to 29.8 percent in 2019 from 23.7 percent in 2018.

Worth noting
• Injured infielders Carlos Correa (fractured rib) and Aledmys Díaz (strained left hamstring) are working out at the team’s facility in West Palm Beach, Fla. Correa fielded ground balls on the field and Diaz hit in the batting cage. They will start to do on-field batting practice and live batting practice in coming days. Both are expected back after the All-Star break following Minor League rehab assignments.