SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- The Rockies traded outfielder Mike Tauchman to the Yankees on Saturday for Minor League left-handed relief pitcher Phillip Diehl as part of a flurry of moves that brought Colorado close to its roster for Thursday’s regular-season opener at Miami.

Here are the other moves and the fallout:

Bench
Manager Bud Black said the trade cleared a spot for veteran Mark Reynolds, a non-roster invitee who was the Rockies’ starting first baseman for much of 2016 and '17. He played for the Nationals last year and returned to Colorado this winter. Black also said right-handed-hitting infielder Pat Valaika has been optioned to Triple-A Albuquerque for regular playing time.

Reynolds, 35, hit .274 with a 354 on-base percentage, a .471 slugging percentage, 46 home runs and 150 RBIs in 266 games in a Rockies uniform. This time, however, he provides a righty-hitting bench bat, as well as depth behind newly signed first baseman Daniel Murphy. Reynolds’ veteran bat and ability to recognize pitches gave him the nod over Valaika.

Under a normal lineup construction, Reynolds will be part of a four-man bench with outfielder Raimel Tapia, the backup catcher and either Garrett Hampson or Ryan McMahon, depending on which player starts at second base.

Bullpen
The Rockies chose right-hander DJ Johnson for one of the final two bullpen spots and optioned righty Carlos Estevez to Albuquerque.

That leaves two pitchers for one spot, but there's a clear path to the decision. Lefty Harrison Musgrave is lined up to get the nod as a long reliever. Righty starter Jeff Hoffman remains in camp, however, he is insurance in the case of a starter is injured before the Opening Day roster is set.

The bullpen spots opened because lefty Chris Rusin (upper back discomfort) and righty Antonio Senzatela (infected right heel blister) will begin the regular season on the injured list.

Catcher

After being informed he will not make the Opening Day roster, non-roster catcher Brett Nicholas requested his release, and manager Bud Black said the Rockies were likely to grant it.

The Rockies have room for two catching spots and are down to three -- Chris Iannetta and Tony Wolters, who did the bulk of the catching last season, and Tom Murphy, who is out of Minor League options and would have to clear waivers to be sent to the Minors.

For Diehl, 24, a 27th-round pick out of Louisiana Tech in 2016, Saturday's trade is a move to a new organization after a solid year at the Class A Advanced and Double-A levels last season. At first, he wasn’t sure the trade was real. He jumped into the barber’s chair ahead of Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia earlier Saturday.

“I thought they were just playing a joke on me before camp broke,” Diehl said. “I kept asking ‘Boonie’ [Yankees manager Aaron Boone], ‘Is this real? Is this a prank?’”

But the chance with the Rockies is real.

Over three professional seasons, Diehl is 16-6 with a 2.78 ERA in 194 1/3 innings and has totaled 11.6 strikeouts per nine innings.

The Minor League splits from last season suggest versatility -- .215/.306/.318 left-on-left, but .198/.243/.272 against righties.

Diehl was added to the Yankees' Major League camp in mid-March as a non-roster invitee, and although he gave up five runs and 11 hits in 10 innings pitched, he had other solid numbers, such as 17 strikeouts and four walks. He was still in Major League camp at the time of the trade.

“I was shocked that I kept surviving cuts, so to speak,” Diehl said. “I had an absolute blast, an eye-opening experience, met a lot of cool people. It’s crazy.”

The left-handed hitting Tauchman, 28, a 10th-round pick out of Bradley University in 2013, hit his way to the Majors by batting .304/.374/.450 over six Minor League seasons and has appeared in 52 games with the Rockies over the last two years. But Tapia’s presence and Hampson’s ability to play the outfield as well as the infield made Tauchman expendable.

“It’s one of those bittersweet things, where I’m going to miss the relationships, miss playing with these guys that I came up with, but once the shock wore down it was really exciting to go to a team that has such as long history of success and so many Hall of Fame players and a good team right now,” Tauchman said.

Final tuneup

Lefty Kyle Freeland, Colorado's expected Opening Day starter, went six innings and gave up three runs on six hits, with three strikeouts on a night when the Cubs were attacking to start the 11-6 Rockies win. Pitching alongside what’s expected to be the Rockies' lineup when the season opens Thursday in Miami, and in front of a Salt River Fields attendance-record (14,022) crowd, Freeland said it was exactly what he needed.

“It almost feels like it’s go time, and now that this game is over with, it is go time,” said Freeland, who nonetheless threw a two-seam fastball to right-handed hitters and a changeup to lefties with possibly higher frequency than during the regular season.

Awards day

Second baseman Ryan McMahon’s solid spring -- .434, eight doubles, three homers and 11 RBIs going into Saturday night -- earned him the annual Abby Greer Award for the Rockies’ Spring Training most valuable player.

Up next

Righty German Marquez will start Sunday against the Reds and righty Sonny Greer at Goodyear, Ariz., in the Rockies' final Cactus League game. They’ll play exhibition games in Albuquerque, N.M., on Monday against the Triple-A Isotopes and Tuesday at Fort Myers, Fla., against the Twins before opening the regular season Thursday at Miami.