Colorado Rockies

Teams in need of catching help should take note because there is an All-Star reportedly available for the right price.

USA Today's Bob Nightengale reported Sunday the struggling Colorado Rockies "will trade" catcher Elias Díaz this year. However, Nightingale also noted the team "will not" move infielder Ryan McMahon ahead of the July 30 deadline.

The strategy is not particularly surprising considering Díaz is 33 years old and in the final season of his contract, while McMahon is 29 and signed through the 2027 season.

Colorado is 25-45 and in last place in the National League West, but McMahon is someone who can help it in future seasons when it is potentially contending for playoff spots. He is slashing .265/.346/.462 with 12 home runs and 37 RBI this season, and Nightengale suggested he "should make the All-Star team this year."

As for Díaz, he made his first career All-Star Game last season and has once again been excellent this year with a .303/.352/.439 slash line, five home runs and 28 RBI in 55 games.

He provides important offense from the catching position and would be a significant boost for any contender that needs an impact player behind the plate.

Any team trading for Díaz would likely be doing so for his offense, but he has also played much better defense than usual this year. He is responsible for minus-45 defensive runs saved above average in his career, but that number is a solid plus-two this season, per FanGraphs.

From the Rockies' perspective, trading him this year would allow them to get something in return before he would have potentially left in free agency during the upcoming offseason. McMahon can contribute for years to come, so the focus ahead of the trade deadline will be on the catcher.

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating a Colorado Rockies charter flight on which a team staff member was apparently allowed into the cockpit while the plane was in the air.

Rockies hitting coach Hensley Meulens posted a video on Instagram of himself talking to the pilots of a United flight that was taking the team to Toronto for its series against the Blue Jays, which began April 12.

In a statement to Chris Vanderveen of 9News, the FAA confirmed it has launched an investigation into the situation and United Airlines called it "a clear violation of our safety and operational policies."

Along with the video, Meulens wrote on the post he "had some fun in the cockpit on our flight from Denver to Toronto" and thanked the captain and first officer for the experience.

Meulens is heard in the video making a joke that he is going to land the plane. Lauren Pennington of the Denver Post noted a second member of the Rockies' coaching staff is seen entering the cockpit later in the video.

Vanderveen noted that United said the pilots have been "withheld" from service as it conducts its own investigation.

The FAA did not provide additional information, noting it does "not comment on the details of open investigations."

The Rockies and Blue Jays played a three-game series in Toronto from April 12-14. Meulens has since deleted the video from his Instagram page.

Meulens, 56, played 11 years in professional baseball from 1989 to 2000. He spent seven of those years in Major League Baseball with the New York Yankees (1989 to '93), Montreal Expos (1997) and Arizona Diamondbacks (1998). He also played three years in Japan and one year in South Korea.

After retiring as a player, Meulens moved into coaching in the minor leagues in 2003. He spent 10 seasons with the San Francisco Giants as their hitting coach (2010 to '17) and bench coach (2018 to '19).

The New York Mets hired Meulens as their bench coach in December 2019. He spent one season in Queens before being fired. The Yankees brought him on as their assistant hitting coach for the 2022 season.

Meulens is in his second season as Colorado's hitting coach after being hired in November 2022.

The Colorado Rockies have locked in shortstop Ezequiel Tovar to a seven-year, $63.5 million contract extension, according to MLB.com's Thomas Harding.

The contract comes with a potential eighth year on a club option that would increase Tovar's earnings to $84 million, per Harding and the New York Post's Jon Heyman.

Tovar became the youngest Opening Day starter in Rockies history at 21 years old last season. The new deal will now keep him in Colorado until age 29, according to Daniel Álvarez-Montes of El Extrabase.

Tovar slashed .253/.287/.408 with 37 doubles and 15 home runs during his first full MLB season in 2023.

Although Tovar's doubles total tied for fifth among NL first-years, and his 73 RBI matched the fourth-most by a rookie in Rockies franchise history, his offense saw ups and downs in 2023.

The rookie struggled at the plate early in the season while batting .214 through his first 26 games. He ended the campaign having struck out on 27 percent of his at-bats, while his 4.1 percent walk rate ranked in the bottom 2 percent of MLB, per Baseball Savant.

The Rockies still saw promise in the defensive skills that made Tovar a top-25 MLB prospect heading into the 2023 season.

Tovar was named a Gold Glove Award finalist in 2023 after recording 13 defensive runs saved and plus-16 outs above average in 2023.

That OAA ranked Tovar in the 99th percentile of all fielders, according to Baseball Savant. The only shortstop in the league with a higher OAA was Chicago Cubs veteran Dansby Swanson.

The Rockies will hope Tovar can improve his plate discipline while continuing to provide defense in 2024 as the team looks to continue its rebuild.

With Tovar locked in as the Rockies' shortstop of the future, the team may need to start considering an extension for fellow standout 2023 rookie Nolan Jones, who provided 4.3 wins above replacement for the Rockies last season, per Baseball Reference.

Jones, 25, is slated to become a free agent after the 2027 season. In February, MLB.com's Mark Feinsand described the left fielder as a top candidate for a long-term extension.

MLB free agent Cole Tucker reportedly married actor and singer Vanessa Hudgens in Mexico on Saturday, according to Brenton Blanchet of People.

The two were rumored to have started dating in 2020.

Tucker, 27, spent the 2023 season with the Colorado Rockies, though injuries and several stints back to the minor leagues limited him to five games with the team this past season.

He previously spent four seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

For his career, he's hit .216 with five homers, 37 RBI, 53 runs and a .584 OPS in 159 games.

Colorado Rockies pitcher Germán Márquez will have some financial security as he recovers from Tommy John Surgery.

Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reported that the team had given Márquez a two-year, $20 million contract extension that will keep him with the team through the 2025 season.

Márquez had a team option for 2024 and is projected to miss most of that season as he recovers from the surgery he underwent earlier this season. Thomas Harding of MLB.com reported that the extension includes performance bonuses for 2025.

Márquez made four starts in 2023 and had a 2-2 record with a 4.95 ERA.

The extension comes as his future with the team looked uncertain as a result of the injury. Since he is not likely to return until late in 2024, the team could have simply utilized the team option and only had a $2.5 million buyout if his progression was not up to par.

However, the show of good faith will add more security to him as well as save some money for the franchise in that season as his option was for $16 million. General Manager Bill Schmidt highlighted Márquez's importance to the team and potential for future success as reasons for making the deal.

"German has been an integral part of the Rockies organization both on and off the field since his first Major League season in 2016," Schmidt said, per ESPN. "We are excited to secure German's future in Denver with this extension and can't wait to see him back out on the mound."

Schmidt continued by saying that both parties were interested and guaranteeing security with the rehabilitation was key and this deal will make that possible.

"There was mutual interests on both sides," Schmidt said, per Harding. "But he wants to stay a Rockie as he goes through this rehab process and hopefully comes out on the other side. We're optimistic that everything's gonna be positive. There might be some bumps in the road. But we're hopeful that he's going to come back and be where he was moving forward. He's still 28 years old."

Márquez was an All-Star in 2021 and has a career record of 65-56 with a career ERA of 4.41. This Rockies notably play at Coors Field, which is widely considered to be a very hitter-friendly park and he has an improved 3.80 ERA away from Coors Field, per CBS Sports.

There's an unfortunate trend going around the Colorado Rockies organization at the moment, Tommy John surgery.

Four players within the organization, including starter Antonio Senzatela and three of its best pitching prospects will undergo the season-ending procedure this week, according to MLB.com's Thomas Harding, capping off one of the strangest injury situations around MLB.

It was originally reported July 15 that Senzatela would undergo the surgery on his right elbow. He was placed on the 15-day injured list May 13 and moved to the 60-day IL on June 11.

It's the 28-year-old's second-consecutive season-ending injury, having torn his ACL midway through last year.

Senzatela only made two starts this season, going 0-1 with a 4.70 ERA and four strikeouts in 7.2 innings. He is in the second year of a five-year, $50.5 million contract.

As for the three prospects, Gabriel Hughes headlines the group as the Rockies' top pitching prospect and the No. 7 prospect in their farm system. The 21-year-old is currently in double-A and was projected to reach the majors by 2025, according to MLB pipeline.

Jackson Cox and Jordy Vargas round out the quartet, they have each been playing in single-A this year.

Dr. Keith Meister, the Rangers' head team physician, will perform the procedure on all four players.

With the National League's worst record, the Colorado Rockies could be one of the most active sellers leading up to the Aug. 1 trade deadline.

Per MLB.com's Mark Feinsand, the Rockies are expected to be very active over the next eight days with C.J. Cron, Randal Grichuk, Jurickson Profar, Brent Suter and Brad Hand all candidates to be moved.

None of these players is likely to bring back much in return. Four of the five players are set to become free agents after this season.

Hand has a $7 million team option for 2024, though it would make little sense for a team in Colorado's position to spend that much on a 33-year-old middle reliever with a 4.68 ERA in 36 appearances this season.

Hand's contract does contain a clause that makes his option mutual if he's traded or finishes 25 games. He's only at nine games finished so far. A mutual option shouldn't preclude a team from trading for him because both parties would have to agree to pick it up.

Grichuk is the only position player of the three Feisand mentioned with an above-average OPS+ this season. He's hitting .302/.363/.479 with six homers in 215 at-bats. Cron has a decent average (.255) and hits for power (11 homers, .480 slugging percentage), but he doesn't get on base (.299 on-base percentage).

Profar is having a season right in line with what he's done throughout his career. The 30-year-old has a .243/.323/.376 slash line with seven homers in 87 games.

Suter might be the most coveted player in the group because he's a left-handed reliever with a long track record of success. He's got a 2.62 ERA in 33 appearances for Colorado.

The Rockies' sole priority at this point needs to be on 2024 and beyond. Their 39-60 record is the worst in the NL and they are on the verge of a fifth consecutive losing season.

Colorado Rockies pitcher Ryan Feltner was hospitalized after a line drive off the bat of Nick Castellanos hit him in the head during Saturday's game, per Mike Cranston of the Associated Press.

The team then announced Sunday that it placed the right-hander on the 15-day injured list because he suffered a skull fracture. It recalled right-handed pitcher Riley Pint from Triple-A Albuquerque in a corresponding move.

Cranston noted the line drive was traveling at 92.7 mph off the bat and sent Feltner crashing to the ground.

After he remained down for some time, he walked off the field with the help of two staff members. The incident happened in the second inning.

"There was a part of me that wanted to go to the mound, but I guess the baseball player takes over and you run to first," Castellanos said. "As soon as I touched first, I turned around and was really hoping what just happened didn't happen."

Feltner has a 5.86 ERA, 1.755 WHIP and 33 strikeouts in 35.1 innings across eight games this season.

Philadelphia won the game 7-4, which extended its winning streak to a season-high five games.

Police are actively seeking the identity of the man who tackled Colorado Rockies mascot Dinger during Monday's game against the St. Louis Cardinals.

Fan video captured the incident Monday night, showing a spectator running on the field and tackling the mascot.

"We are working with our partners at the Colorado Rockies to identify the suspect," the Denver Police Department said in a statement to TMZ Sports.

Police are currently asking anyone who has information on the case to report to Metro Denver Crime Stoppers. It is unclear if the person wearing the mascot costume was injured in the incident.