Keston

Hiura

McKenzie headlines a group of 19 players who elected minor league free agency earlier this week, including catcher Matt Thaiss; infielders Scott Kingery, Keston Hiura, Sergio Alcántara, Terrin Vavra and Vimael Machín; outfielders Jose Siri, Connor Joe and Jordyn Adams; and relievers Noah Davis, Scott Blewett, Brooks Kriske, Kevin Herget, Cionel Pérez, Darren McCaughan, Richard Lovelady, José Ruiz and Jordan Weems.

Hiura passed through waivers unclaimed after being removed from Colorado’s 40-man roster earlier this week. The 28-year-old first baseman went 4-for-18 at the dish during an eight-game stint with the Rockies.

It’s very doubtful that Hiura would have proven to be an answer for the Rockies, but it’s a little bizarre that the team didn’t even want to play him over Orlando Arcia at first base. Hiura wound up 4-for-18 with a double during his 16 days with the club.

Arcia has now started in three of the last four games, with two of those starts coming at first base. The Rockies seem interested in getting his bat in the lineup and may be souring on Keston Hiura, who has gone 3-for-16 with six strikeouts and no walks in seven starts with the Rockies.

Hiura has now started three of four games since being promoted to take Michael Toglia’s spot on the roster. He has gone 1-for-6 in his previous two games with one strikeout and two runs scored. We’re skeptical he remains an option for the Rockies in the second half of the season.

Hiura joins Colorado’s roster prior to Saturday’s game against the Mets in the wake of Michael Toglia’s demotion. The 28-year-old former top prospect has bounced around the past few years, putting up big-time numbers in the high-octane Pacific Coast League environments at the Triple-A level, but never really hitting in the majors. We’ll never write someone off completely, but the odds of Hiura excelling in the majors feel extremely long at this stage of his career.

Hiura has struggled mightily since his impressive rookie campaign with the Brewers, and the 2017 first-round pick is nothing more than organizational fodder at this stage. It would be a bit of a surprise if he was able to make Colorado out of spring training.

Hiura passed through waivers unclaimed after being designated for assignment earlier this week and will likely remain with Los Angeles as extra organizational depth. The 27-year-old former top prospect batted .148 (4-for-27) with zero homers and one RBI in a brief 10-game run with the Angels earlier this month, his first appearance back in the majors since the 2022 season.

Hiura wound up batting .148 (4-for-27) with zero homers and one RBI in a 10-game stint with the Angels, his first appearance back in the big league since the 2022 campaign. The 27-year-old former top prospect is quickly becoming the modern-era prototype for the Quad-A slugger capable of destroying the upper minors, but unable to make an impact at the highest level.

With Anthony Rendon back at third. Rengifo figures to see most of his playing time at second after returning. That could put Brandon Drury on the bench against a fair number of righties. Keston Hiura’s roster spot is likely in danger.