When the Rockies acquired right-hander Wilton Lopez from the Astros two offseasons ago he was coming off three consecutive seasons with a sub-3.00 ERA, but he mostly struggled for Colorado last season and now he’s headed back to the minors.
Lopez began this year by allowing eight runs in six innings, including a nifty .514 opponents’ batting average, which convinced the Rockies to demote him to Triple-A at age 30. His last outing consisted of recorded two outs while coughing up six runs on three homers. For some context, Lopez has never allowed more than six home runs in any season before.
Lopez is making $2.2 million this season, so the Rockies are hoping he can get back on track against Pacific Coast League hitters and at least give them some decent middle relief work later in the year.