Colorado Rockies Designate Eric Young Jr. For Assignment

Eric Young Jr. finds himself the odd man out in Colorado and has been designated for assignment. (Image Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports)

The Colorado Rockies have designated Eric Young Jr. for assignment, according to Troy Renck of The Denver Post. The move was made in order to make room on the active roster for the team to recall Chris Volstad.

Young has spent parts of the past five seasons with the Rockies, seeing time at second base and at all three outfield positions. In 313 career games he’s a .261/.329/.342 hitter. He’s got limited power (just 6 HR and 26 2B) but he has stolen 70 bases and doesn’t strike out often (never more than 38 in a season). This year Young has struggled somewhat, however, and has hit just .242/.290/.352 in 180 PA. Given his defensive versatility and the fact that he’s not yet arbitration eligible, it’s tough to gauge whether or not a team might consider claiming him off of waivers.

Volstad will be making his second stint with the Rockies, though it’s unclear how long he’ll be with the team this time around. Volstad won a spot in the team’s bullpen out of Spring Training but found himself DFA’d and optioned down to Triple-A by mid-April after posting an 8.53 ERA over 6.1 IP in 4 appearances. He’s been starting in the minor leagues since the demotion, going 3-1 with a 5.31 ERA in 40.2 IP (9 G, 8 GS).