The Rockies introduced this afternoon that infielder Alan Trejo has cleared outright waivers and opted to elect free company moderately than settle for an outright project to the minor leagues. Whereas Trejo doesn’t have the requisite three 12 months of service time sometimes essential to reject the project, he was nonetheless in a position to take action after being outrighted beforehand again in January.
Trejo, 28, was a Sixteenth-round choose by Colorado within the 2017 draft however didn’t make his massive league debut till 2021, when he served as an up-and-down utility depth choice for the Rockies across the infield. Trejo hit simply .217/.260/.326 (36 wRC+) in 50 journeys to the plate unfold throughout 28 video games that noticed him cut up time between second base and shortstop. He loved a bit extra motion the next 12 months and had a profession season on the plate, hitting a roughly league common .271/.312/.424 (92 wRC+) in 135 plate appearances, as soon as once more as a bench participant. A lot of that enjoying time got here when Trejo was made one of many membership’s September call-ups that 12 months, and he slashed .291/.341/.468 in 24 video games.
That sizzling September (mixed with an early-season harm to Brendan Rodgers) earned Trejo a bigger position for the 2023 season, however he discovered himself unable to capitalize on it as his offense got here crashing again to Earth pretty rapidly. Whereas he obtained 227 plate appearances throughout 83 video games that 12 months, Trejo posted a lackluster slash line of .232/.288/.343 (56 wRC+). The infielder’s struggles reached the purpose the place the Rockies determined to choice him to the minors in early June of final 12 months, and whereas he returned in July to publish a barely improved .221/.306/.379 slash line throughout his closing 41 video games, 2024 proved to be his worst efficiency but because the 28-year-old hit simply .142 with a .182 on-base proportion and nil extra-base hits throughout 67 plate appearances for the Rockies.
That brutal efficiency in 2024 was sufficient for Colorado to determine to half methods with Trejo, and the membership designated him for project yesterday to be able to make room for infielder Aaron Schunk on the membership’s roster. The Rockies’ second-rounder from the 2019 draft, Schunk figures to fill an analogous position on the roster as Trejo did, sacrificing the flexibility to play shortstop for stronger offensive numbers. That left the Rockies to position Trejo on waivers, the place he went unclaimed by all 29 different golf equipment. Now a free agent for the primary time in his profession, Trejo figures to seek for a minor league deal in a company mild on center infield depth. Whereas the infielder has by no means hit a lot within the majors, his glovework has usually been well-received by defensive metrics, as indicated by his +2 Outs Above Common partly time obligation with the Rockies final 12 months.