Rockies lose ace Jon Gray for rest of season as things continue to go wrong for Colorado
Gray had been in the midst of a fantastic campaign for the last-place Rockies
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1 min read
On Wednesday, the Colorado Rockies announced right-handed starter Jon Gray would miss the rest of the season due to a stress fracture in his foot. Gray, who had most recently thrown eight shutout innings against the Miami Marlins last Friday, had been dealing with foot pain since earlier in the month. He may elect to undergo a surgical procedure to correct the issue:
#Rockies Jon Gray said the pain returned from his previous left foot injury, started having a nagging feeling during his start at San Diego on Aug. 8. Imaging revealed stress fracture. He never had surgery on it before, but he's leaning toward surgery this time.
— Jake Rill (@JakeDRill) August 21, 2019
Gray's absence is notable in part because he was in the midst of a stellar season -- he'll finish his year with a 139 ERA+ in 150 innings -- and in part because it further weakens the Rockies, who entered Wednesday with the ninth-worst record in baseball and who had already lost reliever Scott Oberg for the rest of the season due to blood clots in his throwing arm.
It's fair to say some things have gone wrong for the Rockies this season, as is the case anytime a team who made the prior postseason is slated for a top-10 pick in the ensuing draft. Yet, for the most part, the Rockies have been fortunate as it pertains to injuries. In fact, the Rockies entered Wednesday with the fifth-fewest days lost to injury this season, per Spotrac:
| Team | IL stints | Days lost |
|---|---|---|
13 | 410 | |
16 | 459 | |
11 | 479 | |
14 | 490 | |
Rockies | 19 | 597 |
Who you lose is important, too. But therein is part of the Rockies' problem: they haven't, until now, lost many players of note to the injured list. Only four Rockies had missed so much as 50 days on the year: starter Tyler Anderson, relievers Harrison Musgrave and Chris Rusin, and rookie infielder Brendan Rodgers.
Would the Rockies have been a better team with those players hearty and hale? Absolutely. Are their absences enough to explain why Colorado has disappointed to this degree? No chance.
As such, even though the Gray and Oberg revelations make it seem like the Rockies have been hit hard by bad luck, the reality is Colorado has bigger issues to tackle heading into the winter -- like why a team that was among the majors' healthiest was on pace to lose nearly 90 games before its ace went down with an injury.
