It took slightly longer than expected, but the Colorado Rockies are getting back both Wade Davis and Charlie Blackmon for their upcoming series in New York.
The team announced Friday that the two were activated off the 10-day injured list.
Blackmon was on the mend with a right calf strain, while Davis was dealing with a left oblique strain. Both were placed on the injured list within the same week, while Davis’ absence was five days longer.
The injury for Blackmon came after fouling a ball off his lower leg against the Pittsburgh Pirates before he later reaggravated the injury on defense. Prior to his departure, the outfielder had extended his 18-game on-base streak, the third-longest active streak in the National League.
In 200 at-bats prior to his ailment, Blackmon slashed .300/.356/.565 and went deep 10 times. His line also includes 31 runs batted in and a league-leading five triples.
Raimel Tapia filled in for Blackmon at leadoff during his stead. In that time, Tapia accrued a career-high hitting streak (12 games). He will once again fill in for Blackmon in the series opener, despite the latter being newly reactivated.
Davis, before his first injured list stint since 2016, had seven saves and a 2.45 earned run average in 14.2 innings. He has yet to allow a home run this season, continuing his 32.2 inning streak without allowing a long ball. The spree is the fifth-longest in the NL.
Garrett Hampson was optioned to Triple-A Albuquerque to make room for Blackmon, while Chris Rusin was designated for assignment to make room for Davis.
Rusin, in his return from a back strain, had appeared in a pair of games. In only one inning worth of outs, he allowed four earned runs. The rough patch continued a fall from grace for the reliever.
After a breakout year in 2017 (2.65 ERA in 60 appearances), Rusin has allowed 41 earned runs in 55.2 innings. While the latest move by the team doesn’t guarantee his departure from the organization, it’s telling that they opened the door for another team to claim him.
Hampson only appeared in two games in his latest stint with the Rockies. In four at-bats, he failed to get a hit, lowering his season average to .186 in a pair of chances with the big league club.