Rockies promote hot-hitting slugger

The Colorado Rockies announced on Tuesday that they have promoted right-handed hitting catcher Tom Murphy to MLB.

Outfielder Mike Tauchman has been optioned back to Triple-A in a corresponding move.

Murphy (27) was batting .289 with 34 runs, 14 doubles, two triples, 16 home runs and 45 RBI in 49 games for the Albuquerque Isotopes this season. His 16 homers rank second in the Pacific Coast League.

He debuted for Colorado in 2015 and smacked three home runs in just 11 games, including one of the longest in MLB that season. He battled injuries and effectiveness over 2016 and 2017 and has batted .214 with 14 runs, four doubles, eight homers and 23 RBI in 44 games of his MLB career.

From West Monroe, N.Y., Murphy was originally selected in the third round of the 2012 First-Year Player Draft out of the University at Buffalo.

This move puts the Rockies roster in the interesting position of having three catchers available in Murphy, Chris Iannetta, and Tony Wolters.

Wolters has been known to occasionally play some middle-infield but neither Iannetta or Murphy plays anywhere but behind the dish. With a four-man bench, things could get tight for manager Bud Black when trying to think through pinch-hit opportunities.

Murphy has always had a remarkably intriguing bat with prodigious power. If he can manage to harness that power, even in a mainly pinch-hit type role, he could be a breath of fresh air for an offense that has a tendency to go quiet, especially late in games.

This transaction did not require any changes to the 40-man roster.