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The Colorado Rockies announced that they have activated star outfielder Carlos Gonzalez from the disabled list. The 27-year old was available for the Rockies off the bench Tuesday night to play defense and pinch run.
According to Troy Renck of the Denver Post, Gonzalez still has lingering pain in his right middle finger.
CarGo is available to play defense and run bases tonight. Might be able to hit tomorrow. He is not being shutdown at this point
— Troy Renck (@TroyRenck) September 3, 2013
As a result of his injury, Gonzalez has changed the way he grips the bat. Gonzalez hopes to hit at some point this week, but the non-playoff bound Rockies won't force anything with one of their franchise centerpieces.
Gonzalez is hitting .302/.367/.591 with 26 home runs and 70 RBI in 103 games this season. The former top prospect's right middle finger has been bothering him since the All-Star break and has derailed, what was at one point, an MVP-caliber season. Because rosters are expanded in September, Colorado had no issues with activating the outfielder despite the fact that he isn't quite ready for game action.