CHICAGO -- After two relief appearances on his Minor League rehab assignment, the Rockies activated Victor Vodnik off the 15-day injured list Tuesday. Following Monday’s 3-1 loss at Wrigley Field, Colorado optioned Angel Chivilli to Triple-A Albuquerque, so Vodnik took Chivilli’s place on the active roster.
Vodnik, 25, went on the IL on April 20 (retroactive to April 17) with right shoulder inflammation, and he said the initial thought was he would only need around two weeks off. However, he still felt some soreness and needed additional time, and he ended up getting a cortisone shot.
Vodnik said he felt great after receiving the shot, and the time off after the injection has been about building up to get ready to return. The last step was a rehab assignment, which began Thursday with Double-A Hartford. Taking over for the Yard Goats in the bottom of the fifth that game, Vodnik was charged for two runs on a hit and a walk, and he threw 25 pitches in two-thirds of an inning.
The outing didn’t quite go how he wanted it to. He said he “tried to throw everything,” pitching differently than he would in the big leagues as he threw all his pitches to just “get a feel for things.”
Then, in his second appearance with Hartford on Sunday, he needed just 13 pitches to get through a scoreless seventh inning, striking out one with the lone baserunner coming via an error. Vodnik said he “got after it” in that appearance, throwing more fastballs and having a good feel for his changeup and slider.
“Everything's coming out smoothly, and it feels good,” Vodnik said. “My stuff's doing what I want it to do, instead of just throwing and me not knowing where it's going. So that's the difference. My last outing, I threw everything where I pretty much wanted it to go, and so it felt good.”
Vodnik, who’s averaged 98-plus mph with his four-seamer the last two seasons -- including a 96th percentile 98.2 mph this year, according to Statcast -- estimated the pitch sat around 97-98 mph. Though the rehab assignment was only two appearances long, the Rockies felt they’d seen enough (and determined the shoulder was healthy) to add him back to the bullpen.
“It looked good,” interim manager Warren Schaeffer said. “Yeah, [the rehab assignment] was quick. His arm looked good, so get him back up here.”
In nine appearances this season, Vodnik owns a 4.50 ERA across eight innings, though he hasn’t pitched for Colorado since April 16. In 79 games (90 1/3 innings) since making his debut Sept. 9, 2023, he’s 6-5 with a 4.68 ERA.
Vodnik felt he was in a good spot before he went on the shelf. He didn’t allow an earned run in his last four appearances. Now that he’s rejoined the Rockies, he’s hoping to quickly rediscover those positive results.
“I'm excited,” Vodnik said. “I'm just happy to be back. I feel really good now and ready to go.”