Moniak returns from injury, Rockies option Thompson to Albuquerque
Moniak was reinstated after a rehab stint in Albuquerque, and Sterlin Thompson was sent back, resetting the rookie’s path after two quick major-league homers.
Mickey Moniak was activated from the injured list by the Rockies on June 22, and Sterlin Thompson was optioned to Triple-A Albuquerque in the corresponding move. The transaction brought Moniak back after a 10-day stay on the shelf with right ankle tendinitis and sent Thompson back to the level where his season has been built.
Moniak, 28 and a left-handed hitter, had been recovering from the May 12 collision with the center-field wall in Pittsburgh that left him dealing with ankle trouble. He finished a rehab assignment with Albuquerque before returning, and his final tune-up looked like a player ready to handle center and left field again: two leaping catches and a 1-for-5 line with a double in the Isotopes game on Saturday.
For Colorado, the move fit a season-long pattern in the outfield. Thompson had been summoned from Triple-A in May when injuries thinned the active roster, and the Rockies have kept cycling players on and off the roster to cover the gaps. Moniak’s return gives them another left-handed option, but it also shows how much the club is still managing health and availability before it can settle on a stable alignment.
Thompson’s return to Albuquerque resets the development track for a 24-year-old who had moved fast through the system. He made his major-league debut on May 15 and had just hit his first two home runs in the big leagues before the latest roster shift. The Rockies drafted Thompson 31st overall in 2022 as a compensation pick after Trevor Story signed with Boston, and he arrived in Denver after a strong 2025 in Albuquerque, where he hit .296/.392/.519 with 18 home runs and 12 steals in 120 games.
That line is the standard Thompson now has to chase again in Triple-A, where consistent at-bats will matter as much as the power that briefly surfaced in Colorado. Moniak’s activation keeps the Rockies leaning on health, defense and left-handed balance in the outfield, while Thompson heads back to Albuquerque to keep building toward the next call.
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