The Colorado Rockies announced that first baseman Michael Toglia has been optioned to Triple-A Albuquerque, and the team has selected the contract of veteran infielder Keston Hiura. To make room on the 40-man roster, infielder Aaron Schunk was designated for assignment.

The optioning of Toglia is yet another wrinkle in what has been a difficult season for the young switch-hitter. Hopes were high that first base had been solved with the presence of Toglia after he slashed .218/.311/.456 with 25 home runs in 116 games last season. He initially cracked the Opening Day roster in 2024, but struggled in his first month of play and was sent down to Triple-A. He was called up in early June and slashed .233/.331/.469 with 21 home runs through the end of the season while playing stellar defense. The desire was that Toglia would slot into the heart of the Rockies’ order this season and continue his growth at the plate.

After a solid enough performance in Spring Training, Toglia has since struggled mightily this season. Strikeouts have always been a big part of his profile, but they have been exponentially troublesome this season. He leads all of baseball with a 39.1% strikeout rate and 81 strikeouts. He has still drawn walks at an 8.7% clip, but the home runs have fallen back to 2.9% as he is slashing .194/.266/.349 with just six home runs in 207 plate appearances.

Toglia has seen his playing time diminish in favor of veteran Kyle Farmer as the team tried to work on his approach at the plate and keep his excellent glove as an option. However, it would appear the team feels a reset in the minors is needed to get him sorted out, especially if they hope he can be a key cog in the near future.

In his place, the Rockies will call up Hiura, 28, who joined the team on a minor league deal in the offseason. Originally drafted ninth overall by the Milwaukee Brewers in 2017, Hiura has struggled to establish himself at the big league level fully. He quickly rose through the ranks, making his debut in 2019. He excelled in 84 games during his rookie season, batting .303/.368/.570 with 19 home runs. He appeared ready to become an everyday contributor for the Brew Crew but the cracks immediately began to show during the 2020 shortened season. Hiura played in 59 games during the 60-game season and swatted 13 home runs, but he also led the league with 85 strikeouts and had a meager .212 batting average and .297 on-base percentage.

He struggled in 61 games in 2021 before playing in 80 games in 2022, where he hit 14 home runs and had a slightly improved .226 AVG. However, he didn’t appear in the majors during 2023, spending the majority of the year in Triple-A, where he slashed .308/.395/.565 with 23 home runs. He was granted free agency after the season and bounced around the league, spending time in the Detroit Tigers system before signing with the Los Angeles Angels halfway through the year and appearing in just 10 games at the big league level to minuscule results.

Power has certainly been on display throughout Hiura’s career, as he has slugged 50 in the majors and 99 in the minors. His right-handed power has been a bright spot, but his career is still hindered by the number of strikeouts. At this point, he has 1,084 major league plate appearances and a 36% strikeout rate and in 2024 alone, he struck out 29.4% of the time in the minors. He certainly fits in well with the Rockies who had one of the highest strikeout rates in baseball a season ago, but he still appears as a backup option across the diamond in case of emergency. He came up as a second baseman but hasn’t been well-regarded, leading him to play more at first base and make occasional stops in left field.

Down in Triple-A this season, he has hit .243/.360/.467 with nine home runs in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. He has shown improvement in his plate discipline with 24 walks against 57 strikeouts while serving primarily as a first baseman and designated hitter.

Schunk had recently been optioned to Triple-A after the signing of Orlando Arcia earlier this week and now finds himself off of the Rockies’ 40-man roster for the second time this season. With the Rockies, he hit .214/.214/.250 in 11 games, and is hitting .299/.347/.522 with three home runs in Albuquerque.