Chase Dollander has been placed on the 15-day injured list with a right elbow strain after leaving Thursday’s start against the Pirates early. The Rockies, already struggling, will have to cover the rotation’s absence as they look to slow a slump and monitor a
Chase Dollander exited Thursday’s matchup against the Pittsburgh Pirates with an elbow issue, and Colorado’s night unraveled from there in a 7-2 loss.
Less than a day later, the Rockies revealed what the team feared was coming for their budding star: Dollander has been placed on the 15-day injured list with a “right elbow strain.”
Bob Nightengale reported on X, formerly Twitter, that Colorado put the pitcher on the IL, spelling out the diagnosis as a right elbow strain. It came after Dollander’s start, where he was limited to one inning and 28 pitches, allowing three earned runs, five hits, and walking one batter.
Before any clear label was officially settled, the injury was described as “arm tightness.” Even after the game, Dollander said he wasn’t fully sure what was going on.
“I don’t know; I’m not sure,” Dollander said via MLB.com. “I don’t want to say too much before anything else happens – not to freak myself out or anyone else.”
Manager Warren Schaeffer later echoed that initial framing, describing it as general arm tightness while also pointing to how Dollander was throwing early in the outing.
“Just general arm tightness is what we’re going to roll with right now,” Schaeffer said. “I’m sure it had something to do with the way he was throwing the ball early.”
In the first inning of the Pirates game, Dollander’s departure followed an Endy Rodriguez double and a walk to Jared Triolo, leaving the Rockies bullpen to cover eight innings already down 3-0.
For Colorado, the setback lands as the club sits 17-27 and last in the NL West—an uncomfortable position made tougher by the timing of losing a pitcher who had been among the brighter stories this season.
So far in 10 starts, Dollander has thrown to a 3.89 ERA with 47 strikeouts and a 3-3 record.. Now. with the IL designation in place. the immediate question shifts from performance to timing: how quickly he can recover and whether the team will have to manage his return carefully after the elbow strain.
It remains unclear how Dollander will progress once he’s away from game action, but his early exit from Thursday’s start has already forced the Rockies to adjust—starting with the absence of a young arm that was only beginning to look like a long-term answer.
MLB Colorado Rockies Chase Dollander injured list right elbow strain Pirates