DENVER—Cory Sullivan, the Colorado Rockies’ best defensive outfielder, was optioned to Triple-A Colorado Springs on Saturday after he was beaten out by free agent Scott Podsednik for the fifth outfielder job.
Right-handed pitcher Ryan Speier and catcher Edwin Bellorin also were optioned to Colorado Springs, and the team said right-handers Jose Capellan and John Towers cleared outright waivers and will report to the Sky Sox.
Sullivan, in his eighth season with the Rockies organization, hit .286 in 140 at-bats for the Rockies last season. He went 2-for-6 with three singles in the playoffs. He was beaten out by Podsednik, who showed speed on the basepaths and in the outfield while proving he’s gotten past a series of injuries that bogged him down the last two years with the Chicago White Sox.
Capellan, acquired from Detroit on Dec. 4, 2007, for pitcher Denny Bautista, missed most of camp with a sprained right ankle.
Towers, who has played seven major league seasons, was signed as a free agent on Jan. 7 after five seasons in Toronto, where he won 13 games in 2005. He didn’t perform well enough to earn one of the two open spots in the Rockies’ rotation.
Speier won three times during the Rockies’ 14-1 stretch to close out the regular season and reach the playoffs last year, and Bellorin made his major league debut for Colorado last season.
