The Connor Joe era is over in Colorado.
The outfielder/first baseman was traded to Pittsburgh for minor league right-handed starting pitcher Nick Garcia, the Rockies announced Sunday.
A 2020 third-round pick out of Chapman University (Orange, Calif.), Garcia has pitched two seasons at the single-A level, first with low-A Bradenton in 2021, then with high-A Greensboro last season. The 23-year-old is 9-8 combined over 46 minor league appearances (36 starts), with a 3.88 ERA, 1.263 WHIP and 192 strikeouts in 187 2/3 innings. He went 13-1 with a 1.19 ERA over two seasons at Chapman before being drafted by the Pirates.
Joe spent the past two seasons with the Rockies, transforming from a utility player into an everyday lead-off hitter by the start of the 2022 season. But his play tailed off in the second half of 2022, with Joe playing sparingly while slashing .139/.209/.266 after the all-star break.
The testicular cancer survivor — Joe was diagnosed in March 2020, but was later declared cancer-free after undergoing four chemotherapy treatments — finished last season with a .238/.338/.359 slash line with seven home runs, 28 RBIs and 56 runs scored. He is now going back to the team that drafted him with the 39th overall pick of the 2014 MLB Amateur draft.
The Rockies announced today that they have acquired right-handed pitcher Nick Garcia from the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for infielder/outfielder Connor Joe.
Colorado currently has 38 players on the 40-man roster.
— Rockies Club Information (@RockiesClubInfo)
