The Pacific Division was wild in 2018-19, and it's looking like that's not going to change next season. Calgary, Vegas and San Jose should each continue as contenders, with the Canucks in a sort of limbo right behind them.

There are a lot of unique prospects in this division, and with the Kings and Ducks both holding top-10 picks, there's going to be more talent added soon. There are so many veteran players on these rosters, but many of them are about to get a heavy dose of youth. Let's have a look at which young players might be on the way soon.

Note: "A" prospects have higher potential to be impact NHL players, and "B" prospects are more likely to be everyday players and contributors on NHL rosters, based on what I've seen to date.

Anaheim Ducks

A prospect: Sam Steel
B prospects: Maxime Comtois, Isac Lundestrom, Antoine Morand, Lukas Dostal and Benoit-Olivier Groulx

The Ducks had a few top prospects graduate last season, including Troy Terry and Max Jones. They should have a few more graduate next season, namely Steel and Comtois. Steel needed the extra AHL time this season, and I thought he progressed as the season went on. Comtois got sent back to junior and absolutely dominated the QMJHL while also captaining Canada at the World Juniors. They both should be in the mix for a full-time role next season.

Beyond those guys, I still have a lot of time for Lundestrom, though he had an underwhelming season. Morand really popped this season, playing with enough grit to show why he'd fit in with this particular Ducks group. It was also a really strong season for Groulx, who showed some more offensive prowess while maintaining strong two-way play for Halifax. Additionally, Dostal just signed a contract with the Ducks after a strong season split between Finland and the Czech Republic in the pro ranks. He's a competitive, athletic goalie.

The Ducks have been a sneaky-good drafting team and have some layers to their system. They also have the No. 9 pick, which should allow them to land an impact prospect in this draft class.

Breakout prospect: Maxime Comtois

Arizona Coyotes

It turns out that Antti Niemi never changed the world.

In 2010, the 26-year-old Finnish import played 39 games in the regular season and then 22 in the postseason, where he went 16-6 with a .910 save percentage and a 2.63 goals-against average as the Chicago Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup. He made $827,000 against the salary cap, much less than Cristobal Huet ($5.625 million) and Nikolai Khabibulin ($6.750 million), the two veteran goalies he rendered obsolete.

That he beat Michael Leighton of the Philadelphia Flyers -- who made $600,000 -- in the Stanley Cup Final made some around the league openly question whether investment in the goaltending position was really worth it. A free agent from Europe and a sixth-round pick faced off for the Stanley Cup, and both made peanuts. Anyone could do this!

Well, not really. After that season came Tim Thomas, who made $5 million for the Boston Bruins, followed by a parade of goalies who had been drafted and cultivated: Jonathan Quick, Corey Crawford, Matt Murray and Braden Holtby. The 2010 postseason was an anomaly. If it reinforced anything, it's that you can have Chris Osgood if you have Nicklas Lidstrom and Hall of Fame defensive centers, just like you can have Antti Niemi if you have Duncan Keith and Jonathan Toews. At least for one postseason.

Also in this week's Wysh List: Week in Gritty | Jersey Fouls
We love 'snackwards' | Krueger Time | Puck Headlines

One of the eternal truths of the NHL is that it's a copycat league, which is a polite way of saying that general managers are essentially cowards who need to see something bold pay off for someone else before adopting it as their own strategy. That goes for analytics or contract structures or what kind of coach to hire and from where.

But copying from the 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs is like copying from the dumbest kid in your math class (aka "me"). It's an incongruity. It's a glitch. It will be remembered the same way we remember the 2006 postseason, which is to say for its eccentricity rather than its trendsetting.

Oh, they'll try to mine it for meaning. Witness the Western Conference executive who noted to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic that no player on the four conference finalists makes more than the $8 million that Brent Burns of the San Jose Sharks makes.

To state two rather obvious things here: Of course there's an NHL executive noting a trend that would encourage the stagnation of wages in the name of championship contention; and, lest we forget, three of the four teams in the conference final round would have happily paid John Tavares more than $8 million annually, even if only two of them (Boston and San Jose) were invited to speak with him. (Better luck next mega free agent, St. Louis.)

To state another: This "trend" isn't supported by recent history.

Of the players who helped their teams to the final four in the preview two postseasons, eight of them made more than $8 million: Alex Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin, P.K. Subban, Sidney Crosby, Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf and Phil Kessel. Two more of them signed deals worth $8 million or more per year in the summers after their conference final appearances: John Carlson and Ryan Johansen. After this postseason, several players could (or will) crest over that mark: Logan Couture, whose new contract pays him $8 million annually, and free agents Joe Pavelski, Erik Karlsson and Sebastian Aho.

So yes, as a rule, you're going to need those $8 million players. And if they don't make $8 million, they will, as you'll end up doing what the Blackhawks and Kings did, and pay them $10 million for previous accomplishments.

Then there's the notion of how to build a team, regarding how this year's final four were built. As my Puck Soup colleague Sean McIndoe noted, only the Carolina Hurricanes have a "recent" top-five pick, with Andrei Svechnikov landing at No. 2 overall last summer to the Canes. Anyone else selected in the top five was selected ages ago, like Alex Pietrangelo in 2008 or Joe Thornton all the way back in 1997.

"After years of the Cup going to teams, like the Penguins and Hawks, who were built around top picks, this year is a reminder that the lottery isn't the only way," he writes.

I don't know. ... Is it? The Blackhawks, Kings, Penguins and Capitals didn't just have foundational players who were selected in the top five, they had players who were acquired by going down that most nefarious path: stripping down the roster to acquire a top draft choice. Sure, in some cases the bonds didn't mature until several years later (or in the Capitals' case, 14 years), but that's still how the foundation was set.

These playoffs have been perhaps the most unpredictable of my lifetime, what with the Tampa Bay Lightning's first-round exit, the Hurricanes' run to the Eastern Conference final and the Sharks and Blues -- by no means teams on whom one assumes postseason success -- as the final two in the Western Conference. It has been great for gratification, probably not the best for blood pressure and certainly not anything that should shift the paradigm for team construction. Which, come to think of it, has been the best advice for any overreaction to what happens in a short-sprint tournament.

In 2010, Antti Niemi and Michael Leighton threatened to redefine the necessity for a franchise goalie. In 2019, Tuukka Rask -- of the eight-year, $56 million contract -- could follow Braden Holtby of the five-year, $30 million contract as Stanley Cup-winning goalies.

Overreact to the postseason at your own risk.

The week in Gritty

The only thing keeping the Philadelphia Flyers relevant won a major award this week. OK, Gritty actually won the Webby Award for "People's Voice Award for Social: Athletes and Sports Teams (Social)" a few weeks back, but he physically picked up the award this week while wearing a suit and firing a confetti cannon. He even gave a speech.

I continue to amaze me. @TheWebbyAwards>#5WordSpeech>pic.twitter.com/URV9MrfznE - Gritty (@GrittyNHL) May 14, 2019

But the big news for our orange nightmare is the apparent invitation he received to become a "Not Ready For Prime Time Player," as NHL Awards host Kenan Thompson of "Saturday Night Live" sang his praises.

"Leave it up to Philly to come up with a crazy mascot like that. Just those eyes. I don't know man, he haunts a lot of people's dreams, I know that," said Thompson, before suggesting that Gritty should go on "SNL" and would be "awesome for a cold open with Trump or something" like that.

#NHLAwards>@kenanthompson>@ArthurKade>@GrittyNHL,>@nbcsnl>pic.twitter.com/IKkphU7e2W - NHL (@NHL) May 14, 2019

"Gritty, please, come to SNL. I'll take care of you. It's on me, trust me," said Thompson.

Thompson as David Ortiz meets Gritty on Weekend Update. Ratings record would fall.

On playoff officiating (again)

Earlier this week I counted down the various officiating controversies in the postseason, and little did I know that 48 hours after publication we discovered yet another delightful nuance of the rulebook.

The notion that a hand pass that leads to a goal, like the one the Sharks scored on in Game 3 against St. Louis on Wednesday night, isn't somehow reviewable -- either by the officials that might have missed it, the Toronto War Room that caught it or by a coach who can challenge it -- is palpably insane. We review offside plays in which a skate is a pixel over the line or some dude is just meandering at the bench. We review goalie interference calls in which the attacking player looks at the netminder the wrong way. What is the sense of having video review if not to allow the on-ice officials every mechanism at their disposal to get the call correct?

The next general managers meeting is going to make a UFC news conference sound like a gathering of librarians by comparison.

Jersey foul of the week

From Hoodie Joe:

@wyshynski>pic.twitter.com/yxQQUxaLEJ - Hoodie Joe (@bhawksfanJAmes) May 10, 2019

Not only is it a foul, but it's a classic foul for the Carolina Hurricanes, one that's been seen in Raleigh for years. Clever? Yes. But how dare this fan besmirch the good names of classic No. 5 bearers like Marek Malik and Noah Hanifin!

Krueger time

In 2015, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins was on his fifth coach in five years with the Edmonton Oilers, a trend that sadly hasn't really changed all that much four years later. But there was one coach in this disposable cycle of whom he was rather fond, and lamented that he didn't get more time with the team.

That coach was Ralph Krueger.

"We all really liked Ralph," he said. "Super intelligent guy. Really knew how to handle the players well, and we only had a short season with him. It was tough to lose him."

Krueger was hired in 2012, coached 48 games in the lockout-shortened season, and then was fired (over Skype!) by the team. In 2014, he became director of Southampton of the Premier League and eventually its chairman. But then, in a surprise, he split with the team and returned to the NHL this week as head coach of the Buffalo Sabres.

I'm a Ralph Krueger fan. I respect his intelligence and I respect an outside-the-box hire. The jury's out on what a Krueger team looks like in the NHL in 2020, but I can't wait to see it. Sabres fans are understandably skeptical. I'd love nothing more than to see Krueger prove those fears unfounded. (And in the process, save Jason Botterill's job.)

Listen to ESPN On Ice

Following Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals, we talked about the rolling Bruins. Are they this good (4:30)? Emily Kaplan catches up with Finnish reporters Tommi Seppala and Sami Hoffrén to discuss their coverage of Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask (17:43). Former NHL goaltender and current broadcaster Darren Pang talks about the Blues' success, particularly the play of goalie Jordan Binnington (37:13). Plus, "Phil Kessel Loves Hot Dogs" features two victims this week (44:21). Catch it here on iTunes.

Every team needs 'Snackwards'

For all of its giggle-worthy antics, the Kiss-Cam is a problematic mess. But that doesn't mean all JumboTron candid camera bits aren't worthy of our attention. In fact, one of them should be adopted by every team, everywhere, immediately.

Behold, "Snackwards."

If @cbnationals>pic.twitter.com/WzHgFsn5FD - Serena Dalhamer (@SerenaDalhamer) January 10, 2018

This is an example of the bit from a Dallas Stars game, where video of fans eating is reversed so it looks like their food and beverages are reconstituting. Another example:

Enjoy some Snackwards cam action pic.twitter.com/vPv8fXX8E8 - Tanner Giles (@tannerlennon) February 1, 2017

The St. Louis Blues do this bit at their home games, too, and let it be said I've not laughed harder at anything in the arena that wasn't mascot-related or the Nashville Predators' power play. Every team in the league should do this. It's so wonderfully gross.

Puck headlines

Sad news from the minor leagues: The Manchester Monarchs are no more.

The bad boys of podcasting (aka DJ Bean and Peter Blackburn of "BRUNCH") decided the Boston Bruins needed a victory song. So they stole "Gloria" from the St. Louis Blues, and then recorded another "Gloria" for the Blues.

Stick-tap to Bud Light for an ingenious use of the "Gloria" thing for their own promotional purposes.

Meet the greatest hockey name ever, T-Bone Codd.

James Mirtle goes one-on-one with Brendan Shanahan, who gets a little too evasive about Mike Babcock's relationship with Kyle Dubas. ($)

The Vegas Golden Knights are looking to create more ice in the desert.

"Hockey's Next Head-Injury Reckoning."

Hockey tl;dr (too long; didn't read)

SABRES GM Jason Botterill puts his job on the line with out-of-the-box hiring of Ralph Krueger ... and that's a good thing. (Side note: Why does The Hockey News do the all-caps headline thing?)

In case you missed this from your friends at ESPN

How the NHL trade deadline shaped the final four playoff teams.

Newly appointed New England Revolution manager Bruce Arena said it's a great time to be back in MLS and coaching in the Boston area, but warned against any comparisons to legendary NFL coach Bill Belichick.

Like the New England Patriots boss, Arena, who was also named the club's sporting director earlier this week, has been given full authority to mold the Revolution as he sees fit. But he was quick to point out that's where any similarities between the two men end.

"I'm not Bill Belichick. I don't deserve to be in the same sentence with him," the former United States national team coach said in an exclusive interview with ESPN FC on Thursday.

- Carlisle: Arena can revive New England, but only if Revs buy in

"But I think it's important that when you're given the responsibility, to do the job the right way, with the right integrity, the right work ethic. And I'll do that and ... sports is difficult. You don't win every game as we know. It's extremely challenging. But I'm just confident that we'll have all the right pieces in place to try to make this team more successful."

Arena, 67, takes over a Revolution team anchoring the Eastern Conference table with just 11 points from 13 matches played, and the appointment marks his first coaching job since failing to qualify the U.S. for the 2018 World Cup in Russia -- the first time the country had missed out on soccer's biggest event since 1986.

Asked why he chose to come back at this time, with the Revs so down, Arena said he believed in owner Robert Kraft's leadership and vision for the franchise.

"Why not?" he said. "I think it's a great time. I think the Revolution is an organization that can only go forward. And I believe in the ownership group. I believe in the potential this team has in this city.

"It's a great city to work in in sports. It's fabulous. I think there are a lot of goals we have as an organization to improve the team on the field, to build a stadium downtown one day, so there's a lot of positive things as we move forward and I want to be a part of that."

Despite the promise of new beginnings, Arena brings with him the scars of 2017, when his U.S. side lost at Trinidad & Tobago on the final day of World Cup qualifying to end their hopes of going to Russia.

However, he said he's not joining New England with any point to prove.

"No. I really don't. I'm as disappointed as anyone with the team not qualifying for the World Cup but that's also part of sport," he said. "When I started that job with the U.S. team in November of 2016, we'd already lost two games in qualifying and we knew it was going to go down to the last day and it did and we came up short. And I, as well as others, accept the responsibility for that."

When it was suggested the World Cup failure weighed on his legacy, Arena said he was comfortable with what he's achieved in his 40-year career as a coach.

And his time on the sideline hasn't been without plenty of successes. A former D.C. United, New York Red Bulls and LA Galaxy boss, Arena won two MLS Cups while in charge of D.C. and three while at the helm of the Galaxy and has been named MLS Coach of the Year on three occasions.

"Obviously it's unfinished business if I'm still working in the game," he added of joining the Revolution. "I'd like the final chapter to be a real good one. Perhaps where I'm holding up a trophy."

His newest challenge could begin against the Galaxy, when the Revs visit the StubHub Center on June 2, though before that they will play the Montreal Impact on Saturday (live on ESPN+ at 1 p.m. ET), and will then face D.C. on May 25 (live on ESPN+ at 7.30 p.m. ET).

"How ironic would that be? You know I have nothing but great memories of being in LA. We had some great years. I came into a situation that was kind of comparable in some ways to the climate here with the Revolution right now," Arena said of the prospect of starting his New England tenure against L.A.

"We worked real hard to make it better and I think I'm going to do the same thing. If coaching against the Galaxy is my first game with the Revolution, that'll be great. They've got a great team this year and it would be a lot of fun to step on that field and watch our team compete against them."

Northamptonshire230 and 200 (Gleeson 5-50) lead Lancashire 415 (Jennings 97, Vilas 97, Bailey 68, Jones 67, Wood 5-72) by 15 runs

"Northamptonshire found me. They gave me the opportunity to play first-class cricket and I owe my career to them. If it hadn't been for them, I could still be coaching in schools."

Richard Gleeson will never tire of saying what he owes to Northamptonshire. The unfortunate thing for his former muckers, though, was that he made a fine job of concealing his debt on the third afternoon and evening of this game when he took four wickets in 15 very fiery deliveries and collected 5 for 50 in the innings, thus leaving him with a career-best 10 for 113 in the match.

Perhaps demolition is the sincerest form of gratitude. Far more likely, of course, what we saw at Old Trafford was simple professionalism. Alex Wakely and his players might be gratified to hear the first and will understand the second. Damn all else will console them this evening. Sometimes it is not the best idea to stay in a hotel overlooking the ground on which you are playing. For when Wakely and his players have dined, they will look out on the cricket field when they subsided for the second time in three days.

Having managed only 200 in their second innings, Northamptonshire's players will go out to field tomorrow with a total of only 15 to defend. Cricketers are fond of saying that a match will look very different if they "go bang-bang", that is to say, if they take two very quick wickets. Tomorrow Northants need to go bang-times-ten. They know they have already lost the game and Wakely is the sort of rock-solid skipper who will not conceal his team's failure.

"We have been totally outplayed by Lancashire in this match," he said. "There are ways to win and ways to lose. Even when you're up against it, you want to put up a fight. You want to be competitive and we haven't been today."

No one should dispute that judgement but they should give immense credit to Gleeson, who less than two years ago was an important member of the Northants side which came precious close to winning promotion from the Second Division. Last summer the Blackpool-born cricketer returned home to Lancashire - who were promptly relegated. This evening he showed why his home county were keen to lure him back.

For the truth is that deep into the final session most spectators at Old Trafford were more or less reconciled to this game going well into the final day. Despite conceding a first-innings lead of 185 and then slumping weakly to 87 for 4, Rob Keogh and Josh Cobb were mounting a recovery in traditional Northants fashion: gritty, unfussy and effective.

But Gleeson had other plans. He had earlier dismissed Wakely, who conspired in his own downfall when he slapped an innocuous delivery straight to Haseeb Hameed at cover. That brought the number of donated wickets up to two; Ricardo Vasconcelos had earlier done more or less the same to a ball from Tom Bailey.

But Gleeson had not bowled that well and Lancashire's attack was running out of puff. They needed a fourth morning we thought. But suddenly the ball was flying around the batsmen's shoulders and it was doing so at pace. Cobb was expecting another chest concerto when a full length ball trapped him leg before for 30. Next over Keogh was caught by Dane Vilas down the leg side for 42. Six balls later Gleeson burst through Rob Newton's defences and two balls later he brought one back off the seam to castle Jamie Overton.

"I decided to try a little bit of short stuff to get the batsman's feet not moving quite as much," said Gleeson. "It came out nicely and the plan worked. I bowled a few short ones at Rob Keogh and that put a little bit of doubt in the other batsmen's minds. They were maybe sitting back a little and a couple were caught waiting for the short ball."

Suddenly a three-day finish was in prospect. An extra half-hour was claimed and Liam Livingstone took two wickets in successive overs to end the innings. But by then, the lead was 15 and the day was done. The players, the support staff, the media and no doubt more than a few spectators will rock up to see a few overs' cricket. Apparently entrance is free; once again Lancastrian generosity is unbounded.

Vilas will turn up and hope he doesn't have to bat. His 97 had ensured that Lancashire would build a mighty lead in the earlier part of this very long day. Mind you, he was helped by Bailey, whose career-best 68 offered another indication that his career is developing very pleasantly. But these were some of the finer hours in Gleeson's career and we should return to him.

A few years back he thought his future lay in coaching. Then that great cricket man David Ripley, the Northamptonshire head coach, rang and asked him if he fancied a few games for their second team. And now, as these words are tapped out in the gathering dusk of a wonderful day, Gleeson is buying a round of drinks for his Lancashire colleagues to mark his career-best performance on his home debut.

"I've never had a ten-for before," he told the press, his eyes gleaming with pleasure, "So I'm hugely proud and very happy that I don't have to do any bowling tomorrow."

If you love this game, it will love you back.

MILWAUKEE -- Giannis Antetokounmpo admits this isn't how he envisioned the Milwaukee Bucks' season playing out. At the beginning of the season, Antetokounmpo said he couldn't have known his team would advance to the Eastern Conference finals.

The landscape of the Eastern Conference changed drastically in the summer of 2018, when LeBron James, who dominated the East for nearly a decade, signed with the Los Angeles Lakers. James' Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heat teams represented the East in the NBA Finals for eight consecutive years. With his move west, the East was suddenly a bit more open.

"I didn't see it as open," Antetokounmpo said Thursday. "But now that I look back and see how everything went, it's definitely open, not having LeBron in the East and not trying to go through him."

The Bucks are one of the teams that could emerge as the new champions of the James-less East. After beating the Toronto Raptors 108-100 on Wednesday night, Milwaukee holds a 1-0 lead over the Raptors in the series.

As the Bucks navigated the first round against the Detroit Pistons, second round against the Boston Celtics and now the conference finals against the Raptors, James wasn't top of mind.

"But any time you don't have to go through LeBron James is going to help your odds," Bucks guard Pat Connaughton said.

The Bucks spent Thursday watching film as a group. Even though they were able to pull away late and win Game 1, coach Mike Budenholzer wanted to highlight some of the mistakes the Bucks made through the first three quarters.

The Bucks' starting lineup won't get a boost from Malcolm Brogdon in Game 2. Even though he played two more minutes than starter Nikola Mirotic, Budenholzer said he doesn't anticipate Brogdon starting on Friday.

Antetokounmpo said that after watching the tape, he didn't think any one individual was outstanding in Game 1, but as a collective, "we had a great game."

"We're happy," Antetokounmpo said. "But at the end of the day, our job is not done. We gotta protect our home; we gotta be able to get Game 2."

SEATTLE -- The Seattle Mariners have recalled outfielder Mallex Smith after a couple of weeks with Triple-A Tacoma to work on his approach at the plate.

Seattle optioned infielder Shed Long to Tacoma to make room for Smith ahead of Thursday's series opener against Minnesota.

Smith was sent to the minors on April 30 after hitting just .165 in 27 games. Smith had just one hit in his final 29 at-bats before being sent down. In his 10 games with Tacoma, Smith hit .333 with three doubles and a home run.

The 26-year-old had a breakout season in 2018 for Tampa Bay, hitting .296 and tying for the American League lead with 10 triples. He also had two homers and stole 40 bases.

Long appeared in three games with the Mariners. He was hitless in nine at-bats and had a pair of walks in his limited opportunities.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

WASHINGTON -- Nationals starter Anibal Sanchez is likely headed to the injured list after leaving Thursday's game in the second inning with a hamstring injury, manager Davey Martinez said.

With one out, Sanchez walked Brandon Nimmo. Immediately after the pitch, the team's medical staff visited Sanchez on the mound. Following a brief consultation, the veteran righty yelled into his glove and then walked gingerly back to the dugout.

He was replaced by reliever Erick Fedde as the Nationals went on to win 7-6.

Martinez said after the game that the 35-year old Sanchez had a hamstring strain, will have an MRI on Friday and likely will wind up on the injured list.

"He tried to walk it off, thinking it was a cramp, but it pulled on him pretty good," Martinez said. "He's dealt with it. He knows he's dealt with it before. He doesn't think this one is really bad. But the MRI will tell us more tomorrow."

Sanchez, who has a 5.10 ERA and is winless in nine starts this season, had two strikeouts and had allowed one hit prior to exiting with a 4-0 lead.

"I'm probably going to miss another start, but I don't know yet," Sanchez said. "I just want to wait for tomorrow. I just got a little twist and after, it's really hard for me to hold my body straight to home plate. I tried to keep it as soft as I can, just to not put too much pressure on my leg, but it's my landing leg. There's nothing I can do. If I've got a leg problem, I can't even throw the ball straight to home plate."

The Nationals are one of three teams that have used only five starting pitchers this season, along with the Cincinnati Reds and Miami Marlins. If Sanchez misses his next start, his probable replacement would be Fedde, a former first-round pick who has started 14 games for the Nationals over the last two seasons.

Sanchez signed a two-year, $19 million with the Nationals as a free agent in December. He went 7-6 with a 2.83 ERA in 24 starts for the Atlanta Braves in 2018.

The Colorado Rockies will recall top prospect Brendan Rodgers on Friday, according to multiple reports.

Rodgers, an infielder, was ranked as the No. 28 overall prospect in Major League Baseball prior to this season by ESPN's Keith Law.

He is hitting .356 with nine home runs and 21 RBIs this season in 35 games for Triple-A Albuquerque.

Rodgers, 22, has primarily played shortstop during his five seasons in the minors but has played mostly at second base this season, starting 25 games. He also has three starts at third base and six at shortstop.

It is unclear what corresponding move the Rockies will make, but first baseman Daniel Murphy has hit just .212 since returning from a fractured left index finger and possibly could be a candidate to return to the injured list. If that were to happen, second baseman Ryan McMahon would likely move to first base with Rodgers playing second.

Also, shortstop Trevor Story suffered a bruised knee in the ninth inning of Wednesday's 6-5 extra-inning loss to the Boston Red Sox. Story told reporters he doesn't need to go on the injured list, but if the team rests him, Rodgers likely would play at shortstop.

The Rockies selected Rodgers third overall in the 2015 draft.

The news of Rodgers' expected promotion was first reported by MLB.com.