Denver Post sports writer Patrick Saunders with the latest installment of his Rockies Mailbag.

Pose a Rockies — or MLB — related question for the Rockies Mailbag.

Is it time for the Ryan McMahon experiment to end? He has loads of potential (tons of power and a solid glove) but he’s never put everything together. At least not consistently. Is it time to see what we can get for him?

— James H., Highlands Ranch

James, I understand you’re criticism of McMahon. As I write this, the third baseman is hitting .203 with four homers and 14 RBIs. His 49 strikeouts are the fourth-most in the majors and his 35.8% strikeout rate is, by far, the highest of his career.

I asked him about his slump a few days ago. He said he was angry at himself for missing pitches that he should be hitting. He’s trying to be patient at the plate, yet by doing that, he’s missing pitches early in the count that he might be driving. It’s a Catch-22 right now.

A look inside the numbers shows that his barrel rate (16%) and hard-hit rate (49.3%) are the best of his career (per Baseball Savant), but he’s missing fastballs, especially those thrown up in the zone.

Manager Bud Black told me that he believes McMahon is pressing and trying too hard. McMahon, who signed a six-year, $70 million contract last March, disagreed with Black’s assessment.

“I’m just not performing like I can,” McMahon said. “I’m missing pitches I should hit.”

In 2019, McMahon hit .250 and launched 24 homers. I believed then that he was capable of hitting .265 to .275 with 30 homers. It simply hasn’t happened.

All that said, I don’t believe the Rockies will attempt to trade McMahon, in part because I don’t think another team would pick up his weighty contract.

Hey Patrick, down in Triple-A Albuquerque, Nolan Jones is looking like the elite-level prospect that Cleveland hoped he would be. Do you think he’ll get a call-up to the Rockies soon?

— Marshall, Parker

Marshall, Jones is certainly raking. He’s slashing .336/.459/.664, good for a 1.222 OPS. He’s already hit nine homers and driven in 32 runs for the Isotopes.

I asked around and I’ve been told that his promotion to the Rockies is not imminent. The organization wants him to continue to work on his defense as a corner infielder and outfielder. That said, the Rockies are thrilled with his progress. We’re going to see him in a Rockies uniform this season, I just don’t know when.

Hi Patrick, I am trying to understand the recent transactions involving Yonathan Daza. I am happy that he is back with Triple-A Albuquerque, but I’m wondering why he was designated for assignment. He was producing clutch hits and making phenomenal catches in center. Thank you for your explanation.

Also, with Elias Diaz off to a great start catching and hitting, and Brian Serven performing subpar and playing less, what are the Rockies’ plans for second-string catching? Can Diaz continue to play back-to-back games? I understand Drew Romo is not yet ready to come up.

— Judy, Denver

Judy, in regard to Daza, the Rockies did the right thing. With the return of Randal Grichuk from the injured list and the promotion of Brenton Doyle, there was simply not enough room for Daza on the 26-man roster.

Grichuk is not a great player, but he’s better than Daza, and Doyle is flashing potential. The Rockies need power and some speed in their lineup and Daza was never going to deliver in those areas.

Daza’s slash line is .290/.338/.369 with just four home runs and three stolen bases going back to 2021. Daza was inconsistent this year, with a .270/.304/.351 line with a career-worst 3.8% walk rate. The writing has been on the wall for quite some time.

As an outfielder, Daza has regressed. He’s not as fast as he used to be, and while he has a good glove and strong arm, Doyle is better and covers more ground. Part of the reason Daza was making “phenomenal” catches was because he was late getting to the ball.

For those unaware, the Rockies announced Monday that Daza went unclaimed on waivers and has been assigned outright to Triple-A Albuquerque. So he’s still with the organization but is no longer on the 40-man roster. He didn’t have enough big-league service time to reject the outright assignment. Colorado could always select his contract and bring him back to the team if they really need him.

In regard to a backup catcher, I’m sure you’re aware by now that the Rockies claimed veteran Austin Wynns off waivers from the Dodgers and optioned Serven to Triple-A.

Diaz, by the way, has been brilliant this season. He was hitting .333 with three homers and 18 RBIs entering Tuesday night’s game at Pittsburgh. His 238 innings behind the plate rank third in the majors. The Rockies believe Wynns can provide quality innings to give Diaz some needed breaks.

My final thought on this: If I were in the Rockies’ front office, I would seriously consider trading Diaz and see if you could get some young arms in return.

I’m curious if Nolan Arenado will want a trade now that he’s on the worst team in the National League. Good/bad karma. Thanks.

— Mac, Wellington

Mac, I see what you did there. As I write this, the Cardinals are 12-24 and they do, indeed, have the worst record in the NL. Rabid Cardinals fans and bloggers are going nuts, saying that Arenado is over the hill, a lost cause, etc. I don’t buy that.

Here is what Arenado told MLB.com last week: “I think sometimes it feels like life or death out here because the expectations are always so high, but there’s so much season left. It’s hard to really comprehend why people are reacting the way they’re reacting.

“But I get it, we’re 10 games out and that’s a big fall. But, like I said, we have five months left, and we have a long season left and we really feel good about what we have in this clubhouse.”

The Rockies hired a solid analytics person last year, but he was gone almost as soon as he got here. Not long after he left, the Rox made the head-scratching Kris Bryant signing. Am I the only one who thinks these things are related?

— Tom, Greeley

Tom, you might be the only one because there is no connection. Rockies owner Dick Monfort has liked Bryant for a long, long time.

The person you’re referring to is Scott Van Lenten, who was hired by the Rockies in the fall of 2021 to head the club’s analytics department. He was fired in March 2021. The Rockies have said only that it was an “internal personnel matter” and that there were “major disagreements” regarding Van Lenten’s role with the club. I’ve been told that there were personal conflicts between Van Lenten and other staffers.

Bottom line: there was no direct connection between the Bryant signing and Van Lenten’s departure.

In my opinion, the Rockies should not have signed Bryant to that giant contract (seven years, $182 million), but he’s playing well right now. Bryant is slashing .306/.390/.468 with five homers, 13 RBIs and an OPS+ of 123.

All right, since our rotation is in shambles with injuries and several starters having terrible starts, what do you think about us signing Madison Bumgarner? Yeah, he didn’t look very good with Arizona this year, but it can’t hurt to see if there’s anything left in his tank. What do we have to lose?

— Mike, Denver

Mike, I completely disagree with you. “Mad Bum” is done and trying to pitch at Coors Field isn’t going to give him a boost. He is 6-9 with a 4.97 ERA in 20 starts in LoDo. The Rockies need to see what they have in Ryan Feltner, Noah Davis (when he comes off the injured list) and even Connor Seabold. And Bumgarner would be a negative presence in the Rockies clubhouse.

So Patrick, what’s the ETA for Zac Veen? I gotta look forward to something this season.

— Ron, Parker

Ron, I originally projected that Veen would be in the big leagues before the All-Star Game. I’m stepping back from that prediction. The Rockies sent him back to Double-A Hartford because he wasn’t ready for the majors. He’s still not. He’s hitting .231 with only one home run in 17 games (65 at-bats).

Plus Veen had been hurt (left wrist inflammation) so he’s missed some time. But he’s been playing well lately, hitting 5 for 12 with a triple, three doubles, seven RBIs, three runs scored and a stolen base in three games since coming back from the injured list on Thursday.

June 24 is the Denver Bears promotional game. Do you think they might be able to get Bob Rubin up there to maybe call one inning? Also, I went to the game on May 4 and someone in the organization was blasting Gordon Lightfoot’s “Carefree Highway” on the Jumbotron during warmups and I thought that was a super classy move based on his recent passing.

— Winston Smith, Greeley

Winston, I don’t know if Rubin is available or if the Rockies are interested, but thanks for putting it out there as a suggestion.

In regard to Lightfoot, I agree with you. Classy, for sure. I don’t suppose “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” was appropriate for a ballgame, but what a great song.

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