"He played well in Double-A, played baseball to a level that got us really thinking about it, got us on a program where we were watching him closely," Bud Black said. "Through his performance, he got on the radar.

"We saw him in Spring Training, liked what we saw, and he continued. He was arguably the best player in the Eastern League up until the injury. Since he returned this time, he went to Arizona and got back into baseball shape, and after a short look in Albuquerque, we thought it was a move to get him experience."

The Rockies will need to clear a spot on the 28-man Major League roster, but Tovar is already on the 40-man roster.