DENVER -- Rockies utility man Chris Owings, who had started the season hot before sustaining a sprained left thumb, will need a surgical procedure that will cost him at least eight weeks, manager Bud Black said on Sunday.

The pending surgery scuttled hope that he would return quickly, so the club moved him from the 10-day injured list to the 60-day.

¡°It¡¯s disappointing and frustrating for C.O. He was off to such a great start. And really the last couple years, you know, he's been banged up, which is a bummer.¡±

Owings, 29, opened the season 8-for-17 in seven games, with three doubles, three triples and two stolen bases. His three triples led MLB entering play Sunday.

The injury occurred during his final at-bat -- a pinch-hit triple off Johnny Cueto -- in the ninth inning of the Rockies¡¯ 3-1 loss at San Francisco on April 9. The injury didn't occur on the triple, but on a prior pitch.

It¡¯s the second year in a row Owings has dealt with a significant injury. Last season, Owings was batting .268 through 17 games when he sustained a left hamstring injury and never returned to the active roster. Each of the last two seasons, Owings signed a Minor League contract and made the team out of Spring Training.

¡°He was instrumental in a couple of our wins with some big offensive days,¡± Black said. ¡°So this is a setback for C.O., but come the summer, he should be back and healthy and he should be a contributor.¡±

The Rockies filled Owings¡¯ spot on the 40-man roster by claiming right-handed pitcher Ashton Goudeau off waivers from the Dodgers. After a lengthy trip through the Minors, Goudeau, 28, appeared in four games with the Rockies last season and posted a 7.56 ERA.

It¡¯s been a whirlwind trip for Goudeau since last year ended -- he's been claimed off waivers by the Pirates, Orioles, Giants and Dodgers before returning to the Rockies.