MILWAUKEE -- To make room for left-hander Kyle Freeland, who was reinstated from the injured list to start Monday's game against the Brewers at Miller Park, the Rockies optioned reliever DJ Johnson to Triple-A Albuquerque.

Johnson was off to a rocky start with Colorado. In 12 appearances that spanned 9 2/3 innings, the right-hander surrendered six earned runs on nine hits and nine walks while striking out nine.

"I think he needs to go down, get his confidence back, get the ball in the strike zone, improve that walk rate and get back to being the pitcher we saw in Spring Training and last year," Rockies manager Bud Black said.

After posting a 3.90 ERA and 18 saves in 50 appearances last season for Triple-A Albuquerque, Johnson earned a September callup and made five scoreless appearances before the Nationals tagged him for three runs on a pair of homers over 1 2/3 innings on Sept. 29.

The Rockies added Johnson to their postseason roster, and he struck out two Milwaukee batters in Colorado's Game 1 loss in the National League Division Series.

The 29-year-old earned a spot on Colorado's Opening Day roster after allowing one run over 10 1/3 innings during Spring Training, but he wasn't able to carry that success into the regular season.