SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — With spring training in its last gasps, the Rockies stopped to look around this week. Their season-opening pitching rotation probably will be among the youngest in the 25-year history of the franchise. And the entire battery will be young. So the Rockies wondered out loud whether now is the time to find a veteran catcher.
The answer to their own question came quickly.
“Among the guys who have become available,” manager Bud Black said, “there is not a big gap of talent between who we have and who we might get.”
The Rockies on Tuesday reached agreement on a minor-league deal with veteran catcher Ryan Hanigan, who was cut by the Phillies on Monday. The Rockies acquired him for depth. If he makes the team this year, he will be paid $1.25 million.
Hanigan is an insurance policy. For now, the Rockies will move forward with three inexperienced catchers, starting with 24-year-old Tony Wolters. Dustin Garneau, 29, will be his backup until Tom Murphy, a 26-year-old slugger, returns from a broken hand next month.
The Rockies not only went young on the mound, they went young for the full 60 feet, 6 inches.
“We feel good about these guys,” Black said of the catchers. “What they’ve shown this spring, with their receiving ability, the blocking, working with our pitchers and knowing our pitchers, knowing what I expect, it is a situation that is very important to us.”
Derek Norris, an all-star catcher with the Athletics in 2014, was released two weeks ago by the Nationals. On the surface, he seemed to be a perfect fit for the Rockies, a team with a green catching corps and injury issues. And he was a catcher for Black with the Padres in 2015.
But Norris ended up with the Rays; he signed a $1.2 million contract with incentives last week. Those incentives are for big-league time and the Rockies, it appears, didn’t want to make promises. They are all in on their young corps.
“I don’t have very much major-league experience, in the veteran sense. But I have worked with all these guys,” Garneau said, glancing at the row of starting pitcher lockers in the Rockies’ clubhouse at Salt River Fields. “I’ve caught them a lot in the minor leagues and a few in the majors. I have a a good feel for what they can do. We have a good rapport.”
At spring training, Black often has pulled aside his battery for instruction. A former pitcher and pitching coach, Black said he knows the importance of a pitcher-catcher relationship. He has personally shepherded those bonds at spring training.
Last week in Goodyear, Ariz., 22-year-old right-hander Antonio Senzatela walked to the Rockies’ dugout after an error-marred fifth inning that pushed Senzatela to the ropes. Black stopped him at the bottom of the steps and huddled with Garneau.
“He’s watching. He’s not in my ear, but he’s definitely watching,” Garneau said of Black. “He’s making sure you’re doing the right thing, staying on the same page. Between innings, he’s coming down, talking to me, talking to pitchers. If there’s one pitch called, he’s asking why. He’s very in tune with the pitching game.”
Black, in a sense, is a surrogate catcher among catchers with little experience. Wolters made the Rockies’ season-opening roster last year in a surprise, only three months after they converted him from a middle infielder to catcher. He played in 71 games, 59 behind the plate. Garneau played in 24 games last year, Murphy 21. None received as much field time as 32-year-old veteran Nick Hundley.
The Rockies let Hundley go in free agency, turning instead to their youthful trio. So while it seemed Norris might be a good fit, the Rockies weren’t looking for another Hundley when they already had one.
“Their relationship will translate into good pitching performances,” Black said of his catchers’ familiarity with a young pitching staff led by right-hander Jon Gray, 25. “Bringing a new fellow in, there would be a learning curve with that fella, to get acclimated to what we do on the pitching side and with our pitchers.”
Young backstops
The Rockies seem headed toward having the youngest pitching rotation in their 25-year history, but the entire battery will be young too. Three inexperienced catchers will help shepherd those pitchers from behind the plate:
| Catcher | Age | Games | At-bats | Avg. | OPS |
| Tony Wolters | 24 | 71 | 205 | .259 | .723 |
| Dustin Garneau | 29 | 46 | 138 | .196 | .584 |
| Tom Murphy | 26 | 32 | 79 | .266 | .949 |
Note: Career stats; OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage).
