Yorvit Torrealba Will Make Rockies; Ramon Hernandez Out
By Hayden Kane
In the not-so-compelling battle for the roster spot as Wilin Rosario‘s back-up at catcher, former franchise hero Yorvit Torrealba has beaten out incumbent Ramon Hernandez:
Torrealba has hit the ball significantly better than his happy-footed competition. In 19 at-bats, Torrealba has 10 hits for a .526 mark. In stark contrast, Hernandez is batting .160 in 25 at-bats. It has been rumored for a while now that the Rockies would shop Hernandez to teams in need of a back-up catcher. Given his utterly depleted trade value at this point, those teams will presumably just wait for the Rockies to release him sometime in the next 24 hours or so.
Torrealba. Image: Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports
Besides his inexplicably hot bat this spring, Torrealba brings a proven track record in the “mentor” department. In the past he has used that to help mold young pitchers. After all, let’s remember that Yorvit was central to the team in some of its recent and rare moments when it actually had competent pitching. In 2013 that mentor work will also be dedicated to the young Rosario and helping him grow into an acceptable defensive catcher at the Major League level.
Start the celebration. Yorvit is a Rockie again.