Colorado Rockies trade rumors: Alex Avila to Denver?

The Colorado Rockies are reportedly in talks to acquire Alex Avila from the Detroit Tigers.

Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports, MLB.com, and MLB Network TV and Radio reports on Twitter that the Rockies are interested in Tigers catcher Alex Avila.

Also, Bryan Kilpatrick of Purple Row has also reported on Twitter that he talked to a Major League “talent evaluator” and he said that he would be “stunned” if the Rockies lost out on Avila.

However, Kilpatrick does draw a silver lining, though, in this tweet immediately following:

If you have read these two articles here at Rox Pile in the past 11 days, you may not be surprised to see Avila as a possibility as we named him as a potential target for the Rockies if they were to acquire a catcher.

The Rockies at the catching position in 2017

The Rockies are looking to improve at the catching position because, quite frankly, it is has not been good this season. They have used four different players to catch this season (Tony Wolters, Ryan Hanigan, Dustin Garneau, and Tom Murphy).

Offensively, they are 15th in the majors in runs (42), 22nd in hits (81), 22nd in doubles (17), last in home runs (three), 26th in RBIs (32), 20th in batting average (.233), 14th in on-base percentage (.313), and 29th in slugging percentage (.307). Wolters and Hanigan (the two primary catchers who are both on the 25-man roster) have an average OPS+ of 62 (100 is league average).

Defensively, they, arguably, have been worse. The four catchers combined to have a -16 Defensive Runs Saved (zero is league average). Both Wolters and Hanigan have played enough to be ranked in pitch framing stats and of the 85 that qualify for enough games, Wolters and Hanigan are #75 and #83, according to Baseball Prospectus.

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Alex Avila in 2017

In 75 games (56 starts) this season, Avila has played well offensively. He has 59 hits, 29 runs, 11 doubles, 11 home runs, 32 RBIs, a .276 batting average, a .398 on-base percentage, and a .481 slugging percentage. His advanced numbers also paint a good picture as he has a .381 BABIP (Batting Average on Balls in Play) and he has a 136 OPS+.

Defensively, however, he has not been great as he has -6 Defensive Runs Saved and he is ranked 77th in the pitch framing ranks by Baseball Reference of the 85 qualifiers.

Avila is only signed through seasons’ end so he would just be a rental option but he is cheap (monetarily, at least) as he is only owed a little bit less than $750k for the rest of the season.

Next: 3 Things to Root for to see a Rockies Win

Final Thoughts

It isn’t surprising to see that Avila is a potential option for the Rockies. However, if the Rockies were to acquire him, I wouldn’t be surprised if he was not the only piece in a deal. We also have mentioned Justin Verlander as a potential option but according to Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post, the Rockies are not looking at him.

However, reliever Justin Wilson is still a potential target that could be packaged with Avila (as mentioned in the two articles linked before

as well as these two articles).