Colorado Rockies: Early prediction of 2017 postseason roster

Catchers (2) – Jonathan Lucroy and Ryan Hanigan

Lucroy was one of Colorado’s biggest acquisitions at the trade deadline and has done well behind the plate. The second catcher to join him in the offseason, however, will be a bit of a question mark. The Rockies tipped their hand after Lucroy was acquired by sending Tony Wolters to Triple-A. They showed that they liked having two veteran catchers to handle their young pitching staff. We believe that will continue when the games matter most in October.

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There is a caveat here, however. Hanigan has been dealing with a groin injury and, as of the start of Colorado’s key series at Chavez Ravine against the Los Angeles Dodgers, had yet to see action in a game since August 20. If he doesn’t fully recover from that injury, Wolters would get the call.

Note: Hanigan was activated from the disabled list prior to Friday’s game against the Dodgers.

Wolters being behind the plate also means that, if worse comes to worse, the former infielder turned catcher could play some middle infield. We know the Rockies like versatility and Wolters would provide that. It would be a surprise, but it’s still a possibility.

Infielders (6) – Nolan Arenado, Trevor Story, DJ LeMahieu, Mark Reynolds, Alexi Amarista, Pat Valaika

Outfielders (4) – Carlos Gonzalez, Charlie Blackmon, Gerardo Parra, Ian Desmond

Yes, the Rockies will return to having a four-man bench. That likely means in a postseason game that Parra/Reynolds/Desmond would be on the bench in addition to Amarista, Valaika and the second catcher.