Colorado Rockies: Why are they carrying three catchers?

Desperate times called for desperate measures. On Thursday, the Colorado Rockies sent down Ryan McMahon to Triple-A Albuquerque for right-handed reliever Yency Almonte. With Wade Davis, Adam Ottavino, and Bryan Shaw not available to pitch the series finale against the New York Mets, carrying a nine-man bullpen was a last resort for the depleted and dejected group. The move was a big head-scratcher as many wondered why the Rockies elected to demote McMahon after his heroics on Wednesday night.

McMahon, who hit a pinch-hit, three-run home run that was the main catalyst to the Rockies’ 10-8 comeback win Wednesday, had made some key adjustments to his swing that led to his success, as our Jake Shapiro reported. His versatility has also been key for Bud Black since being recalled on May 26 as he has started in three different positions this season.

Even though it is temporary and it didn’t hurt them in Thursday’s 6-4 win, the move left the Rockies with a radical roster configuration of a three-man bench with two catchers and one outfielder. This leads to three questions: Why didn’t the Rockies demote a struggling bullpen arm (there are plenty to choose from)? Why do they continue to carry three catchers? And more specifically, and my biggest question, why do they continue to keep Tony Wolters in the big leagues?

With the current state of the Rockies, they need all of the fresh arms in the bullpen and all of the offense they can muster. Considering that opponents have averaged almost eight runs a game during the month of June, one would believe that having as many productive bats as possible would be a huge priority.

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In order to improve the offense, on June 12, the Rockies called up the hot bat of Tom Murphy and decided to carry three catchers. Murphy has done just that by hitting .296/.321/.370 with four RBI in seven games.

On the other hand, Wolters has appeared in only three games with only one start since June 10 … THREE! To go along with that, Wolters is 0 for his last 13 and his slash line this season is an ugly .153/.276/.226 with two homers and 11 RBI in 37 games.

I realize that Wolters has been a good defender behind the plate, but if the pitching staff is struggling and he is not getting playing time, what is the point of having a worthless bat on the bench especially when he has minor league options?

Next: Who will be the next man up for the rotation?

When the roster returns to its typical eight-man bullpen/four-man bench (I’m assuming that will be on Friday), keeping three catchers, especially Wolters, is ridiculous. With Murphy’s bat and improved defense, the need for Wolters has become minimal. Yet, knowing Bud Black, the roster will return to status quo and Wolters will be riding the bench.