The Colorado Rockies sent down the wrong catcher

Yesterday, the Colorado Rockies finally stopped carrying three catchers.  Unfortunately, they sent down the wrong catcher.

In order to activate Chad Bettis for his start, the Colorado Rockies optioned Tom Murphy back to Triple-A. Before the roster move, Murphy had slid into the starter’s role. Now after only a few games as the club’s number one catcher, he’s back down in the minors … where Colorado prospects’ careers go to die.

Murphy was once listed in Baseball America‘s top 100 prospects. He is now 27 and has yet to play a full season. That is partly due to injuries but mostly due to the team’s inexplicable dedication to continually to play inferior catchers in his place.

Murphy has done his part. In 2015, he hit 20 home runs and drove in 63 RBI in 105 minor league games, earning his first big league call-up, during which he smashed three homers and drove in nine in just 11 games.

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Despite his great 2015, Murphy started 2016 in the minors but he made the most of his time there. In 80 Triple-A games, Murphy hit .327 with 19 homers, 59 RBI, and a ridiculous 1.008 OPS. However, for some reason, he was not called up until rosters expanded September. That’s because once again, the Rockies opted to play Nick Hundley, Tony Wolters, and even Dustin Garneau instead of Murphy. So, even while those three catchers ranged from bad to mediocre offensively and Murphy tore up Triple-A pitching, Murphy never really got a shot, playing the fewest games of the four (yes, even fewer than Garneau!).

But when Murphy did finally get his call, he didn’t miss a beat. For the second year in a row, Murphy went on a tear, going deep five times and driving in 13 in just 21 games. That gave Murphy eight homers and 22 RBI in just 32 career big league games between 2015 and 2016.

It looked like Murphy might finally get a shot at a big league starting spot in 2017 until a broken arm in spring training derailed his entire season.