Colorado Rockies: A look at three backup catchers on the free agent market

HOUSTON, TEXAS - AUGUST 20: Martin Maldonado #12 of the Houston Astros hits a home run in the fifth inning against the Detroit Tigers at Minute Maid Park on August 20, 2019 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images)
HOUSTON, TEXAS - AUGUST 20: Martin Maldonado #12 of the Houston Astros hits a home run in the fifth inning against the Detroit Tigers at Minute Maid Park on August 20, 2019 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images)
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BOSTON, MA – SEPTEMBER 18: Stephen Vogt #21 of the San Francisco Giants reacts after hitting a home run against the Boston Red Sox in the first inning at Fenway Park on September 18, 2019 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Kathryn Riley/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA – SEPTEMBER 18: Stephen Vogt #21 of the San Francisco Giants reacts after hitting a home run against the Boston Red Sox in the first inning at Fenway Park on September 18, 2019 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Kathryn Riley/Getty Images) /

The Colorado Rockies head into the offseason needing to find some depth pieces for their roster and one of those depth pieces is a backup catcher.

Entering the 2020 season, the Colorado Rockies, by and large, have most of their starting position players figured out. Behind the plate, that is not an exception as the Rockies will have Tony Wolters penciled in as the starting catcher.

However, one of their major weaknesses in the past five years or so (perhaps even more) has been the quality of their secondary talent. One of the areas that the Rockies will need some depth is catcher. The Rockies do have Dom Nunez, who made his major league debut this year, but it remains to be seen whether or not the Rockies want a young catcher as a backup to Wolters or a more veteran presence.

If they do decide to go the veteran route, here are a few of the names that will be on the free agent market for backup catchers.

Stephen Vogt

After spending the entire season either on then-named disabled list or rehabbing from shoulder surgery in 2018, Stephen Vogt signed with the San Francisco Giants last season as the backup to Giants starting catcher Buster Posey.

His strength was offense as he hit .263 with a .804 OPS and a 111 OPS+. He also is versatile, particularly for a catcher, as he has more than 500 career innings played at first base and more than 160 career innings split between the corner outfield spots.

Defensively in 2019, behind the plate he had -5 fDRS and a -4.0 FRM so he was not above average in either category.

He was on a minor league deal in 2019 but considering his season and past salaries, he should be in the ballpark of $3-$4 million range for a one year deal.

WASHINGTON, DC – JUNE 13: Alex Avila #31 of the Arizona Diamondbacks hits a solo home run in the second inning during a baseball game against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park on June 13, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC – JUNE 13: Alex Avila #31 of the Arizona Diamondbacks hits a solo home run in the second inning during a baseball game against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park on June 13, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /

Alex Avila

Alex Avila has spent the last two seasons as the backup catcher for the Arizona Diamondbacks and he has also spent time as a backup for the Tigers, White Sox, and Cubs in the past few seasons after he was the starting catcher for the Tigers for a number of years.

Last season, he played in 63 games and only hit for a .207 average but due to having more walks than hits, his on-base percentage was above average at .353. That actually got his OPS+ up to league average (100).

Defensively, he was 6th in the National League in Defensive Runs Saved with 7 (minimum of 400 innings behind the plate) and he was right behind Wolters in that category (and Wolters caught more than double the innings of Avila). Additionally, according to Fangraphs, in pitch framing, Avila was 11th among 25 NL catchers with at least 400 innings caught with a 2.8 FRM. Wolters, in comparison, was third to last in the National League with a -8.2 FRM.

Avila’s most recent contract was a 2-year deal worth $8.25 million so if the Rockies signed him for a one year deal, $4 million should be in the ballpark to get a contract done.

HOUSTON, TEXAS – AUGUST 02: Catcher Martin Maldonado #12 of the Houston Astros during a press conference at Minute Maid Park on August 02, 2019 in Houston, Texas. Maldonado was with the Astros last season and was acquired from the Cubs at the trade deadline. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images)
HOUSTON, TEXAS – AUGUST 02: Catcher Martin Maldonado #12 of the Houston Astros during a press conference at Minute Maid Park on August 02, 2019 in Houston, Texas. Maldonado was with the Astros last season and was acquired from the Cubs at the trade deadline. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images) /

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Martin Maldonado

Martin Maldonado is the backup catcher for the Houston Astros and, in fact, he is starting today for the Astros in Game 3 of the ALCS.

The 33-year-old veteran is not known for his hitting skills as he has hit .213/.293/.378 between the Royals, Cubs, and Astros this season. He is best known for his defense as, according to Fangraphs, his pitch framing was above average (1.0 FRM) and he had 8 DRS, which is the same as Tony Wolters in about 50 less innings caught.

He has been above average in every single season that he has played in the majors (exception being his first season when he caught three innings). In the past three years, he even has 33 fDRS.

Contractually, he made $2.5 million this season and $3.9 million in 2018 so I would say that somewhere in between those two would get the job done.

Final Thoughts

There are going to be plenty of veteran catchers on the free agent market this offseason so if the Rockies want to go in a different direction than Nunez or resigning Drew Butera (which would not surprise me), Avila, Vogt, and Maldonado are just three potential options that the Rockies could get for a relatively low cost.

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Also, all three could very well help develop some of the Rockies pitchers so it should be something that the Rockies should mull over in the coming weeks.

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