Colorado Rockies: Thoughts on three catchers on the Opening Day roster

The competition for the Colorado Rockies backup catcher role behind Tony Wolters continues to be intense. Could the Rockies possibly carry three catchers on their Opening Day roster?

With the new 26-man roster rule implemented for the 2020 Major League Baseball season, the Colorado Rockies will have 13 position players at their disposal. We went through our first projections for Colorado’s Opening Day roster in this article. In that article, we projected Tony Wolters and Elias Diaz to be the only two catchers the Rockies would carry into the March 26 season opener on the road against the San Diego Padres.

But could Drew Butera or Dom Nunez make the Opening Day roster as well? Let’s look at some of the possibilities.

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First, three catchers would be nothing new in recent years for Colorado. Yes, there have been times when the Rockies have carried three catchers, as they did when our own Aaron Hurt discussed the strategy in 2018. So the thought is certainly not far-fetched in the Bud Black regime.

Second, carrying three catchers would force the Rockies into likely making sure that one of the backups was available to play another position if needed. There are some possibilities here.

Wolters, a third-round pick of the Cleveland Indians in 2010, was a middle infielder before switching over to catcher. During his time with the Rockies, he has seen action in 29 combined games at second, shortstop, third, and left field. Meanwhile, he has played 312 games behind the plate.

Butera has seven of his 27 appearances with the Rockies over the past two seasons at first base. Diaz and Nunez, meanwhile, have only played catcher.

Wolters and Butera could certainly play other positions if needed. But are they “strong” at those positions and is that versatility enough to keep someone like dedicated fielders like Chris Owings or Sam Hilliard who can play comfortably at multiple positions off the roster?

Third, as we discussed in our roster preview article, Butera and Nunez in Triple-A would give the Albuquerque Isotopes options at catcher who could be elevated to Denver if needed. Each would bring a unique skill set to work with Colorado’s Triple-A pitchers, especially Butera’s veteran mindset. However, it would also mean a split in at-bats for a pair of catchers.

Let’s look at it differently. If Butera joined Diaz and Wolters with the Rockies, Nunez would have the majority of time to work on his offensive and defensive skill set. If Nunez were to be the third catcher, Butera would have more time to work with the next generation of Rockies pitchers.

Fourth, it’s important to think about if a third catcher would bring a bigger offensive presence than someone like Hilliard. Based on last September’s numbers, that would be tough.

Spring stats so far

How has the spring training battle among the four catchers gone so far? Here are some statistics to note through Tuesday’s action.

Butera — 3-for-7, 5 RBI (.429/.556/1.000), 1.056 OPS

Diaz — 6-for-9, 2 RBI (.667/.600/1.000), 1.600 OPS

Nunez — 2-for-11, 3 RBI (.182/..308/.455), .762 OPS

Wolters — 1-for-10, 2 RBI (.100/.182/.100) .282 OPS

Wolters has received the most innings behind the plate (25), followed by Nunez (18), Diaz (16), and Butera (12).

Final Thoughts

So could Bud Black have three catchers on his Opening Day roster? Sure. However, it seems more likely he would choose someone like Owings or Hilliard for their greater versatility in the field.

While the Rockies may not have three catchers on the roster on Opening Day, don’t be surprised if the move is made sometime this season.