Colorado Rockies catcher Chris Iannetta is set to be released on Tuesday according to Thomas Harding at MLB.com. The 36-year-old is finishing up his second tour with the Rockies, but with the team continuing to be in one of the worst slides in franchise history, they have decided to give a youngster, Dom Nunez, a shot as the backup from here on out. Iannetta was hitting just .222 on the season, and he's mostly been used as a pinch-hitter since Tony Wolters has come into his own at the plate and been able to carry the load as the team's primary backstop. It's possible that Iannetta will catch on elsewhere, but it seems unlikely.
Sunday was a strange day for Colorado Rockies catcher Chris Iannetta. He led off in three different innings in the game, he walked all three of those times, and he came around to score on each occasion. It's rare that Iannetta gets a start to begin with, but it's been over two years since Iannetta recorded three walks in a single game. When he has walked so much in a game, he's never scored three or more times. Iannetta's starts continue to be few and far between, but he has knocked six homers this season in just 138 plate appearances, so his bat's still got some pop left in it.
Colorado Rockies backup catcher Chris Iannetta came up in the top of the eighth inning on Sunday with his team in a five-run hole. He took care of 40% of that. Iannetta hit a rocket just over the wall in left-center on a 3-1 fastball to bring in two runs and keep Colorado in the game, even if they did go on to lose. The 36-year-old's role has been diminished down to one or two games a week to give starter Tony Wolters a break, but he's still upbeat and encouraging every day and comes through in the clutch once in a while. He won't provide much fantasy value, but the team has shown no sign of wanting to find a replacement either.
Colorado Rockies catcher Chris Iannetta isn't having a spectacular season by any measurement, but at least he made his way on to a leaderboard. Iannetta took a 2-2 pitch to one of the furthest places the Rockies have ever seen. Iannetta's tape measure home run smacked off the bricks at the very back of the stadium, clocking in at 476 feet. That's the third-longest home run hit in the majors this season, and his teammates went crazy at the solo shot. The 36-year-old obviously still has plenty of pop in his bat, but he's on pace to only collect about 250 plate appearances this season, working as the backup catcher for the organization.
The Colorado Rockies brought back 36-year-old catcher Chris Iannetta because the thought was that he would provide some pop in a time-share with light-hitting Tony Wolters. Instead, Iannetta's basically been a ghost. Iannetta's started just three games in the last two weeks, and he's only hitting .231 with two home runs so far in his very limited opportunities. Iannetta has never been the greatest hitter, but he's at least been able to dependably put up 10+ home runs in most seasons. At his current pace, it's questionable whether he'll even reach 200 at-bats, and 10 home runs seems like a pipe dream. Unless something changes about the Rockies catching situation, he's not worthy of a roster spot outside the very deepest two-catcher leagues.
Colorado Rockies catcher Chris Iannetta (lat) has been activated from the 10-day injured list on Friday. Iannetta has missed the last few weeks of action due to a lat strain. He's back in the starting lineup on Friday. He'll bat seventh and draw the start behind the plate versus lefty Robbie Ray.
Colorado Rockies catcher Chris Iannetta is recovering well from the lat strain that landed him on the injured list on April 15, but there's no timetable for his return because Colorado still doesn't really know what to do about their catchers. The team struggled with finding time for all three catchers last season (Iannetta, Tony Woltersand Tom Murphy), so they let Murphy go before this season and signed perennial backup Drew Butera to a minor league contract. Butera is filling in for Iannetta, none of the three have been overly amazing and the team is playing three-card monte with the triumvirate. For now it appears they're going to let Iannetta fully heal in the minors before bringing him back, and they'll probably send Butera packing when that happens. Unfortunately, Colorado has a history of making these types of decisions into head-scratchers, so it's anyone's guess what will really go down.
Chris Iannetta Lands On Injured List, Antonio Senzatela Back
The Colorado Rockies placed catcher Chris Iannetta on the 10-day injured list on Monday with a right lat strain and activated starting pitcher Antonio Senzatela (heel) from the injured list in a corresponding move. Senzatela was set to start on Monday night against the Padres. He went 6-6 with a 4.38 ERA in 23 outings (13 starts) last year and is only a matchup play in deeper leagues (mainly on the road like Monday night). Drew Butera was called up from Triple-A Albuquerque and will platoon with Tony Wolters behind the dish with Iannetta out. Both catchers don't hit very much at all. The Rockies also called up outfielder Noel Cuevas and optioned outfielder Yonathan Daza and reliever Yency Almonte.
Colorado Rockies veteran catcher Chris Iannetta isn't terribly useful at the plate anymore compared to when he was younger, but if it's a 0-0 game with the bases empty, he's surprisingly the best Colorado batter to have at the plate. After drilling a game-winning solo shot in the 11th inning on Wednesday, Iannetta remains one of just two Rockies players to ever hit a home run in a 1-0 Colorado win. However, while only two people have ever done it, Iannetta's actually done it on three separate occasions: Wednesday, last July 4, and July 18, 2010. Iannetta will travel home on the wings of his heroics as the team prepares to host the Dodgers on Friday.
Tony Wolters In, Chris Iannetta Out For Friday's Lineup
Colorado Rockies catcher Tony Wolters will be batting eighth against Trevor Richards and the Miami Marlins on Friday afternoon. Chris Iannetta will draw out of the lineup after going 2-for-3 with an RBI on Opening Day. Neither player is very appealing for fantasy purposes in shallow leagues, although, Iannetta is expected to be the busier of the two behind the plate. Wolters can be ignored for DFS purposes on Friday's slate and has no value in practically all fantasy formats whereas Iannetta can serve as a bottom-tier catcher.
