Tired of haggling over contract specifics with Yorvit Torrealba, the Colorado Rockies decided to move in another direction to fill their need for a catcher.
According to Thomas Harding of MLB.com, the Rockies have signed former Kansas City Royals’ catcher Miguel Olivo to a one-year, $2 million contract. The Rockies also have a club option for $2.5 million for 2011.
Olivo will replace Torrealba in Colorado
The Olivo signing means that Torrealba will have a new team in 2010. While it might be tough for Olivo to replace Torrealba’s leadership, this is not a bad signing for the Rockies.
Olivo will compete with Chris Iannetta to be the Rockies’ starting catcher in 2010. Last year, Olivo hit 23 home runs with a .249 average in 114 games for the Royals last season.
Yeah, I know he refuses to walk, but not everyone in a lineup can be Jack Cust. If Olivo can hit a home run every 18 AB’s like he did last year and play decent defense, the Rockies will take it.
Defensively, Olivo threw out 28.2 percent of the base runners attempting to steal a base last season, which ranked third amongst American League catchers.
To put it in perspective, the Rockies signed Olivo to a one-year deal and the team he left–the Royals–signed Jason Kendall to a two-year deal. I believe Olivo is the better player. (I wrote about the differences between Olivo and Kendall here .)
As to where this leaves Torrealba? I think he will have a couple of options.
I believe the New York Mets could be interested if they can’t come to terms with Bengie Molina. The San Francisco Giants could also be a possibility because I believe they don’t think Buster Posey is ready to be a full-time starting catcher yet and Torrealba could serve as a nice mentor to Posey.
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