Gold Glove-winning catcher, Rockies both interested in reunion

The Rockies are carrying three catchers for September. Colorado promoted prospect Drew Romo in conjunction with last month’s release of Elias Díaz. He joins fellow rookie Hunter Goodman and veteran Jacob Stallings in Bud Black’s catching corps.

Colorado probably won’t want to commit fully to the unproven duo of Romo and Goodman next season. It seems the club will look to keep Stallings in the fold. MLB.com’s Thomas Harding suggested last week that Colorado could try to bring him back. Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post wrote similarly that there’s mutual interest.

Stallings signed a $2M deal with the Rox last offseason. He’s playing on a $1.5M salary and due at least a $500K buyout on a $2M mutual option for next season. While the simplest course of action would be for both sides to exercise the option, that’s exceedingly rare. Stallings figures to decline his end even if he hopes to stay in Denver. There’s a $1.5M difference between the option value and the buyout. The 34-year-old backstop (35 in December) has played well enough to pursue a larger sum.

In 77 games, Stallings is hitting .260/.353/.450. He’s not likely to replicate a .319 average on balls in play, but he has a personal-high nine homers in 267 plate appearances. Stallings has roughly league-average strikeout and walk numbers to go with that slight uptick in power.

Any kind of offensive production from Stallings is a bonus. His primary value lies in his defensive acumen. Stallings won a Gold Glove with the Pirates in 2021. He has a strong game-calling reputation and seemingly works well as a mentor to the team’s younger catchers. Stallings has thrown out a solid 22.5% of baserunners and remains one of the sport’s most sure-handed defenders. He has only been charged with one passed ball this season and has committed all of four passed balls since the start of 2021. Stallings doesn’t grade well as a pitch framer, but he’s otherwise a solid option behind the plate.

Stallings will probably be limited to one year but should earn a raise. Colorado signed him coming off a rough two-year stretch in Miami, where he hit .210/.287/.290 with lesser defensive grades. This year’s production could push his salary closer to guarantees secured by Luke Maile ($3.5M), Austin Hedges ($4M) and Martín Maldonado ($4.25M) last winter.

Goodman and Stallings have taken the majority of recent playing time. Romo, 23, has been pushed into a third catcher role after starting his MLB career with a .174/.208/.239 slash through 13 games. Saunders writes that the Rox could send Romo back to Triple-A to start next season and rely on a Stallings/Goodman tandem if they re-sign the veteran.