The Main League Baseball Gamers Affiliation introduced a listing of 30 gamers who reached free company as we speak after having their choice choices resolved, and Rockies catcher Jacob Stallings was included amongst them. Colorado hasn’t introduced a choice relating to Stallings’ mutual choice, however MLBTR has discovered that he declined his finish of the choice. Mutual choices usually require the participant to resolve first, and that was the case on this occasion. He’ll obtain a $500K buyout and head again to the open market.
Stallings, 34, hit properly in Colorado this season, handing over a .263/.357/.453 slash (114 wRC+) with a career-best 9 homers in 281 plate appearances. Provided that his mutual choice was valued at a modest $1.5MM (with that $500K buyout), he absolutely feels he can prime the online $1MM in free company. The 2 sides have held mutual curiosity in a reunion for subsequent season however haven’t but come to phrases on a brand new contract.
The 2024 season was Stallings’ first in Colorado. He’d spent the prior two campaigns in Miami and the primary six years of his huge league profession in Pittsburgh. He received a Gold Glove with the Pirates in 2021 and was for a pair seasons thought to be one of many sport’s premier defensive backstops. His defensive grades have dwindled in recent times, due in no small half to a stark downturn in his framing grades. Stallings’ caught-stealing charges dropped off in his two years with Miami, however he was roughly league-average in that regard with the Rox (21% to the league-average 20%). Statcast charges him as among the finest within the sport relating to blocking balls within the grime, itemizing him fourth out of 66 certified catchers.
Stallings has posted stable offensive numbers in three of the previous 5 seasons, together with his two years in Miami standing because the exception. He attracts loads of walks (9.6% this previous season) and strikes out at a roughly league-average fee (23.1%). That profile, coupled together with his age, isn’t essentially going to land him a profitable long-term pact, however Stallings ought to discover a one-year deal at a better fee than final 12 months’s $2MM base wage and will feasibly discover some two-year presents. It’s a usually skinny free agent class for catching assist, with Danny Jansen, Carson Kelly and Kyle Higashioka standing as his major competitors on the open market.
As beforehand famous, the Rockies themselves determine to be amongst his suitors. Prime prospect Drew Romo acquired his first style of the majors in 2024 however hit poorly in a pattern of 53 plate appearances. Romo had a stable offensive displaying in Triple-A however solely not too long ago turned 23 and will require some extra seasoning within the higher minors. Colorado additionally has utilityman Hunter Goodman as an choice behind the plate, however he spent extra time within the outfield than behind the plate and didn’t hit properly both in his 224 plate appearances. There are not any different catchers on the Rockies’ 40-man roster, so it stands to motive that whether or not it’s Stallings or one other veteran, they’ll be on the hunt for some depth between now and spring coaching.
