The Chicago Cubs are among the teams interested in acquiring a catcher at the trade deadline; however, they aren’t prioritizing Tigers catcher Alex Avila in their search, according to Ken Rosenthal.
This is relevant for the Rockies because they appear to be well positioned to acquire Avila if they want him. This news corroborates what Bryan Kilpatrick heard about the Rockies and Avila.
The Rockies have a deep farm system and can outbid most suitors for key trade options. If apathy or indifference from the competition is added to that mix, then the Rockies are even better situated to nab the player they want at a relatively low cost. The Rockies have already received excellent 2017 value without giving up much when they acquired Pat Neshek, and there figured to be more competition for him than for someone like Avila.
The Rockies catchers, as a group, have been the worst in baseball this season, at least according to FanGraphs’ Wins Above Replacement model. They’ve combined for -0.6 fWAR and are just one of two teams to be collectively below replacement level. Upgrading at catcher would be a huge boost.