Atomic RoadRunners

Miguel Olivo went 3-for-3 with a homer, a double and three RBI against the Padres on Monday. The question on the minds of all Chris Iannetta owners is whether Jim Tracy will fall for Olivo like he did Yorvit Torrealba last year. If Olivo gets off to a fast start, those possessing Iannetta might be in for a frustrating summer. (Rotoworld)

Yesterday we started off our upcoming protected list preview with the 2010 No Doubters. There were only three, as for the first time since 2006 it didn’t include “Lincecum – $7″. Along with a new rule change that reduces the minimum amount of protectables from 9 to 5, the 2010 Roadrunners may be off to a shaky start. Here’s a look at the next group – the “Almost Automatics”. These guys would be No Doubters except for one or two chinks in the armor. Here’s the breakdown:

Johnny Cueto
1 Year – $5
11 Wins, 4.41 ERA, 1.36 WHIP, and 132 K’s
Cueto was acquired mid-year from Cover Zero, and shortly after that, the 23-year-old starter had a run-in with Dusty Baker’s School of Young Pitcher Fatigue. It was apparent to the entire world that he was either gassed, hurt, or both, but a 15-day DL stint for a sore hip seemed to cure all. According to most sources, his ERA and WHIP won’t be this bad, as he was lit up a bit in some of those aforementioned starts. Still plenty of potential here, for $5

Chris Iannetta
1 Year – $1
.228 Average, 41 Runs, 16 HR, 52 RBI, and 0 steals
Long-time Roadrunner Iannetta finally was given the starting gig for 2009, but his paltry average allowed Yorvit Torrealba to steal at-bats. Always a power threat, Iannetta suffered a May hamstring injury, and he just wasn’t the same after that. Last season he was a no-doubter, but this season, with the lousy average, and the signing of former Royals starter Miguel Olivo a threat to take more at-bats, Iannetta has some issues to be concerned about. He did sign a three-year, $8.35 million contract extension in early January, so at least he’ll be on the squad. Almost too much drama for $1.

Randy Wells
2 Years – $7
12 Wins, 3.05 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, and 104 K’s
Wells was picked up in May, and proceeded to surprise all, earning a sixth-place finish in the Rookie of the Year voting (with one 2nd place vote). A converted catcher, Wells survived well in his second and third times through the league. While his ERA can’t possibly be as good, he should be a solid starter for 2010.

Chris Iannetta believes he will get a “large volume” of starts behind the plate for the Rockies this season. The Royals signed former Royals catcher Miguel Olivo this offseason to push Iannetta, who finished the ‘09 season slowly. “If I am playing like I expect to, I will be in there,” Iannetta said Monday. “I want to play a large volume of the games and let my performance speak for itself.” The 26-year-old batted .228/.344/.460 with 16 home runs and 52 RBI in 289 at-bats last year. (Rotoworld)

Note: The Rockies also signed former Dodger and Marlin catcher Paul LoDuca to a minor league contract today.

Rockies signed catcher Chris Iannetta to a three-year, $8.35 million contract extension with a $5 million club option for 2013. The new deal essentially buys him out of his final three years of arbitration and includes a club option for his first season of free agency. Iannetta, 26, batted .228/.344/.460 with 16 home runs and 52 RBI in 289 at-bats in ‘09 and will battle for playing time with Miguel Olivo this year. (Rotoworld)

MLB.com’s Thomas Harding reports that the Rockies have reached agreement on a one-year contract with a 2011 option for catcher Miguel Olivo. That officially ends Yorvit Torrealba’s tenure in Colorado. Olivo, 31, hit .249/.292/.490 with a career-high 23 home runs and 65 RBI last season and will battle for starting duties with Chris Iannetta in 2010. A straight platoon obviously wouldn’t be good for fantasy purposes. (Rotoworld)

Troy C. Renck of the Denver Post reports that the Rockies have signed catcher Chris Iannetta to a three-year contract “in excess” of $8 million dollars. It’s a pretty fair deal. The contract carries Iannetta through his arbitration years, while the Rockies hold an option for his first year of free agency. Iannetta, 26, batted .228/.344/.460 with 16 home runs and 52 RBI in 289 at-bats in ‘09. The new deal shouldn’t preclude the Rockies from keeping free agent Yorvit Torrealba, as well. (Rotoworld)

MLBlogs Network’s Thomas Harding reports that the Rockies are talking long-term deal with catcher Chris Iannetta, closer Huston Street, and 2B Clint Barmes.

The Rockies’ maintained faith in catcher Chris Iannetta despite his struggles in 2009. They’re backing that faith in contract talks.

General manager Dan O’Dowd said Monday that the Rockies are discussing several contract structures, including a multi-year deal, with the arbitration-eligible Iannetta. The Rockies are also talking about more than one year with two other arbitration-eligible players — closer Huston Street and second baseman Clint Barmes.

The latter two were known to be discussing multiyear deals, but O’Dowd revealed the talks with Iannetta during Monday’s first day of the MLB Winter Meetings.

The club continues to talk to catcher Yorvit Torrealba, who is a free agent who is testing the market to find a more favorable contract structure and playing opportunity. But the priority is Iannetta, who hit .264 with a .440 slugging percentage in 2008 but hit .228 last year and lost playing time (despite a .460 slugging percentage) to Torrealba in 2009.

The Hardball Times Waiver Wired column today covered some offseason analysis of “disappointing” NL players, and focused on catcher Chris Iannetta. Here are some choice excerpts:

2009 was supposed to be the year Chris Iannetta would consolidate his skills and leap into the top rank of catchers. Instead, he scuffled, spent some time on the DL, and faded enough down the stretch that Yorvit Torrealba was the backstop of choice in September.

That injured hamstring may have contributed to his struggles, by knocking him out of his groove, but it’s not the kind of injury (wrist, elbow, back) you expect to have such a dramatic effect on a player’s stats.

He lost a bit of patience, evidenced by his .57 BB/K ratio in 2009 (down from .60 in 2008), as well as the drop in BB%. But if you look back at 2007—when he also had a hit rate of 31%—his BA was almost the same. The difference has been in his power, which shows in the rising Bash rate…he seemed to wait for the perfect pitch, then swing out of his heels to try and knock it all the way to Montana. A further indication of this comes from Iannetta’s GB/FB ratio, which has dropped steadily over the past four seasons, from 1.10 in 2006 to 0.48 in 2009. He also hits much better (and hits the ball much farther) at home, with a ridiculous slash line of .295/.389/.576 in Coors in 2009, and a .167/.302/.353 everywhere else.

He’s going to have to learn to swing more and take fewer walks, and stop trying to turn every at-bat into a moon shot. The best thing Jim Tracy could do is to let him watch some tape of Jeremy Giambi, the last guy who turned too passive in the batter’s box, and remind him of where Little Giambi is now. If Iannetta can do that, his power will remain and his hit rate will return—and so will those HRs and RBI.

The Rockies need right-handed hitting, however, so Iannetta is going to get every opportunity to redeem himself next year. Another positive, and overlooked, aspect of Iannetta’s season, is that he continued to mash lefties. In fact, he widened his LH/RH OPS split, from a career .929/.766 to .986/.734. Being unable to hit righties isn’t such a great thing, but that split should stabilize and return to his career norms.

It took about a week, but I was finally able to update the AaRr All-Time Roster spreadsheet to include the pitchers (the hitters had been completed several months ago).  The lists themselves will be added to the archive section during the offseason, but here are some interesting tidbits:

Most Seasons in a RoadRunners uniform:

7 seasons:

• Danny Graves, Reds closer (1999-2005)
• Robb Nen, closer for Marlins and Giants (1994-2001, except for 1998)

6 seasons:

• Rondell White, Expos OF (1992-1997)
• Reggie Sanders, Reds OF (1992-1997)
• Geoff Jenkins, Brewers OF (1999-2001, 2004-2006)

5+ seasons:

• Prince Fielder, 1B Brewers, who will likely make it 6 seasons if he is protected for 2010. (2005-present)

5 seasons:

• Ken Caminiti, 3B (1992-1994 Astros) and (1996-1997 Padres)
• Khalil Greene, SS Padres (2002-2006)
• Damian Miller, C (1999, 2001, 2002 Diamondbacks, 2003 Cubs, and 2005 Brewers)
• Raul Mondesi, OF (1994-1997 Dodgers, 2003 Diamondbacks)
• Salomon Torres, P (1992-1994 starter for Giants) and (2002 and 2004, reliever for Pirates)

4+ Seasons:

• Chris Iannetta, C Rockies, who will likely make it 5 seasons if he is protected for 2010. (2006-present)

Also note that there is something about the Joneses sticking around for four seasons:

• Andruw Jones, OF (2002-2004 Braves, 2008 Dodgers)
• Bobby J. Jones, P (1992, 1999 Mets, 2001, 2002 Padres)
• Chipper Jones, 3B (2006-2009, Braves)
• Todd Jones, RP (1993-1995 Astros, 2004 Reds)

Up:

• CM Mat Gamel
• MI Rusty Ryal
• DH Oscar Salazar

Down:

• CM Steve Pearce
• MI Ian Desmond
• DH Josh Thole

Notes:

• This being the final week, only X-Men made any pickups, acquiring OF Tony Gwynn, Jr. to replace Orlando Hudson on the active roster. He also acquired Diamondbacks P Billy Buckner, as a reserve, which won’t really help him in this final week.
• Final tally of players on the 2009 Atomic RoadRunners: 92  Yikes!
• Number of players still on the roster from Draft Day 2009: 7 (Chris Iannetta, John Baker, Mat Gamel, Chase Headley, Josh Johnson, Madison Bumgarner, Mike Gonzalez)

FAAB Acquisitions:

• C Josh Thole, Mets ($0, active at DH)

Up:

• C Ryan Hanigan

Down:

• C Chris Iannetta
• OF Cory Sullivan

Cut:

• RP Peter Moylan

Colorado C Chris Iannetta hit his ninth home run of the season on Wednesday in a 5-3 win over the Rays. He went 2 for 3 in the game with an RBI and two runs scored with his other hit being a double. His batting average improved to .228 on the season. Iannetta is not having too terrific of a season with the Rockies so far. This was his first homer since returning from the DL on June 9 from a hamstring injury. He has a boatload of talent and should be able to turn his fortunes around soon. He makes for a solid option in deeper mixed leagues. (CBS Sports)

Rockies activated catcher Chris Iannetta from the 15-day disabled list. Iannetta is starting and batting eighth against the Brewers Tuesday. Iannetta went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts in his first game back from the DL.We’ll see how much playing time Iannetta will get under interim manager Jim Tracy once Yorvit Torrealba rejoins the Rockies from his bereavement leave. Edwin Bellorin will be optioned to Colorado Springs with Paul Phillips staying on as the backup. Yorvit Torrealba will return to Denver on Friday, but he’ll likely need a few days to get back into a baseball groove. Though his batting average was down before suffering the hamstring injury, he was showing impressive power and patience while posting an .859 OPS. (Rotoworld, Rotowire)

FAAB Acquisitions:

• C Carlos Ruiz, Phillies ($2 bid, add to actives at DH)
• MI Brendan Ryan, Cardinals ($0 bid, add to actives at MI)
• 1B Fernando Tatis, Mets ($1 bid, add to actives at 1B)
• SP Antonio Bastardo, Phillies ($3 bid, add to actives)
• SP Matt Maloney, Reds ($2 bid, add to actives)
• RP Clay Zavada, Diamondbacks ($0 bid, add to actives)

Up:

• C Chris Iannetta

Down:

• 1B Casey Kotchman (15-Day DL – shin contusion)
• SS Jose Reyes (15-Day DL – hamstring and calf)
• DH Jake Fox
• RP Matt Lindstrom
• RP John Grabow

Cut:

• C Robinzon Diaz
• RP Kyle McClellan
• RP Clay Condrey
• OF Jody Gerut
• 3B Brian Barden
• OF Austin Kearns

Notes:

• Bastardo was also bid on by The Pi Train ($1) and Misogynistic Padres ($0)
• Ruiz was also bid on by Misogynistic Padres ($0)
• Iannetta is scheduled to be activated from the 15-Day DL today
• Both Ruiz and Ryan have been on the Roadrunners previously
• Tatis was originally drafted by The Pi Train in the 6th Round of the 2009 WBRL Minor League draft, thus his salary is $10
• Zavada’s middle name is “Pflibson”

FAAB Acquisitions:

• SP Sean West, Marlins ($3 bid, reserve)
• OF Jonny Gomes ($0 bid, reserve)

Up:

• C Robinzon Diaz
• P Kenshin Kawakami
• P John Grabow
• P Todd Wellemeyer

Down:

• C Chris Iannetta (15-Day DL – hamstring)
• P Shairon Martis
• P Matt Lindstrom

Cut:

• P Jose Ceda
• P Dan Meyer

Notes:

• OF Jody Gerut was traded on May 21st to Milwaukee for OF Tony Gwynn, Jr.
• Stanimals picked up former Roadrunner Tim Hudson for a $0 FAAB bid.  Hudson was our contingent bid if AaRr didn’t get Sean West.