Well, that didn’t take long. Released by the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday, Ryan Hanigan has already found a new home. According to MLB.com’s Thomas Harding, the Colorado Rockies have signed the veteran catcher to a minor-league deal.
Hanigan has spent the last two seasons with the Boston Red Sox. In 2016, the 36-year-old got into 35 games for the BoSox, but hit a paltry .171. A veteran of 647 MLB games with the Red Sox, Tampa Bay Rays and Cincinnati Reds, he is a career .250 hitter. He has also caught two career no-hitters.
Hanigan is expected to begin the season with Triple-A’s Albuquerque Isotopes. Should he make the Rockies, he will reportedly earn a major-league salary of $1.25 million.
The Rockies have a need for both organizational depth and experience behind the plate. Tony Wolters, Tom Murphy and Dustin Garneau have combined for 149 MLB games. Additionally, Murphy is currently recovering from a broken forearm.