The Colorado Rockies could be cashing in on their Ryan Hanigan insurance policy behind the plate after Tony Wolters suffered a concussion that forced him to leave Tuesday’s loss in San Diego.
In the seventh inning, the Padres’ Hector Sanchez swung and missed on a pitch, and the backswing hit Wolters on the side of the head. Wolters, who remained in the game briefly before leaving, was put on baseball’s concussion protocol and will miss a minimum of seven games, reports Nick Groke of The Denver Post.
The Rockies are already without Tom Murphy, who broke his forearm in spring training, leaving Dustin Garneau as the only healthy catcher on the roster.
The likely option is to promote Hanigan, who was signed to a minor league contract late in spring training for just such an emergency. The 36-year-old Hanigan, who spent the past two seasons with the Red Sox, is hitting .282 at Triple-A Albuquerque. Hanigan was in spring training with the Phillies before being released.
MLB.com's Thomas Harding notes that another possibility at Albuquerque is Anthony Bemboom, a Triple-A phase Rule 5 Draft pick who is hitting .244.
-- Doug Mittler
