Iannetta designated for assignment

Chris Iannetta‘s days as a Rockies catcher have come to an end.

Colorado designated Iannetta for assignment on Tuesday to make room for 24-year-old catching prospect Dom Nunez, who was called up from Triple-A Albuquerque in a corresponding move.

“It was a hard decision, but in baseball sometimes you’ve got to make tough calls,” manager Bud Black said. “We’re proud of what Chris has done for the organization, and coming back last year to be a part of our playoff team.

“Moving forward, we just felt like with where Chris was, where the season is and what we have going on here these last seven weeks, it was time to see what Dom could do here and get him some big-league exposure. We’re going to put our eyes on Dom, as he’s been in spring training with us the last couple years and he’s caught every one of our pitchers at some point.” needs to address the disastrous bullpen (Wade Davis, Bryan Shaw and Jake McGee all enter the final years of highly-paid contracts). They need to see what feasible help they can get there, as well as elsewhere, from promising prospects.

Atop Colorado’s list for callups when rosters expand from 25 players to 40 on Sept. 1 should be southpaw Ben Bowden, who started the season by converting all 20 of his save opportunities for Double-A Hartford while posting a minuscule 1.05 ERA. His stats since being promoted to Albuquerque on June 20 are less glam

Iannetta, 36, is in the final year of a two-year, $8.5 million contract. He’s started 531 games at catcher for Colorado, the most in franchise history, in addition to setting club marks by a catcher for runs scored (252), hits (435), home runs (80), RBIs (293) and walks (309) over parts of eight seasons.

Iannetta is hitting .222 this season with six homers in 52 games, becoming Colorado’s backup catcher as Tony Wolters emerged as the No. 1 receiver. Last season, Iannetta was Colorado’s primary catcher. He leaves a legacy with the Rockies as a team-first, detail-oriented professional.

“He was always there, on my shoulder, being positive,” Wolters said. “He was like another dad to me, and he was always in my corner. He has zero ego and he’s a big teddy bear who’s been playing a long time and has a lot of information to share. I don’t think his career’s done.”

Outfielder Charlie Blackmon echoed Wolters’ sentiment, noting Iannetta’s emotional steadiness orous (6.62 ERA in 16 games), but he warrants a look at Coors Field. He could be the Rockies’ closer of the future, and should be in the running to make the team of out spring training next year.

Meanwhile, Colorado needs to see what it has in other recently acquired bullpen arms, including southpaw Phillip Diehl (debuted June 11), southpaw James Pazos and right-hander Joe Harvey. Plus, will Chris Rusin be able to contribute again after a back injury derailed his season, and he was ultimately DFA’d? Might as well bring up the 32-year-old left-hander and find out.

Additionally, Colorado should give a start or two to some of the guys in the Isotopes’ rotation and see what happens. The Rockies’ rotation, was key, especially during the roller-coaster ride to last season’s wild-card bid.

“He was a consistent person emotionally — he didn’t get incredibly upset when things didn’t go his way, and he didn’t get overly excited when things did go his way,” Blackmon said. “That made you feel he was always in control of what he was thinking and doing out there, and that rubbed off on everyone else.”

Iannetta has had two stints with the Rockies. He was a fourthround pick out of North Carolina in 2004 and made his big-league debut in 2006. He played for the Rockies from 2006-11, then had stints with the Angels (2012-15), Mariners (2016) and the Diamondbacks (2017).

Nunez hit .244 with a careerhigh 17 home runs for the Isotopes this season. In 2013, he was drafted in the sixth round as an infielder out of Elk Grove (Calif.) High School. He was converted to a catcher in 2014.

“It’s an emotional moment for me, and something I’ve been dreaming my whole life of,” Nunez which sports a major-league worst 5.78 ERA, has nothing to lose at this point.

That means looking past the deceivingly high Pacific Coast League ERAs of right-hander Tim Melville (5.56 ERA), right-hander Rico Garcia (7.49), southpaw Pat Dean and even right-hander Jeff Hoffman (7.91). Both Melville and Dean have prior big-league experience and were signed out of an independent league earlier in the season, while Hoffman previously submitted a 6.57 ERA in eight starts for Colorado in 2019.

The Rockies need to bring up two position players as well. First baseman Roberto Ramos, an all-star for the Isotopes this year while batting .316 with 23 homers and 86 RBIs, is deserving. As Colorado continues to said. “Seven years later in pro ball, for it to be official, is very exciting. My offense has come along — I’m hitting the ball in front and I’m on time a little bit more — so the power numbers are good right now, and I’ve continued to work on the defensive side of things.”

scratched. The Rockies scratched Jon Gray from his scheduled start against the Diamondbacks on Tuesday night due to left ankle soreness. Black said the ankle issue stems from Gray’s last start in San Diego, when he “slightly slipped” coming down the steps into the dugout and rolled his ankle.

“He continued to pitch, but later that night, he started to get some swelling,” Black said. “The next day it was more so, and tender. We’re holding him out as a precautionary move, because it’s still a little tender and a little swollen.”

Gray will throw a bullpen on Wednesday, with his next scheduled to come on either Friday or Saturday against the Marlins at Coors Field. struggle with a viable long-term answer at first base (the poorfielding Daniel Murphy is signed through next season), now would be a good time to start to see if Ramos could potentially be the man for the job.

And in the outfield, it’d be stunning if Sam Hilliard didn’t get the call come September. The former 15th-round pick out of Wichita State is batting .259 with 30 homers and 20 steals, flashing five-tool ability with lefty power that could immediately reinforce a Colorado bench that’s thin on big sticks.