Dodgers News: Los Angeles Releases Catcher Tony Wolters
The Dodgers have released veteran catcher Tony Wolters, according to MLB Trade Rumors. They had designated him for assignment on Monday.
Wolters spent three days with the Dodgers last week when unofficial team captain Austin Barnes was away from the team for family reasons. He appeared in two games, going 0-for-4 with three strikeouts, and he was DFA’d when Barnes returned.
Wolters has served as catching depth in the minors, something every team needs, so it’s a little surprising the Dodgers released him, unless it was his decision. The Dodgers have three other catchers on the roster at Oklahoma City, although their top catching prospects are all further down in the minors. With Wolters gone, Hunter Feduccia and Tomas Telis will presumably split the catching duties down at OKC, with Telis likely filling the role of “guy we add to the 40-man roster and call up if we need a backup catcher, then DFA him when the need passes.”
That role had been Wolters’, and it will be interesting to see what’s next for the seven-year MLB veteran. Wolters has a career OPS+ of just 60, but he’s a solid defensive catcher and, perhaps most notably, has been willing to serve the Rocky Gale role of hanging out in Triple-A in case of an emergency at the big-league level. But at 30 years old and more than $5 million in career earnings, it wouldn’t surprise anyone if Wolters decided to stop the minor league grind and find his next challenge in life.
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