Chris Iannetta

The Seattle Mariners shook up their catching situation by declining Chris Iannetta's 2017 contract option Thursday.

The team announced the decision on Twitter.

According to Spotrac, Seattle avoided paying the 33-year-old veteran $4.25 million next season by deciding against picking up his option.

The Seattle Mariners announced on Monday they have signed veteran catcher Chris Iannetta to a one-year deal.

Contract terms weren’t disclosed, though Greg Johns of MLB.com indicated it's a major league deal:

After Joe Mauer's injury occurred this past week, many fantasy owners were left scrambling to fill their roster with a replacement while they wait for their superstar to heal. It is always hard to replace the production of superstar caliber player like Mauer, but with the right replacement the damage can be limited. Here are the adds you should make if you now have a hole at the catcher position:

The Colorado Rockies are the overwhelming favorite of baseball writers to win the 2011 NL West crown.  With a collection of young players who possess an excellent combination of speed and power, the Rockies will certainly score a bunch of runs this year. Despite an excellent offense, the club will need a solid performance from their pitching staff to dethrone the defending champion San Francisco Giants. 

View From the Rockpile: Musings from a Mile High along the Journey to Rocktober

Although Rocktober magic has made the club's recent slow starts a distant memory, the Rockies entered 2011 determined to get off on a better foot than in previous seasons.

Coming off of a less than stellar 7-11 2010 record against the divisional rivals, the Los Angeles, Dodgers, the Rockies welcomed an early season opportunity to make a statement that they are a force to be reckoned with in the 2011 Wild Wild NL West.

Pitching wins championships.

If the old saying is true, then the Rockies are going to need to figure out a way to keep their starters healthy.

Two games into the season and the Rockies have had two pitchers deal with injuries that may result in trips to the disabled list.

On Saturday, Colorado went back to the clubhouse with a 3-1 win, but they did so while watching their starting pitcher leave with a finger injury.

Many owners prefer to wait until the tail end of their drafts to fill their catching position.  While I may not necessarily be in favor of it (something we will discuss at a later date), let’s take a look at a few options who may be available in your draft after Round 18 (an ADP of 216 or later according to Mock Draft Central) and are certainly worth targeting:

Since I first did this list, several catchers have changed teams (while the biggest name was Victor Martinez, players like John Buck, Miguel Olivo and others also packed their bags).  Let’s take a look at the impact of these moves on our rankings for the upcoming year:

Just 24 hours after the Colorado Rockies set a franchise record with a nine-run ninth inning that was capped off by a Seth Smith three-run blast—the Rockies did it again.

In fact, when Chris Iannetta bombed the game-winning solo homer in the bottom of the ninth, it was the third straight game in a row Colorado won with a walk-off.

The Rockies lackluster performance in game one of the doubleheader on Saturday was made up for in game two.