Rockies Close to Signing Ramon Hernandez, Chris Iannetta/Angels Trade in the Works

According to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, the Colorado Rockies are close to signing catcher Ramon Hernandez to a two-year deal, pending medical issues. The Rockies would then send catcher Chris Iannetta to the Los Angeles Angels in exchange for Tyler Chatwood (via Troy Renck of the Denver Post).

Hernandez, 35, is coming off a couple excellent seasons in which he hit .290/.353/.437 in 188 games for the Reds. Iannetta, who has been the subject of trade talks for quite some time, has spent the first six seasons of his career in Colorado, where he's posted a slash line of .235/.357/.430 (99 OPS+). He's just 28 years old, and will give the Angels some offensive punch behind the plate (in lieu of Jeff Mathis).

RHP Tyler Chatwood, the Angels' second-round pick back in 2008, made 25 starts for in the majors this year, though the results weren't pretty: 80 ERA+, 4.7 K/9, 4.5 BB/9. Nevertheless, he's only 21 years old, and Baseball America ranked him as the Angels' second-best prospect entering the 2011 season.

UPDATE: Hernandez's deal is worth a total of $6.5MM over the next two years, and the Angels have announced the Iannetta-for-Chatwood swap.