DENVER -- The Rockies are looking at a thinning list of options at catcher to pair with Tony Wolters.

A couple more of the higher-ranked free agents are off the list, with Jason Castro having reached a reported one-year, $6.85 million agreement with the Angels and the Rockies appearing unlikely to hang with the bidding for Robinson Chirinos.

Indications from various Major League sources throughout the winter indicated the team wished to be in play for the top free-agent catchers, but it could not because of a payroll that’s tight with cumbersome contracts that the front office has been unable to unload. But, according to sources, the Rockies are looking at a group that includes former All-Stars Matt Wieters and Jonathan Lucroy, plus Welington Castillo, Elias Díaz and John Ryan Murphy.

The switch-hitting Wieters, who turns 34 in May, has played little over the last two years. He had left hamstring surgery while with the Nationals in 2018 (.238, 8 homers, 76 RBIs in 76 games), and he backed up ironman Yadier Molina last season with the Cardinals (.214, 11 HR, 27 RBIs in 67 games).

Lucroy, 33, joined the Rockies in a deal with the Rangers at the 2017 Trade Deadline and hit .310 in 46 games to help the team to the postseason. But he and the club couldn’t agree on a contract after the season and Lucroy joined the Athletics for ’18. He hit .232 in 101 games with the Angels and Cubs last season.

Castillo, who turns 33 on April 24, batted .209 with 12 homers and 41 RBIs with the White Sox last season, when he lost playing time to American League All-Star James McCann. Diaz, 29, was non-tendered by the Pirates after catching a career-high 101 games and hitting .241 with two homers and 28 RBIs in 2019. Murphy appeared in 26 combined games with the D-backs and Braves last season, and he batted .228 in 50 Triple-A games between both organizations.

The Rockies’ current catching picture is incomplete.

In 2019, Wolters hit .262 -- a 92-point improvement over his ‘18 batting average -- with one home run and 42 RBIs in 121 games. He played 112 at catcher (102 starts), where he had true impact against the running game. The Rockies moved him ahead of veteran catcher Chris Iannetta, who was released in August. To maintain that amount of playing time, Wolters will have to either produce more offensively or be surrounded by a lineup that’s on fire.

But unless the Rockies bring in someone more accomplished, the 27-year-old Wolters will get first crack at the biggest slice of playing time.

Behind Wolters, the most experienced backstop is 36-year-old Drew Butera, who reportedly is returning under a Minor League contract, although the club has made no announcement.

The only other catcher on the 40-man roster is Dom Nuñez, who turns 25 on Jan. 17. Nuñez debuted late last season and went only 7-for-39 but hit two home runs and three doubles in 16 games. Nuñez, converted from the infield early in his pro career, hit .244 with 17 home runs and a .362 on-base percentage in 61 games at Triple-A Albuquerque. Ideally, he will return to Albuquerque to complete his development.

Owings in the fold

The Rockies and utility man Chris Owings, 28, reached a reported Minor League contract, which can be converted into a Major League rate of $1 million should he make the big league club. Owings, once a touted D-backs player who led the National League with 11 triples in 2016, hit a combined .139 in 66 games with the Royals and Red Sox last season.

The deal was reported by USA Today’s Bob Nightengale on Twitter. The Rockies have not made an official announcement.

Owings joins former Giants outfielder Chris Gerber, who hit 26 homers at Triple-A last season, and Butera among reported contracts that haven’t been announced by the Rockies. In November, the Rockies announced signing former Indians infielder Eric Stamets to a Minor League deal.