Catcher 2010

[Guest Vince Coleman Firecracker]

I know that this is the 2010 thread but is it unreasonable to dream of Joe Mauer as a Met in 2011?[/quote:1salp1ov]

I've been daydreaming about the same thing. I've actually been wondering if there's any way the Mets could trade for him this year with a window to sign him to an extension, but I just don't see the Twins ever trading him. But signing him as a free agent? Yeah, I'll let my imagination go a little wild for that.

How much would he cost, though? You have to figure you'd be using A-Rod's last contract as a starting point. 10 years/$280 million? $300 million? Yikes. Of course, he might just be worth that much.

Oh, and I'd love to pick up Snyder, depending, of course, on what Arizona wants in return.

[Gwreck]

So does that mean that the great catchers that can, should stay away from the NL?[/quote:1a7t9bwe]

That's not what I said.

Assume Mauer wants to leave the Twins. He could either do for any number of reasons, many of which are not within the Mets control (ie. he wants to play for a team in Southern California).

If Mauer is indeed looking for the biggest possible contract, then the Mets (and all other MLB teams) have the opportunity to bid for his services, and I stand by my prediction, that because of the different rules, an AL team has a greater opportunity to put his bat in the lineup, and therefore will outbid NL teams because Mauer will likely produce more for an AL team than for an NL team.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Yeah, but that's only one potential factor. The NL team could have a greater need for a catcher, or more money to spend.

[batmagadanleadoff]

I don't see Mauer coming to the Mets (or any NL team) because his value is so clearly greater to an AL team that can use him at DH a couple times a week instead of resting him and taking his bat out of the lineup.[/quote:3oqe9w33]

But if Mauer isn't catching, his value is diminished. I don't know by how much but definitely by something. There might be more than a dozen first basemen and DH's that can hit like MVP's. And catching is so thin today --even more so than usually-- that the gap between Mauer and his team's second string catcher would likely be enormous and would constitute a huge drop in offensive output. DH'ing Mauer would require his team to play a catcher that will almost certainly suck.

In another post here, LWFS kind of implied that dreaming of Mauer as a Met is unrealistic. I suppose it is -- but only in the sense that Mauer can only play for one team at a time and the Mets are just one of 30 MLB teams. But if Mauer tests the free agent market, and us fans still shouldn't dream of the Mets signing him, then I don't see the point in having a NY home and NY money. That the team with the highest ticket prices in the NL and second in all of baseball supposedly has no realistic chance at signing Mauer the free agent is illogical to me.

[MFS62]

Fair enough, but just because he's something you'd rather not have sitting on your bench if you're a team on a budget, that doesn't make him worthless or-- worse-- a white elephant. Back problems, shmack problems-- he's a 29-year-old catcher who's decent defensively, and who before the last year put up two well above-average seasons with significant power flashes.[/quote:3mf8ict1]
That was basically Kelly Shoppach (although I'd change that to "two OK seasons with more than a few flashes of power") without the bad back.
He was available, but went to another club this off season.

When I hear "power hitting catcher with a bad back" I think "DH".
Later

[TransMonk]

I think we are deep enough with our below average catching core that I'm not going to pine for Torreabla and Snyder. If Thole is our catcher of the future, then I'll hold out for him rather than commit to another crap backstop. I'm more worried about the rotation, firstbase and the outfield.

[Benjamin Grimm]

I agree with that.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Fair enough, but just because he's something you'd rather not have sitting on your bench if you're a team on a budget, that doesn't make him worthless or-- worse-- a white elephant. Back problems, shmack problems-- he's a 29-year-old catcher who's decent defensively, and who before the last year put up two well above-average seasons with significant power flashes.[/quote:3kordc7r]
That was basically Kelly Shoppach (although I'd change that to "two OK seasons with more than a few flashes of power") without the bad back.
He was available, but went to another club this off season.

When I hear "power hitting catcher with a bad back" I think "DH".
Later[/quote:3kordc7r]

And the Rays got him for cheap. That would have been smarter than, say, the Coste acquisition.

And the scuttlebutt out of Minnesota-- fanbase and presswise-- is that letting Mauer go would cause a late-70s Met fanbase-type revolt/exodus in the Twin Cities. I don't any more than you, but I strongly suspect they'll consider franchise-crippling deals (see: Pujols, 2012) rather than letting him walk.

(Also, his bat plays anywhere... including as a part-time DH or 1B.)

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

So, Omar got a side order of catcher with the Takahashi/Jacobs pu-pu platter announced today: a minor-league deal w/NRI for former Tampa Bay catcher Shawn Riggans.

The profile? Supposedly iffy defense... but with decent pop (.154 ISO in limited at-bats over three years) and a little bit of Rays-instilled defensive versatility (like Zobrist or Upton... but crappy!). CHONE and Marcel projections are a bit kinder to him than to the author of last year's most memorable Met moment. Is this the end of Omir?

[MFS62]

From fox sports .com:

Ken Rosenthal Updated Feb 17, 2010 12:47 AM ET The Mets are making "a hard push" for free-agent catcher Rod Barajas and negotiating with him on a one-year deal, according to major-league sources. Barajas, 34, likely would get the bulk of playing time for the Mets, whose other catchers � Henry Blanco, Omir Santos, Chris Coste and Josh Thole � are either backups or unproven. Earlier this offseason, the Mets tried to land free-agent catcher Bengie Molina, who re-signed with the Giants, and passed on Yorvit Torrealba, who went to the Padres. Barajas batted .226 for the Blue Jays last season. His on-base percentage was only .258. But he hit 19 home runs in 429 at-bats, finished with 71 RBIs and threw out 29.3 percent of his attempted base stealers, second best in the American League. The Rangers and Mariners also have been pursuing catching help.

Later

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

I think the organization's office-management needs to buy new dictionaries, because I'm pretty sure that the FO thinks "platoon" means "two of the same guy, so's you can rest 'em more."

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Another report says the Rosenthal report is not accurate.

I suppose there's no harm in inviting Barajas to the show with a minor league deal, it's not as if he's that much better or worse than anything else on the bench right now.

[metirish]

Invite them all and let them fight it out, there seems to be no sure thing at catcher beyond agreement that Thole needs to start in AAA.

[Benjamin Grimm]

But if Thole hits .420 in spring training games, that consensus about him going to Buffalo will quickly evaporate.

[metirish]

But if Thole hits .420 in spring training games, that consensus about him going to Buffalo will quickly evaporate.[/quote:2d4e22po]


True , wasn't Ted Williams the last player to hit .400 in Spring Training?

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

From yesterday's Star-Ledger... and straight outta O's mouth:

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- When the Mets signed Henry Blanco in early December, they figured he would be a dependable backup to their prime free-agent catching target, Bengie Molina. Three and a half months later, after Molina returned to the Giants and the Mets passed on other free agents, Blanco is the most experienced catcher the Mets have. But he is a 38-year-old career backup, and the Mets still expect his role to be a limited one. So who starts behind the plate on Opening Day? Probably Omir Santos, if only by default, though general manager Omar Minaya told me prospect Josh Thole also will get a serious look. "Right now, we don't see Blanco as a full-time guy," Minaya said. "We see him as a part-time guy. So it's going to be between Santos and Thole."

Two things:

1) Yes, it's a minor-league deal, presumably. With Blanco, Santos, Coste and Thole already in the fold, depth isn't really the issue at catcher, is it?

2) Overload at catcher and lefty-hitting/no-glove/platoony corner-IF types... but don't reach out for someone like Adam Kennedy or Felipe Lopez for even more depth at SS/2B?

[Guest Edgy DC]

Well, it's partly and issue of roster slots. These guys you describe as "overload" are coming on board under minor-league deals which, it's a safe bet, Kennedy and Lopez weren't jumping at this off-season.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Fair enough. I'd still toss $1.5 million and performance bonuses at Lopez to see if he's interested.

That said, whether or not he comes to Flushing or not, Barajas and his agent always have a seat at my poker table. Courtesy of the blog Drunk Jays Fans:

Has there been a baseball player more jerked around by the free agent process than former Jays catcher Rod Barajas? Picture it. Toronto. November. 2006. Barajas, entering his first year of free agency, ends up negotiating a multi-year deal with the Toronto Blue Jays that, in its first year, would see the platoon catcher earn slightly less than the $3.2 million he made with the Texas Rangers the previous season. At the time, it was rumoured that the MLBPA wasn't exactly impressed with the proposed contract and so they leaned on Barajas to change agents. Barajas listened to his union, backed out of the deal and switched agents. A month later, with no other suitors lining up, the Philadelphia Phillies signed Barajas for $2.5 million, and a team option for an additional year at $5 million. After a disastrous season in Philadelphia, the option wasn't picked up, and Barajas was let go. Miraculously, for Barajas' sake, J.P. Ricciardi was still interested in his services, even after the last minute back out one year earlier. Barajas and the Jays agreed on a deal that payed him the league minimum (with a small signing bonus) plus a team option for the following year at $2.5 million. Given the opportunity after Gregg Zaun was injured, Barajas ended up earning the starting catcher's role and his option was picked up by the Blue Jays, keeping him with the team for the 2009 season. At the end of this past season, the contract expired and the Jays offered Barajas arbitration, most likely with the hope that he'd decline and the team would gain a compensatory pick when he signed elsewhere. The catcher complied, most likely believing that he could land a multi-year deal, or at the very least, earn more on the open market than the slight raise he'd assuredly gain through arbitration. Unfortunately, that's not the way the cookie crumbled. With only a few days left before pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training, Barajas remains unsigned. He's now rumoured to be working on a deal with the New York Mets that would pay him significantly less than he would've gotten through arbitration, perhaps not even a Major League contract. Poor decision making on the part of Barajas and his advisors has literally cost the catcher millions of dollars in the free agent market . . . for the second time.

[Valadius]

Who's going to be our Mike DiFelice AAAA shuttle catcher this year? Coste?

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Who's going to be our Mike DiFelice AAAA shuttle catcher this year? Coste?[/quote:2dmzqkz0]

Allah willing... Omir. Last year's putrid offensive output? It was above and beyond his minor-league performance transposed to a major-league context; that was OVERPERFORMING for Omir. Plus, he's "meh" at best with the glove.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

As per Heyman, Barajas is close to accepting a $1 million minor-league deal. Since Barajas is not a Boras client, caveat emptor.

[Centerfield]

Wait, I thought the Mets were out of money...

[Benjamin Grimm]

That's just for major leaguers. They still have about $40 million that they can spend for Buffalo.

[bmfc1]

BG with a BOC nominee for his sad but funny statement.

[metirish]

BG with a BOC nominee for his sad but funny statement.[/quote:18iqj8tx]


no doubt


This post has already been reported.

Return to the topic last visited

It's so good that I tired reporting it for a BOC but you can't

[G-Fafif]

Rangers still in the running for Barajas, though Heyman thinks the Mets have "a leg up". One hopes the leg isn't day-to-day.

[G-Fafif]

This story would be more adorable if it were happening to some other team.

Mets waiting to hear from Barajas' agent Veteran could be latest to join crowded backstop situation By Marty Noble / MLB.com PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- When the Mets planned the big league clubhouse here 25 years ago, they took into consideration all the extra gear catchers require and made provisions for wider lockers for them. "They need a real big one for Kid's ego," Wally Backman said in 1988, prompting a forced smile from his teammate/target Gary Carter. In subsequent years, the larger lockers accommodated Mike Piazza's bankroll, Todd Pratt's personality, Robinson Cancel's considerable girth and Ramon Castro's large head. None was big enough to fit Carlos Delgado's aversion to catching. But that's another matter. This year, the lockers on Catchers' Row have been made narrower, the same width as the others, ostensibly because the Mets appear to be collecting catchers as Jay Leno collects cars, and they need more. They almost have a backlog of backstops, and now they are hoping to add veteran Rod Barajas to their fraternity Kappa Delta Shinguard, and they have urged Mike Jacobs to take his old mask out of mothballs. Add those names to Omir Santos, Henry Blanco, Chris Coste and Josh Thole. No passed balls down here. Members of the Mets' hierarchy confirmed the club's pursuit of Barajas, the 34-year-old right-handed hitter who hit 30 home runs in 778 at-bats with the Blue Jays the past two seasons. But their indications were that Barajas hadn't accepted the Mets' offer of a one-year Minor League contract with a provision that covered his likely play in the big leagues. As of 6 p.m. ET on Thursday, the Mets hadn't heard from Barajas' agent. If he signs, Barajas will be the primary catcher and probably cost Santos his big league status. One of the Mets' decision makers made a point of saying Blanco is the reserve catcher whether or not Barajas signs. Time had revised the Mets' thinking on him. When Barajas, Bengie Molina and Yorvit Torrealba were available as free agents, Molina was the club's first choice and Barajas was a distant third. Torrealba was in between, closer to Barajas. Now the Mets have pursued all three. And general manager Omar Minaya has told Jacobs that an ability to catch would enhance his chance to win a position on the 25-man Opening Day roster. "I told [Fernando] Tatis the same thing," Minaya said. "We could have two emergency catchers so [manager] Jerry [Manuel] wouldn't have his hands tied late in a game." Jacobs' reaction was comparable to what Delgado's would have been, or maybe less enthusiastic. A catcher exclusively in the Mets' Minor League system from 1999-2004, he began playing first base in '05, the year he made his memorable big league debut -- and hit four home runs in 13 at-bats. Jacobs served as a designated hitter and first baseman with the Royals last season after three seasons playing first base wih the Marlins. "I want to see you catch again," Jose Reyes said with a needle in his voice. Reyes had been Jacobs' Double-A teammate. It was one of the rare times Reyes' needle didn't prompt a smile. "Hey, I'll do it," Jacobs said. But his words had more resignation than rejoicing in them. Jacobs had come back to the Mets -- he thought -- to compete for the first-base assignment. Minaya expects Jacobs' presence to push incumbent Daniel Murphy, who hardly lacks motivation. "Murphy has to perform," the general manager said. But the Mets have invested so much time and thought in Murphy since the final weeks of the 2008 season that his not playing first base this year appears quite unlikely. If Jacobs, 29, batted right-handed, his chances of winning a roster spot would improve. Or if he were a skilled catcher with the power he has -- 5.19 home runs per 100 at-bats in the big leagues -- he'd be a better fit. And they'd need another locker. Jacobs was assigned No. 77 at first, not a positive indication. But he talked his way into something more suitable. "I'm 30-something," he said. He'd like to keep that number beyond April 5. "He could be here," Minaya said. But that may require another locker in Citi Field.

I imagine this is what Spring Training was like in 1967. Nothing wrong with an emergency catcher, but these are the moments when Omar sounds his most desperate, like this was the plan all along. Meanwhile, the Mets got to St. Lucie and realize, whoa, we forgot to pick up a catcher, the way you or I might come home from the store and realized we didn't buy milk.

The "Kid's ego" tale, however, is a beauty.

Meanwhile, how time flies. The Klap wrote this in the offseason following 2006:

�We're hot. It's hot to be a Met, we've got a good thing going on here,� said one club official. �A couple of years ago, we couldn't get Henry Blanco to come here, and that was even after we offered him more money than anyone else. He still said no. That's all changed.�

Couldn't get Molina. Couldn't get Torrealba. Barajas, Choice Three, is taking his time. But we got Henry Blanco at last. Nice goin', fellas.

[Guest Edgy DC]

I'm realy superfine with not having Torrealba.

And I certainly think trying to move people leftward on the defensive spectrum beats trying to move them rightward. It's Davey Johnson Throwback Day.

[Frayed Knot]

Without even looking at the byline I could tell from the first two paragraphs that that was a Marty Noble piece.

[MFS62]

Without even looking at the byline I could tell from the first two paragraphs that that was a Marty Noble piece.[/quote:3drvkx76]
The first one reminded me how much I liked Wally Backman.

Later