Jason Castro

[JohnBriggs12]

Castro put up a respectable .757 OPS vs. RHP in 2016. Considering the lack of LH punch in Brewer lineup, and the fact that Castro came through Houston's system, actually making the AL All Star team in 2013, anyone think there's value in this guy for the Brewers as bridge to Nottingham or another prospect and platoon partner with either Susac (who has career .950 OPS vs LHP) or Pina? He's still only 29 and shouldn't break the bank thought there's teams out there that would like a LH hitting catcher and Castro was a highly rated prospect at one time.

[trwi7]

We didn't trade for Susac to have him sit on the bench or be in the minors.

[brewerfan82]

We didn't trade for Susac to have him sit on the bench or be in the minors.

Is that why he got 40 ABs in the minors vs 17 ABs in the majors with us after the trade? I like the pickup and am interested in seeing how he develops, but he was a secondary piece in a trade of a reliever. I don't think there are any strong indicators that he's being pushed to be our everyday catcher in 2017. Especially at a position that usually splits a lot of time anyways, I think being the right-handed side of a platoon may be a good way to ease him into the majors and put him in a situation to be successful early on.

[CheezWizHed]

I still prefer seeing what Pina/Susac can do this year.

[MKE81]

We didn't trade for Susac to have him sit on the bench or be in the minors.

Is that why he got 40 ABs in the minors vs 17 ABs in the majors with us after the trade? I like the pickup and am interested in seeing how he develops, but he was a secondary piece in a trade of a reliever. I don't think there are any strong indicators that he's being pushed to be our everyday catcher in 2017. Especially at a position that usually splits a lot of time anyways, I think being the right-handed side of a platoon may be a good way to ease him into the majors and put him in a situation to be successful early on.

He only received 17AB with the Brewers because they allowed Maldy to show what he could do as a full-time player since he's been here forever then promoted Pina because he performed in AAA all year - they rewarded the guys who were already in the system given there was a 0% chance of making the playoffs. Susac started 4 games and slashed 286/375/946 during those games. He's 24yrs old for the majority of next season. I don't care if he was the 5th piece of a deal. In 2015 he was the Giants top prospect and a Top 100 overall and if he wasn't blocked by Posey he would have already been given the starting opportunity in SF. He needs to be given the opportunity to earn the starting job; not the platoon job. Again, 2 of the past 4 WS champions had almost no LH power bats. It's not a prerequisite

[jerichoholicninja]

We didn't trade for Susac to have him sit on the bench or be in the minors.

 

I doubt Stearns went looking to acquire Susac. More like they wanted more than just Bickford and Susac was who they agreed upon.

[trwi7]

We didn't trade for Susac to have him sit on the bench or be in the minors.

 

I doubt Stearns went looking to acquire Susac. More like they wanted more than just Bickford and Susac was who they agreed upon.

 

Alone for Smith, probably not but he was a fairly high draft pick that was looked at as a potential starter who just happened to be drafted by a team that he would never start for.

 

Would much rather see if he can start than sign Castro or trade for McCann or any other option that might be out there.

[Outlander]

Susac is 27 all of next year not 24. Might still be the best of the 3 but not exactly a top prospect anymore. Would certainly take Castro over Maldonado but Castro was paid $5 million last year and I don't know if the Brewers would be willing to give a longer term deal to Castro when they could just go cheap with Susac/Pina.

[sheetskout]

I actually think Jason Castro has enough power as a catcher for his bat to play up at MP. Not sure about what he'd cost though.

[pacopete4]

Castro against righties and Susac against lefties and it'll just be like Lucroy never left.

[BrewCrewBlueDevil]

They can have Raul Casanova for all I care, as long as Maldonado is gone.

[abrasam16]

Castro is going to get paid something absurd. Probably in the order of like 3 years 30 million. Still interested?

[logan82]

You have to understand that Briggs does not really believe in the rebuild. He wants to win every year so his point of view will be to give up the long term health of the franchise for short term gains even if they are minimal.

[pacopete4]

Yo have to understand that Briggs does not really believe in the rebuild. He wants to win every year so his point of view will be to give up the long term health of the franchise for short term gains even if they are minimal.

 

Meh, this is where you lose me on this. He may want to win in 2017 but I doubt, highly doubt, that he would agree with this statement. He just has a different way to rebuild a roster. Doesn't make him wrong and it sure as hell doesn't make you right.

[MKE81]

Susac is 27 all of next year not 24. Might still be the best of the 3 but not exactly a top prospect anymore. Would certainly take Castro over Maldonado but Castro was paid $5 million last year and I don't know if the Brewers would be willing to give a longer term deal to Castro when they could just go cheap with Susac/Pina.

Didn't see this until now, I stand corrected on his age and must have hit the wrong number thinking of someone else. Regardless, he wasn't listed as a Top 100 heading into this year because he was ineligible. Not sure he would have made the cut again anyway based on his "ok" MLB stint in 2015 (slashed 248/320/736 when starting) but he still would have been a Top 150 prospect. This year he was injured and still hit 273/343/798 in AAA with Giants.

 

And I agree that there's no point in signing Castro or another lefty catcher for 5M+ when Pina hits RHP rather well (Susac hits LHP very well). So if there's any platoon to begin with it's already covered with Susac/Pina.

[MKE81]

Yo have to understand that Briggs does not really believe in the rebuild. He wants to win every year so his point of view will be to give up the long term health of the franchise for short term gains even if they are minimal.

 

Meh, this is where you lose me on this. He may want to win in 2017 but I doubt, highly doubt, that he would agree with this statement. He just has a different way to rebuild a roster. Doesn't make him wrong and it sure as hell doesn't make you right.

Doesn't matter if Briggs agrees or not. His statements say otherwise. Blocking prospects from playing (ie Santana was a Top 100, destroyed AAA and is a better defensive player overall) because he loves Khris Davis, a player that has zero future in the NL. Creating any scenario that adds a LH bat with pop into the lineup regardless of how that addition affects the roster and growth of others. Case in point below.

 

Castro the past 3yrs vs RHP

231/331/757

219/299/707

216/290/662

 

Pina the past 3yrs vs RHP

283/340/840 with Brewers and 306/350/823 overall

309/387/879

273/339/715

 

You don't "need" a LH bat when you can simply find a player that hits RHP well (Pina). And Pina is much cheaper than Castro. And he's already familiar with the org and pitchers. The Brewers catching situation is just fine with Susac/Pina so if he wants a LH bat with pop then he should be looking to the 3b opening after Scooter gets traded this winter and Villar is moved to 2b. Every other position is set except another backup OF joining Perez in that mix. And even then you're competing with Reed and Wren who both post better numbers vs RHP than Kirk last year. It has to make sense if adding a LH bat rather than just adding someone just to add them because they're a LH bat.

[Outlander]

I understand what you are saying and makes perfect sense but don't think the comparison is fair. Castro/Pina are the same age but Castro is putting those numbers in the majors while Pina is doing that in the minors. With how difficult it is to find good catching every MLB team pretty much whiffed on Manny Pina for a number of years if he really ends up hitting RHP in the majors as good as Castro does.

[JohnBriggs12]

Yo have to understand that Briggs does not really believe in the rebuild. He wants to win every year so his point of view will be to give up the long term health of the franchise for short term gains even if they are minimal.

 

Meh, this is where you lose me on this. He may want to win in 2017 but I doubt, highly doubt, that he would agree with this statement. He just has a different way to rebuild a roster. Doesn't make him wrong and it sure as hell doesn't make you right.

 

How does signing an affordable FA catcher now negatively affect the long term health of the franchise? It wouldn't cost them anything in playing talent. Yes I'd like to see them compete in 2017 because what is happening in Chicago is an outlier not a blueprint. Not that the Brewers shouldn't acquire young talent with an eye to the future, but this belief that is bordering on religious faith that not competing now is the magic formula for future success is utter nonsense. Every season is an opportunity that shouldn't be wasted. Give guys who are here now busting their butts a fighting chance for goodness sake. If it doesn't work by July, you can always turn some veteran talent into younger talent.

 

You can argue that Castro isn't worth taking a flier on, but to reject it because it somehow doesn't fit a false narrative that any success in the near future will have negative affect down the road is ridiculous.

[And That]

I agree with Briggs that dismissing a guy like Jason Castro just because he's a 29-going-on-30 year old veteran is foolish. If you can get talent for no acquisition cost at a reasonable price and it fills a need, why not?

 

That being said, I don't think Castro fills a need to the extent of the price he'll command. You're basically getting him for his defense because his bat has been bad outside of 2013. He actually struck out at a higher rate than Chris Carter did this year. His defensive skills are fine, but I think the market might overprice the value of "fine" in this case.

 

If the Brewers can get him for 1 year/$6 million, sure. Might be worth the flyer to see if he could catch fire and be flipped at the deadline. Anything much more than that and I begin to question how much value he's really adding to the current group of guys, or odds that his future value in terms of being traded for prospects outweighs his salary. Someone suggested 3 years/$30 million - at that price point, run the other direction.

[CheeseheadInQC]

I can understand the rationale, but I have a feeling the dearth of high-level catching in the free agent market might push his price north of where it would be worth it for the Brewers given that his stats seem to basically be Martin Maldonado with a platoon split.