Solving the Catcher Position for 2019

[sveumrules]

MLBTR with some free agent predictions...

 

Yasmani Grandal, 4/64

Wilson Ramos, 3/36

Martin Maldonado, 2/8

Kurt Suzuki, 2/8

 

Lucroy did not get a prediction. Would be pretty crazy for Maldonado to land a bigger contract than Luc.

[SRB]

I mean, I know Grandal was our NLCS MVP, but....

 

 

He's actually an excellent defensive catcher. All the better for us if his value is materially affected by a meaningless sample of jittery postseason (aka the Reverse Suppan)

[clancyphile]

If Grandal can be had for something along the lines of 4 years and $48 million, I'd be willing to go with that.

 

But not much more. To me the better bet is Mazieka, especially if he is unprotected in the Rule 5 draft.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

If Grandal can be had for something along the lines of 4 years and $48 million, I'd be willing to go with that.

 

But not much more. To me the better bet is Mazieka, especially if he is unprotected in the Rule 5 draft.

 

I understand the intrigue with Mazieka, clancy, but you are comparing apples and ... well ... giraffes now. You are comparing a Top 5 MLB catcher to a guy that hasn't played an inning above AA. I mean it is fun to speculate on a guy, but you don't have to beat his name into the ground in nearly every post.

[brewmann04]

I think someone besides the brewers will pay the bucks for Grandal.

I think Mazieka maybe the way to look at come the rule 5 draft

[And That]

I’m about to add “Mazieka” to the cuss filter.

[adambr2]

I voted for Ramos. Mlbtraderumors.com has him projected for 3/36. I would gladly give him that if it meant hanging onto our trade capital.

 

He hits almost as well as Realmuto, you don't lose any defense at all, and he isn't going to break the bank. What's not to like?

[clancyphile]

I voted for Ramos. Mlbtraderumors.com has him projected for 3/36. I would gladly give him that if it meant hanging onto our trade capital.

 

He hits almost as well as Realmuto, you don't lose any defense at all, and he isn't going to break the bank. What's not to like?

 

His OPS+ has been under 100 for three of the last five years - 91 in 2014, 66 in 2015, and 97 in 2017. He also missed time with an ACL injury.

 

Those pose some risks.

 

If the Crew goes free agent, bringing back Lucroy at 3 years, $9 million makes more sense. Perhaps the return to Milwaukee will make him regain his stroke, the way it did for Jeff Cirillo.

[clancyphile]

To rank the options in my order of preference:

 

1. Acquire Realmuto for Nottingham, Dubon, and Aguilar (plus Broxton).

2. Bring back Lucroy for 3 years, $9 million.

3. Mazieka via the Rule 5

4. Stand pat with current catchers

5. Sign Maldanado for 2 years, $8 million

6. Other

7. Sign Grandal for 4 years and whatever

8. Sign Ramos for 3 years and whatever

[adambr2]

I voted for Ramos. Mlbtraderumors.com has him projected for 3/36. I would gladly give him that if it meant hanging onto our trade capital.

 

He hits almost as well as Realmuto, you don't lose any defense at all, and he isn't going to break the bank. What's not to like?

 

His OPS+ has been under 100 for three of the last five years - 91 in 2014, 66 in 2015, and 97 in 2017. He also missed time with an ACL injury.

 

Those pose some risks.

 

If the Crew goes free agent, bringing back Lucroy at 3 years, $9 million makes more sense. Perhaps the return to Milwaukee will make him regain his stroke, the way it did for Jeff Cirillo.

 

He's also had a 121+ OPS in 2 out of the last 3 seasons, which is a more recent outlook. Even if he's only at 100-105, that's a nice upgrade. The injury concerns are legitimate, which is why I'd limit him to 100 starts or so with Pina getting 60.

 

No interest in Lucroy whatsoever. He looks done and has been quite bad for 2 seasons now. Not even an offensive upgrade from Kratz. I'd rather just roll with Pina and Nottingham.

[Oxy]

I voted for Ramos. Mlbtraderumors.com has him projected for 3/36. I would gladly give him that if it meant hanging onto our trade capital.

 

He hits almost as well as Realmuto, you don't lose any defense at all, and he isn't going to break the bank. What's not to like?

 

His OPS+ has been under 100 for three of the last five years - 91 in 2014, 66 in 2015, and 97 in 2017. He also missed time with an ACL injury.

 

Those pose some risks.

 

If the Crew goes free agent, bringing back Lucroy at 3 years, $9 million makes more sense. Perhaps the return to Milwaukee will make him regain his stroke, the way it did for Jeff Cirillo.

 

 

Huh? A solid defensive catcher with an OPS+ more than 90 for 4 of the last 5 years sounds pretty solid as long as you don't break the bank for him. Especially if the upside is 120+ OPS.

[clancyphile]

His OPS+ has been under 100 for three of the last five years - 91 in 2014, 66 in 2015, and 97 in 2017. He also missed time with an ACL injury.

 

Those pose some risks.

 

If the Crew goes free agent, bringing back Lucroy at 3 years, $9 million makes more sense. Perhaps the return to Milwaukee will make him regain his stroke, the way it did for Jeff Cirillo.

 

 

Huh? A solid defensive catcher with an OPS+ more than 90 for 4 of the last 5 years sounds pretty solid as long as you don't break the bank for him. Especially if the upside is 120+ OPS.

 

The prediction was $12 million a year for three years.

 

That's a lot of money, and he's coming off a big year in his contract season. I've been burned by the Jason Kendalls the Brewers have picked up.

 

Lucroy won't be as big a risk, and I'd bet a return to Milwaukee could revive his bat. It worked with Jeff Cirillo.

[pacopete4]

I’ll start with I have no evidence to back this up. Pure observation take. Lucroy looks tiny now. Almost like he’s trimmed down as much as he can so he can still catch. But in doing so, he’s lost power in his bat and he’s become a below average to average catcher overall. Really happy we didn’t end up giving him a contract.

[MrTPlush]

Jonathan Lucroy should be lucky to get a MLB deal, let alone 3 years or $9m Clancy. He has been absolute garbage for three years.

 

2017 OPS- .635 with the Rangers and .676 on the road with the Rockies

 

2018 OPS- .612 with the Oakland A’s

 

Time to start living in the year 2019, not 2014.

[adambr2]

His OPS+ has been under 100 for three of the last five years - 91 in 2014, 66 in 2015, and 97 in 2017. He also missed time with an ACL injury.

 

Those pose some risks.

 

If the Crew goes free agent, bringing back Lucroy at 3 years, $9 million makes more sense. Perhaps the return to Milwaukee will make him regain his stroke, the way it did for Jeff Cirillo.

 

 

Huh? A solid defensive catcher with an OPS+ more than 90 for 4 of the last 5 years sounds pretty solid as long as you don't break the bank for him. Especially if the upside is 120+ OPS.

 

The prediction was $12 million a year for three years.

 

That's a lot of money, and he's coming off a big year in his contract season. I've been burned by the Jason Kendalls the Brewers have picked up.

 

Lucroy won't be as big a risk, and I'd bet a return to Milwaukee could revive his bat. It worked with Jeff Cirillo.

 

You have thrown out way, way worse hypothetical money of Mark A's before than 3/36 for Wilson Ramos.

 

Jason Kendall is a very different situation than Ramos. 3 years older when we signed him for starters and not a good hitter at that point in his career.

 

For every guy in their 30s who has a career rejuvenation from going back to their original team, there are 10 who are just done. I don't expect Lucroy to be different. It's not like he never wanted to leave here to begin with.

[Oxy]

I wouldn't sign Ramos for 3/36M tomorrow. 2/20 would be my offer. Come March one of those might look better for one side or the other.

[danzig6767]

MLBTR with some free agent predictions...

 

Yasmani Grandal, 4/64

Wilson Ramos, 3/36

Martin Maldonado, 2/8

Kurt Suzuki, 2/8

I don't know how Suzuki is defensively, but his last two years as a hitter

 

2017--.887 OPS

2018--.776 OPS

[True Blue Brew Crew]

I don't know how Suzuki is defensively

 

Not good which is why I'd safely take him off the list of possibilities for the Brewers.

[PeaveyFury]

I would happily bring in Lucroy on a minor league deal with an invite to spring training, and that's about it for him.

 

Realmuto for me, though the cost is going to be the obvious sticking point. Grandal is going to cost too much, so Ramos probably makes the most logical sense in the end.

[DuWayne Steurer]

Lucroy was butt last year, and he's going to be 33, and he's a catcher. Hard pass for all the reasons.

 

I would guess without hesitation that Nottingham will outperform Lucroy this year.

[DuWayne Steurer]

I'm totally fine rolling with Manny playing 90-95 games and Notthingham playing the rest this year. Manny's offensive regression was almost entirely due to 15 fewer base hits, which is basically statistical noise. His power numbers and walk numbers were more or less (exactly) the same. If they spend some money and get a Grandal or make a trade and get Realmuto, that's fine, but Manny is a fairly decent known quantity, with solid defense.

[3and2Fastball]

I don't doubt that Stearns is one of many GM's working on getting a Realmuto trade done. Hard to imagine him giving up Hiura & Burnes, and also hard to imagine he can get the trade done w/o trading Hiura & Burnes. Maybe some sort of Woodruff/Dubon/Davies/Ray package? But I'd think another team would be able to top that offer

[LouisEly]

I think Realmuto is really the only clear upgrade they could make. If that doesn't happen, I'd be happy with Pina and Nottingham. If Kratz wants to sign a cheap deal to come back, I wouldn't be opposed to it. Heck, if Vogt is willing to sign a minor league deal with Spring Training invite, and proves that he's healthy, I wouldn't mind that either. A healthy Vogt would be terrific depth.

Pretty much this. If Nottingham is supposed to be a good prospect, and isn't going to the Marlins in a package for Realmuto, then let him be the backup for a year, learn the staff, get major league coaching, and prepare to take over as the starter in 2020.

 

If Pina is average, and there are stats that show that despite some struggles last year he was pretty average offensively, there is absolutely nothing wrong with average. Boston won the World Series with perhaps the worst catching offensively in the majors last year.

[HiAndTight]

Like Joey said, if it is not Realmuto, giving Nottingham the gig would be just fine with me. If you are not clearly upgrading, then let the young buck get out there and hope he is the catcher of the future.

 

 

I'm with ya. Our catchers were league average this year, I expect more out of SS next year offensively(of course I expect regression out of Cain/Yelich) as well as Braun(based on the fact that for much of the year his exit velo was on part with Yelich). Shaw had a low BABIP....all this to say is that I think our offense should be at least as good next year, potentially better if Schoop has a big bounce back year or Hirura comes back up.

 

So if we can't make a significant upgrade, I'd be more in favor, but NOT in favor of giving away any young pitchers who contributed this year or Hirura and I don't see enough left to trade for Realmuto and Lucroy, Maldy...they're all nice, but what are we expecting from them?

[JohnBriggs12]

Personally right today, I think Christian Bethancourt is a better player than Nottingham and I think keeping him in the organization should be a priority. Nottingham was fine as a fill in backup when there were short term injuries, but Bethancourt is a legit major league backup catcher right now. That's not to say there aren't others out there that fill that bill too, but Nottingham still needs work to make more consistent contact.

 

That being said, assuming Kratz wants to continue playing and after his postseason, why wouldn't he, I think you bring him and Pina back. That wasn't a bad combo and they handled the staff very, very well.