manny pina to 10-day injured list; jacob nottingham recalled

[djoctagone]

manny pina placed on the injured list with hamstring discomfort. the brewers have recalled jacob nottingham, choosing him over the better performing david freitas.

 

it should be noted that nottingham has caught most of the brewers' pitchers before. freitas lacks that experience.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

Per Adam McCalvy this morning.

 

 

I am happy about this, if not a little surprised. David Freitas is hitting substantially better in San Antonio right now, and he's got a good defensive reputation. Still ... with Grandal on a 1-year pact, they need to see if Nottingham is in the equation for 2020 and beyond at the C position.

[BruisedCrew]

As I said at the end of the game thread last night, the backup catcher should only have to start one game in the next 10 days. Because of the off days next Monday and Thursday, Grandal can catch today, 2 of the 3 games in Atlanta, both games against the Reds, and at least the first game against the Phillies next weekend. So, bringing up Nottingham makes sense because he will be serving mainly as the emergency backup catcher and isn’t likely to get many ABs. If Pina is going to be out more than 10 days they can consider their other options later.

[JohnBriggs12]

While Nottingham hasn't been terrible, Freitas has a .451 OBP and isn't striking out much. Heck he might be an upgrade over Pina if given the chance. But that's for down the road a bit. For now I can live with Nottingham though with just a 4 man bench, the backup catcher needs to be a threat with the bat too.

[KeithStone53151]

While Nottingham hasn't been terrible, Freitas has a .451 OBP and isn't striking out much. Heck he might be an upgrade over Pina if given the chance. But that's for down the road a bit. For now I can live with Nottingham though with just a 4 man bench, the backup catcher needs to be a threat with the bat too.

 

Being a backup catcher is primarily about defense. I would always rather have a 600 OPS backup catcher that's strong defensively than an 800 OPS bad defender.

[Outlander]

Would rather have Freitas up as he is already on the 40 man and don't really care if he only gets one start while Pina is on the IL. Think Nottingham could maybe benefit more playing in AAA since he did get hurt a couple of times last year and only has about a half year experience in AAA.

[folly412]

Would have liked to see Freitas for several reasons. I don't really get trading for Freitas and having him on the 40-man if he's not going to be called up after over-performing at AAA. If his 40 man spot is in question, better to try him out and know whether he's worth keeping around. Burning another option on Nottingham seems unnecessary if there's a good alternative, which there is. Nottingham is still only a young 24, think consistent playing time while healthy is better for him than 10 days where he might not catch two days or get more than a handful of PAs.

[Lathund]

I would have expected Freitas to come up tbh, as this seems more like a short call-up where the backup catcher won't play much. But I would also assume that Nottingham's familiarity with the pitching staff plays a part in him getting the call.

[PeaveyFury]

Burning another option on Nottingham seems unnecessary if there's a good alternative, which there is. Nottingham is still only a young 24, think consistent playing time while healthy is better for him than 10 days where he might not catch two days or get more than a handful of PAs.

 

Nottingham's option was already burned when he went to AAA. Bringing him up has no effect on that.

 

Your second point, though, is very valid.

[sveumrules]

Maybe the front office views Freitas as a better long term option so they want him to keep playing every day in AAA while Nottingham is more familiar with our pitchers which makes him a better fit for the one or two games whoever got the call would end up playing?

 

Last year Jacob came up to cover for injury in April but Kratz got the call later in the season when they needed someone more long term. If Freitas keeps hitting in San Antonio something similar could play out again later this summer.

[adambr2]

While Nottingham hasn't been terrible, Freitas has a .451 OBP and isn't striking out much. Heck he might be an upgrade over Pina if given the chance. But that's for down the road a bit. For now I can live with Nottingham though with just a 4 man bench, the backup catcher needs to be a threat with the bat too.

 

Being a backup catcher is primarily about defense. I would always rather have a 600 OPS backup catcher that's strong defensively than an 800 OPS bad defender.

 

Freitas is a top notch defensive catcher. Certainly on the surface better than Nottingham. This move isn't a big deal to me but yeah I'm surprised it wasn't Freitas.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

While Nottingham hasn't been terrible, Freitas has a .451 OBP and isn't striking out much. Heck he might be an upgrade over Pina if given the chance. But that's for down the road a bit. For now I can live with Nottingham though with just a 4 man bench, the backup catcher needs to be a threat with the bat too.

 

Being a backup catcher is primarily about defense. I would always rather have a 600 OPS backup catcher that's strong defensively than an 800 OPS bad defender.

 

Freitas is a top notch defensive catcher. Certainly on the surface better than Nottingham. This move isn't a big deal to me but yeah I'm surprised it wasn't Freitas.

 

I'm certainly not complaining, as I really like Nottingham's long-term future, but I agree that it is surprising. The only thing I can figure is that they view Pina's absence as a short-term thing, and wanted a catcher up who was familiar with most of the arms at the big league level.

[Roderick]

I'm certainly not complaining, as I really like Nottingham's long-term future, but I agree that it is surprising. The only thing I can figure is that they view Pina's absence as a short-term thing, and wanted a catcher up who was familiar with most of the arms at the big league level.

 

 

That, plus another stretch up with the big league team to keep him hungry can't be bad. Mini-vacation for his knees.

[CheezWizHed]

I would imagine that Pina's injury is fairly minor and the expectation is that this will be a 10 game stint. Thus Nottingham's experience with our pitchers probably trumps any other delta between him and Freitas.

[jerichoholicninja]

The Brewers.com article says that Nottingham is known for his defense. I've never heard of the writer of said article and I'm pretty sure he's never heard of Nottingham either.

[KeithStone53151]

While Nottingham hasn't been terrible, Freitas has a .451 OBP and isn't striking out much. Heck he might be an upgrade over Pina if given the chance. But that's for down the road a bit. For now I can live with Nottingham though with just a 4 man bench, the backup catcher needs to be a threat with the bat too.

 

Being a backup catcher is primarily about defense. I would always rather have a 600 OPS backup catcher that's strong defensively than an 800 OPS bad defender.

 

Freitas is a top notch defensive catcher. Certainly on the surface better than Nottingham. This move isn't a big deal to me but yeah I'm surprised it wasn't Freitas.

 

Fair enough, I don't know much about Freitas personally. Just moreso pointing to the last sentence of his comment. Freitas is not the future, it's probably better to give Nottingham a look to see how he handles inconsistent playing time. I don't think Nottingham will ever be an everyday catcher...best case for him is probably an even split of playing time with another solid catcher on this team. He'll have to learn to adjust to inconsistent playing time and so far has not adjusted.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

 

Fair enough, I don't know much about Freitas personally. Just moreso pointing to the last sentence of his comment. Freitas is not the future, it's probably better to give Nottingham a look to see how he handles inconsistent playing time. I don't think Nottingham will ever be an everyday catcher...best case for him is probably an even split of playing time with another solid catcher on this team. He'll have to learn to adjust to inconsistent playing time and so far has not adjusted.

 

It should be pointed out that Freitas is only 30, and is playing a position known for having players who come on later than normal. It's probably doubtful, but it's not out of the realm of possibility that he's being looked at as a future contributor.

[SRB]

Freitas is a no-bat catcher regardless of a hot stretch at AAA. Nottingham is a better PH option to have, which is why this makes sense given that he will only have to play in the field 1-2 times before Pina gets back.