Backup catcher is immediate priority
MILWAUKEE — Ruben Amaro Jr. said he targeted closer as his first major position this winter because he expects shortstop to take quite some time to fill. Jimmy Rollins is expected to wait out the market for his desired five-year deal. Depending on how long Jose Reyes, the top shortstop on the market, remains unsigned, Rollins could linger.
Backup catcher is immediate priority
Matt Gelb, Inquirer Staff Writer
MILWAUKEE — Ruben Amaro Jr. said he targeted closer as his first major position this winter because he expects shortstop to take quite some time to fill. Jimmy Rollins is expected to wait out the market for his desired five-year deal. Depending on how long Jose Reyes, the top shortstop on the market, remains unsigned, Rollins could linger.
"I don't see that moving particularly quickly," Amaro said. I just had a feeling that would be the case."
So here at the meetings, Amaro said his immediate priority is to sign a backup catcher. That could happen in the coming days. Brian Schneider remains a possibility to return after two years with the organization, but Amaro has engaged other free agents too.
The Phillies liked Schneider because of his defensive abilities. The pitching staff had no problems with him behind the plate filling in for Carlos Ruiz. That will probably help Schneider's case. His .502 OPS and 38 OPS+ will not help.
So if the Phillies seek an offensive upgrade, there are options. Ryan Doumit hit .303 with an .830 OPS. But he reportedly turned down a one-year, $3 million offer from Los Angeles, so he could be pricier than the Phillies want.
Three backup catchers already signed and that's likely why the Phillies will act now on that position. Rod Barajas ($4 million), Henry Blanco ($1.2 million) and Matt Treanor ($1 million) all signed one-year deals within the past week.
Other free agents include Chris Snyder, Kelly Shoppach and Ramon Castro.
Have a question? Send it to Matt Gelb's Mailbag.
Anybody but Brian Schneider. He was horrible last year. A -0.9 WAR in only 41 games. That is unspeakably bad. I mean, even Matt Treanor was better last year and he is a horrible player.— Armyofthe15Monkies- Why no mention of Ivan Rodriguez?— ronin32
- Brian was terrible last year he cant hit or play defense anymore. i dont think he threw out a single baserunner last year. We have a guy in AAA Erik Kratz who had a very fine year and hes cheap.— Joey0210
Comment removed.- I question your ability to be able to READ! All the guy said was, He had a good year and was cheap! So you think you're going to get a top tier catcher as backup for about 1 million a year? If that's the case, you're not intelligent enough to say anything to anyone! — twpman
- Eh this isn't much of a concern for me. I hear ya Army that he was bad last year but it was career low bad in BA, OBP, wOBA and BABIP. It depends on if you think those numbers are an accurate reflection of his skills or that he'll regress some to his mean. I don't know the answer to that but I do know that backup catcher should not be the priority now.— TeamAwesome
- Don't get any from Venezuela.— burholme
- Team Awesome, I think he would have to be better last year. As you stated, they were all career lows and it would be almost impossible to have a BABIP of worse than they .225 of last year. The defense is more of a concern for me. He only threw out 3 of 23 runners and looks to be trending down defensively. Also, agree with you that there should be more pressing concerns right now.— Armyofthe15Monkies
- The Phillies have been lucky for several years now in that Ruiz has'nt suffered an injury that would keep him out for several months.
They really need to go out and get a quality backup - not just a body.
Ivan Rodriguez , though way past his prime , would be a logical choice. The might have to pay more that the other hacks like Schneider to get him. He can still throw and hits half decent.— candidly - Really dude? Backup catcher? If you consider that a priority your fantasy team is gonna suck. Schneider hit .176 in a 139 AB's. You mean that Dane Sardinha can't match that? Even if Goosewich hits half of it, at least Halladay likes throwing to him.— don julio
- Yea Army, I guess it would have to be dependent on how much money they are willing to (or should be willing to) pay for a backup. Schnider made 1.5M last season.
I think it's clear that he isn't a great defensive catcher now. All the metrics have issues with catchers but I personally don't love the CS stat- it has a lot of other variables (how good is the pitcher at holding runners on, is the runner being held on at first, good throw not handled by fielder etc). Curious on others thoughts...but for me for a backup catcher, I think I'd prefer someone who could be adequate receiving but be a good offensive player.— TeamAwesome - typical rube garbage - spends unnecessary extra $6 million on a closer( $50 million v $44 million -- Papelbon will NOT be an upgrade from Madson -who was probably best closer in baaseball last year).. and then can't afford a backup catcher who can hit over .200) --clueless about how to build a team— warbiscuit
- Why not give Kratz or Gosewich a chance. Can't take another year of Schneider— mikespinner
- Comment removed.
- Their record was incredible in games Schneider started, which is amazing because he was so horrible. Bring in someone else.— phillyinsd
