by Jason Martinez
Many teams have made catching depth a priority early this offseason as seven free agents have either re-signed with their 2011 team or signed with a new team. The Padres acquired a catcher, John Baker, via trade from Miami a few days ago and now Seattle has joined in on the act by acquiring left-handed hitting John Jaso from Tampa Bay for relief pitcher Josh Lueke and a player to be named later or cash considerations. Here's a breakdown of how each roster is affected by the trade. Be sure to vote at the bottom of the page on who you think got the better of the deal. Consider that the PTBNL will probably be a fringe prospect.
Seattle Mariners
If you're into home run power and a rifle throwing arm, then you're probably satisfied with Miguel Olivo as the team's starting catcher. The 33 year-old had 19 HR in 2011 and has thrown out 34% of attempted base stealers during his nine-year big league career. If you're into on-base percentage, however, then you probably hate Olivo (.279 career OBP) and like the acquisition of Jaso, who had a .372 OBP in 2010 before his production declined badly last season. Unlike Olivo, the 28 year-old Jaso lacks power and only threw out 17% of runners in 2011. But the left-handed hitter, who has 84 walks and 77 strikeouts in 595 career at-bats, would give the Mariners' lineup a much different look a few times per week.
 |
| Jaso will likely share time with Olivo behind the plate Picture courtesy of Icon Sports Media, Inc. |
Trading away Lueke might not seem like a big deal, considering he posted an overall 6.06 ERA in his 25 appearances. However, most of the damage was done against the 26 year-old in eight April games, in which he allowed 12 earned runs in 6.1 innings. He was sent to the minors later that month and didn't return until July 21st. From that point on, Lueke had a 3.42 ERA, 7 BB, and 21 K in 26.1 innings pitched. That's the type of performance that the Mariners are going to need from a few different relievers if they are to compete in the AL West. They're counting on guys like Dan Cortes, Chance Ruffin, and Tom Wilhelmsen to step up and make sure they don't regret trading away Lueke.
Tampa Bay Rays
With catcher Jose Molina signing a one-year deal today, the Rays felt that Jaso was expendable and took the opportunity to bring another good young reliever into the mix. Similar to last offseason, GM Andrew Friedman finds himself looking for inexpensive relievers to fill out his bullpen. Most of last year's group returns in 2012, but closer Kyle Farnsworth and setup man Joel Peralta are free agents after the season so it doesn't hurt to stockpile potential late-inning pitchers now. Lueke, with his low-to-mid 90's heater and split-finger fastball, fits the bill.
Although he's a career backup, Molina is one of the best around at controlling a running game and he's coming off of a very good offensive season (.757 OPS in 171 AB's). If they decide to go with Robinson Chirinos or Jose Lobaton, both 27 year-olds from Venezuela, to pair with Molina, they would surely benefit from the 36 year-old's experience and leadership. Chirinos, who was acquired from the Cubs in last offseason's Matt Garza deal, had a .719 OPS for Triple-A Durham and was 12-for-55 in the big leagues. Lobaton had an .899 OPS in 60 games with Triple-A Durham in 2011 but was just 4-for-34 in the big leagues. The switch-hitter also spent more than a month on the disabled list with a sprained knee. Nevin Ashley, another 27 year-old catcher on the 40-man roster, had a combined .742 OPS between Triple-A and Double-A. All three catchers have been chosen by Baseball America as the best defensive catcher in their respective farm system (Ashley in '11; Chirinos-Cubs in '11; Lobaton-Padres in '09).
Tweet
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment