Rizzo said he wanted a full time catcher.
Suzuki has not caught 120 games since 2015
Suzuki is good, though. In an non-full time role.
So... what does this mean?
Other than "definitely going to sign a pitcher" I'm not sure.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
12 comments:
2 year $10MM seems high for Suzuki
I wonder, since they seemed so high on Raudy Reed before his suspension last year, if their plan C - if they can't get another quality C on the market or via trade - is to give Reed his shot to back up/split time with Suzuki?
Saving $$$ in the catcher slot to buy:
(a) a real closer;
(b) another SP;
(c) long-term deal with Rendon;
(d) Bryce for only slightly less than 10/$400MM;
(e) none of the above; we just don't spend superstar money on catchers...
None of the minor league catchers is the future at that position; so now they've kicked that can down the road another year or two...
Well, Suzuki is 35 (bad), coming off the best two offensive seasons of his career (good), is a lousy pitch framer (bad), and is apparently good at the non-framing defensive end of catchers (good). Per fWAR, he was worth two wins in half a season. And 2 years/$10M is cheap for an established vet whom Steamer projects to be worth 1.3 WAR in half a season's worth of PAs.
We'll need to pair him off with somebody else, especially given his age, but he seems to be a perfectly adequate choice for half the catching situation, and he's absolutely better than anybody we've had on the team these past two years. The team is better today than it was yesterday, and the catching situation has gone from "sucking chest wound" to "still a problem, but not the worst problem."
The best thing about the Suzuki acquisition is that it makes it virtually a lock that we're not going to engage in a catastrophic overpay for Realmuto that hurts the team in one area as much as it helps us in another.
Yes, I think Suzuki means no Realmuto or Grandal. $5 mill would be too much for a backup catcher.
What will the Nats do next? I think they'd target starting pitching
Classic signing of a guy who always seems better than he is because he hits your own team. 75 ops+ in his previous stink...I mean stint - with the Nats. He can't throw anyone out. He can't frame pitches. The more he plays, the worse your team is. Can Rizzo really have forgotten that? Ugh. I am hoping this is "insurance" like Derek Norris turned out to be.
So, he's not a 120 game catcher. Doesn't this mean they still need to get one? I wonder if a trade coming for a non-Realmuto catcher who is offensively-challenged. Is it likely they have someone (Kieboom, Severino, Read) they like enough to groom for that position? I don't see it.
If they don't get Bryce back, and they don't sign Grandal or trade for Realmuto, then they MUST get a front-end SP and shore up the pen a little more. I'm fine with Max, Stras, Keuchel, Roark and Ross with someone like Hellickson waiting in the wings, but the bullpen needs another reliable arm or two to make me confident in this team. A lineup of Eaton, Turner, Soto, Rendon, Robles, Turner, Zimm, Suzuki isn't that bad of lineup, but the pitching depth simply cannot be as thin as it was last year.
Sorry, mixed that up: Eaton, Kendrick, Soto, Rendon, Robles, Turner, Zimm, Suzuki
Batting Turner sixth is a waste.
Any suggestions on a decent lefty C to semi-platoon with 'Zuk?
Glad Kurt will be back in a Nats uni. He's better than any catcher we've had not named Pudge or Wilson.
Post a Comment