The Cleveland Guardians are a reasonably tightfisted group. They spend sometimes, frugally, and intentionally. So I used to be amused when, some three weeks in the past, they jumped to re-sign backup catcher Austin Hedges to a one-year, $4 million contract. That’s roughly 4% of what the Guardians spent on participant payroll in complete this previous season — and on a backup catcher?
Now, Hedges is likely one of the league’s greatest defenders, on the place the place protection is of the utmost efficiency. And by all accounts he’s the perfect clubhouse man since Spanky from The Little Rascals. However he’s the worst hitter within the league. That’s not an exaggeration; Hedges hasn’t posted a wRC+ over 50 since 2018, and in his previous two seasons he hasn’t damaged 25.
Since 2019, Hedges is hitting .171/.234/.273. Of the 364 gamers who’ve taken 1,000 or extra plate appearances over that point, Hedges is useless final in wRC+ by an enormous margin. Jackie Bradley Jr. is in second-to-last place with a wRC+ of 67; Hedges is at 39. (Which speaks to how far you may get in baseball for those who’re an elite defender and everybody likes you.)
It’s a testomony to Hedges’ different abilities that he’s managed to be an above-replacement-level participant regardless of his offensive inadequacies. But it surely’s simply not the Guardians’ model to fall over themselves to re-sign a place participant — even a backup catcher — with an offensive monitor file like this. Absolutely Cleveland might’ve discovered one other good grasp with good framing numbers elsewhere available on the market. Proper?
Properly, having examined the obtainable choices… no. Free agent catching expertise is so scarce this yr, bringing again Hedges for $4 million really is sensible. The Rockies additionally elected to re-sign the satan they know, Jacob Stallings, who will flip 35 subsequent month. My condolences to Stallings on having a birthday inside per week of Christmas; I can solely hope his new $2.5 million contract will permit him to purchase the happiness he absolutely misplaced in a childhood of mixed birthday-Christmas presents.
Stallings isn’t in Hedges’ class as a defender — few are — however after a profession stuffed with poor offense, he hit .263/.357/.453 in 281 plate appearances for Colorado. Even in Coors Area, that’s a 114 wRC+. Regression could be on the best way (Stallings outperformed his xSLG by 69 factors, to provide one related level of knowledge), nevertheless it’s higher than what’s on the market.
The truth is, let’s take a look at what’s on the market. Stallings and Hedges are spoken for, as is Travis d’Arnaud, a 35-year-old coming off half a season of hitting .238/.302/.436 with common protection behind the plate. That makes d’Arnaud the cream of this free agent crop.
What number of free agent catchers do you assume are nonetheless on the market who produced a minimum of 0.5 win in both 2023 or 2024, or are projected to take action in 2025? That’s not a excessive bar, proper? Half a win in any one in all three seasons, one in all which isn’t even actual but? But solely 10 gamers might meet it.
The Finest Remaining Free Agent Catchers, Equivalent to They Are
| Title | Age | G | PA | AVG | OBP | SLG | wOBA | xwOBA | wRC+ | Off | Def | WAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carson Kelly | 29 | 91 | 313 | .238 | .313 | .374 | .304 | .317 | 99 | -3.5 | 10.5 | 1.8 |
| Kyle Higashioka | 34 | 84 | 263 | .220 | .263 | .476 | .314 | .301 | 105 | 0.3 | 6.0 | 1.6 |
| Yasmani Grandal | 35 | 72 | 243 | .228 | .304 | .400 | .308 | .327 | 95 | -2.6 | 7.7 | 1.4 |
| Danny Jansen | 29 | 94 | 324 | .205 | .309 | .349 | .294 | .292 | 90 | -4.8 | -0.5 | 0.6 |
| Elias Díaz | 33 | 96 | 351 | .265 | .313 | .382 | .303 | .280 | 81 | -10.7 | 4.1 | 0.5 |
| Gary Sánchez | 31 | 89 | 280 | .220 | .307 | .392 | .307 | .315 | 96 | -2.6 | -3.4 | 0.3 |
| Christian Bethancourt | 32 | 62 | 147 | .209 | .241 | .367 | .263 | .274 | 66 | -5.5 | 2.8 | 0.2 |
| James McCann | 34 | 66 | 233 | .234 | .279 | .388 | .288 | .315 | 89 | -4.4 | -1.5 | 0.2 |
| Reese McGuire | 29 | 53 | 158 | .209 | .280 | .295 | .259 | .285 | 60 | -7.5 | 3.8 | 0.2 |
| Yan Gomes | 36 | 34 | 96 | .154 | .179 | .242 | .184 | .266 | 16 | -9.7 | -5.0 | -1.2 |
Candy Jesus.
In a number of of those instances, the offense isn’t that dangerous. The 2 youngest gamers on the listing — Kelly and Jansen — are literally intriguing. Kelly, who’s modified groups midseason two years in a row, hit .302/.388/.419 towards lefties and held his personal towards righties, with a wRC+ of 92. (Take platoon splits for a 313-plate look season for what they’re price.) Each Kelly and Jansen struggled after midseason trades, however Jansen slugged .487 as a part-time participant from 2021 to 2023, and doubtless represents the perfect remaining possibility for respectable offense behind the plate.
Grandal’s total numbers with Pittsburgh have been higher than I assumed they’d be, and he — together with Sánchez and McCann — is an possibility for these GMs who place a premium on remembering guys who have been good a number of years in the past.
You’ll discover that none of those catchers performed a ton. None of those 10 gamers batted even 400 instances in 2024; the ten of them put collectively have solely six seasons of 400 or extra PA and solely a single season of 500 or extra PA since 2020.
I assume that’s not likely a dealbreaker; it’s fairly frequent for groups to go together with a platoon or another sort of time share at catcher. In 2024, solely 9 catchers certified for the batting title — and right here I’m counting all plate appearances by gamers with catcher as their main place, so this consists of Salvador Perez taking part in first base and issues of that nature — and solely 16 had 400 or extra plate appearances.
Maybe catchers are going the best way of the beginning pitcher, the place the bodily and technical calls for of the place are too nice for one individual to bear for a complete season. The trendy catching platoon is the place participant model of the de facto seven- or eight-man beginning rotation.
Or perhaps it solely appears to be like like a vendor’s marketplace for catchers as a result of everybody who’s fascinated with shopping for already has one.
Right here’s an inventory of 21 groups that both completed over .500 in 2024 or presently have a projected payroll within the prime half of the league for 2025, based on RosterResource. These are the groups I’d describe as both contenders or contender-curious. I’ve included every crew’s total wRC+ and WAR totals at catcher in 2024, in addition to the present projected starter for 2025.
Contender-Curious Catching Conditions
What stands out instantly is that the majority of those groups have completely good catchers already. It’s a mix of current prime prospects, extremely paid free agent signings, and homegrown breakout stars. Just a few groups — and I’m talking largely concerning the Blue Jays and Rangers right here — are most likely disillusioned with their manufacturing in 2024, however their incumbent starters have been superb very lately and should have an opportunity to bounce again.
I rely 4 groups on this listing — the Tigers, Padres, Cubs, and Twins — that might stand to improve. And even that could be uncharitable. Twins backstop Ryan Jeffers hit 21 dwelling runs final yr. Jake Rogers can’t hit a lick, however he grades out as an excellent defender, and perhaps the Tigers are relying on the Age of Dillon Dingler dawning within the spring.
Nonetheless, let’s take a look at the place the highest two free agent catchers, by projected 2025 WAR, began this previous season. Kelly was with the Tigers, and Higashioka was with the Padres. Simply run it again — that’s what everybody else is doing.