What does Red Sox catching look like in 2024?

simplicio · Aug 9, 2023

Hernandez has been on the 40 man before and passed through waivers. I don't think he needs protecting. Scott should have a place though.

Sandy Leon Trotsky · Aug 9, 2023

simplicio said:
Hernandez has been on the 40 man before and passed through waivers. I don't think he needs protecting. Scott should have a place though.

His improvement this year would likely make him a target IMO. Last season it was understandable but there’s very few teams that couldn’t find a platoon spot for him.
Im predicting McGuirre and Wong to start but they’ll protect Hernandez and we’ll see him over McGuire at some point.

simplicio · Aug 9, 2023

You think they'll protect him and Scott? 4 catchers on the 40 is kind of a lot.

Petagine in a Bottle · Aug 9, 2023

How often do catchers get taken in the rule 5? Feels like it’s difficult to hide a guy who isn’t ready at that position, especially since no teams carry three catchers anymore.

Red(s)HawksFan · Aug 9, 2023

Ronaldo Hernandez is not going on the 40-man roster unless there's an emergency and they need him to fill in. He was passed over last year in the rule 5. Catcher isn't really a position that works well with the rule 5 rules unless the drafting team is desperate at the position. And if they're that desperate, they're more likely to sign journeyman free agents of the Plawecki/Alfaro variety than pick someone with zero MLB experience.

jon abbey · Aug 9, 2023

NY lost a catcher a few years ago in the rule 5, Luis Torrens, to the Padres, even though he wasn't close to ready. I agree they're not easy to hide on the 26 man roster but I also think NY will protect 4 or even 5 catchers this winter (you can see details if you care on the NY 40 man thread I posted yesterday).

JimD · Aug 9, 2023

Scott is still fairly new to catching, which (to me, anyways) seems a little odd for a guy who's made it to Worcester already. Definitely an interesting roster decision upcoming - ideally, if you're protecting a AAA player, you'd like him to be ready soon to contribute on the major league level, right?

Sandy Leon Trotsky · Aug 9, 2023

simplicio said:
You think they'll protect him and Scott? 4 catchers on the 40 is kind of a lot.

No, just Hernandez

johnnywayback · Aug 10, 2023

I can't imagine a scenario where they'd protect either Hernandez (who's out of options anyway and has almost zero chance of making this or any other major league roster until/unless his defense dramatically improves) or Scott. I assume they'll do the same thing next year they did this year -- be grateful for the Wong/McGuire combination and look for fungible Caleb Hamilton types to stash away on minor league deals in case of emergency.

Sandy Leon Trotsky · Aug 10, 2023

johnnywayback said:
I can't imagine a scenario where they'd protect either Hernandez (who's out of options anyway and has almost zero chance of making this or any other major league roster until/unless his defense dramatically improves) or Scott. I assume they'll do the same thing next year they did this year -- be grateful for the Wong/McGuire combination and look for fungible Caleb Hamilton types to stash away on minor league deals in case of emergency.

I was maybe misunderstanding recent comments about Hernandez, but I thought that his defense had improved. And enough that he could catch maybe once per time through a rotation? His bat looks good enough for a non-contending team to pick up and have him as that for next season IMO and hope he'd improve enough to become more of a 2/5 backup type. Good hitting Catchers are pretty hard to find, so for someone with his offensive potential I don't think it's difficult to imagine him getting claimed

johnnywayback · Aug 10, 2023

Sandy Leon Trotsky said:
I was maybe misunderstanding recent comments about Hernandez, but I thought that his defense had improved. And enough that he could catch maybe once per time through a rotation? His bat looks good enough for a non-contending team to pick up and have him as that for next season IMO and hope he'd improve enough to become more of a 2/5 backup type. Good hitting Catchers are pretty hard to find, so for someone with his offensive potential I don't think it's difficult to imagine him getting claimed

I'd bet a pretty large amount of money on him neither being protected nor claimed, but I think it'll be moot anyway. He's out of options and the Red Sox aren't going to dump one of Wong/McGuire to carry him on the major league roster next year, so any team that really wants him just has to wait until he's DFAd.

Fishy1 · Aug 10, 2023

johnnywayback said:
I'd bet a pretty large amount of money on him neither being protected nor claimed, but I think it'll be moot anyway. He's out of options and the Red Sox aren't going to dump one of Wong/McGuire to carry him on the major league roster next year, so any team that really wants him just has to wait until he's DFAd.

I think the issue is more complicated than you are presenting it to be. The Sox have two catcher in AAA in Hernandez and Scott - one of who is reportedly a good defender and the other who is not - both of who are mashing. Scott's strengths have been covered (he's been a low batting average, high BB rate, low K rate guy with some pop before going absolutely nuts in AAA), while Hernandez's batting line this year (.259/.353/.487) is deceptively mediocre. Note first of all the astronomical change in BB rate and K rate over last year, and then note the BABIP. He is managing an OPS over .800 while batting only .257 on balls in play!

This, to my mind, is a guy who appears to have made a leap in the way he approaches his plate appearances and has the worst luck (assuming it's not luck and an artifact of his change in plate pproach) of his minor league career on balls in play. If you adjust his BABIP to his career norms, or even just to .300, you've got a guy who's hitting .300/.400/.540 at AAA at the only position where the Red Sox need hitting.

While I agree that it's great that McGuire and Wong are cost-controlled, if the rumors are true and Hernandez's catching is much improved, you absolutely can contemplate using one of McGuire and Wong as trade bait, because Wong is a bad hitter (fine for his position) and McGuire is terrible and possibly surviving only on smoke and mirrors (has had good BABIPs throughout his career despite miserable exit velocities and hard hit percentages). Wong and McGuire both offer good things on defense (running game, framing) respectively, but neither of them can really hit.

I maintain the Sox could potentially improve their lineup majorly by slotting one or either of these guys in at catcher over McGuire or Wong. Whether the risk of defensive loss (or the risk the guys flame out, although I'd argue they couldn't be worse than McGuire) would be too much to justify the change is another question, one I don't feel qualified to answer.

Fishy1 · Aug 11, 2023

One other thing I'd note is that Mcguire's pop-time went from 50th percentile last year to 24th percentile, while his framing is still excellent. He's caught 4 people stealing against 28 attempts, a career-worst mark. Scott has caught 1 guy against 16 attempts, Ronaldo has caught 10 against 42 attempts.

2023:

2022:

HangingW/ScottCooper · Oct 30, 2023

Yeah, Wong/McGuire is absolutely fine unless you can somehow get a stud. If the trade market presents that opportunity, great, but this shouldn't be a focal point.

simplicio · Dec 5, 2023

In a coaching role or something? I don't see the interest from a gameplay perspective unless they're trading McGuire.

Mr. Stinky Esq. · Dec 5, 2023

JM3 said:
View: https://twitter.com/ChrisHenrique/status/1732035093353370091

Interested in him... to play baseball?

chawson · Dec 5, 2023

simplicio said:
In a coaching role or something? I don't see the interest from a gameplay perspective unless they're trading McGuire.

They could be trading Wong. He's got some value with five years of control left, and Teel is possibly up by the end of the year to handle the bulk.

simplicio · Dec 5, 2023

They could, but a Maldonado/McGuire tandem for a year sounds completely unbearable.

moondog80 · Dec 5, 2023

Maldonado has failed to hit .200 in each of the last 3 years. He does have some pop though -- 12, 15, and 15 HR.

Petagine in a Bottle · Dec 5, 2023

No one is signing a minor league deal in early December, though.

chawson · Dec 5, 2023

I would like to note that Gary Sánchez had better marks than Connor Wong in pitch blocking, pitch framing, pop time, exchange time, and arm strength (mph in throws to 2B) last year, and has a career .882 OPS at Fenway. He just put up the best contact rate of his career.

I like Wong but with Teel’s proximity to the big leagues it could be a good time to explore his market and value to some money-stretched team. Garver's been mentioned here and I like him too, but since he apparently can still catch — or perhaps suddenly can — I kinda like the idea of giving Gary a 2-year-deal as a C/DH bridge to the Teel era.

YTF · Dec 6, 2023

Unless a deal has already been done, I wonder how this sort of thing sits with the 2 catchers on the roster or if it even matters at all.

YTF · Dec 6, 2023

JM3 said:
Some people were speculating this was a goodbye post from Reese today, but who knows? Seems like a bit of a stretch outside the concurrent Maldonado reporting.

View: https://www.instagram.com/p/C0hVMXeuQVM/?igshid=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==

It does seem a bit random if not. Maldonado will be 38 in August and I must say that I was surprised to see that he played in 116 games last season, all at the catcher's position and as a starter in each of them. That's not me saying that I'm hoping that he's joining the team, just saying that I'm surprised to see him catching so many innings at that age.

Rich Garces Belly · Dec 13, 2023

chawson said:
I would like to note that Gary Sánchez had better marks than Connor Wong in pitch blocking, pitch framing, pop time, exchange time, and arm strength (mph in throws to 2B) last year, and has a career .882 OPS at Fenway. He just put up the best contact rate of his career.

I like Wong but with Teel’s proximity to the big leagues it could be a good time to explore his market and value to some money-stretched team. Garver's been mentioned here and I like him too, but since he apparently can still catch — or perhaps suddenly can — I kinda like the idea of giving Gary a 2-year-deal as a C/DH bridge to the Teel era.

Originally I was reading that there was mutual interest between Sanchez and the Padres in reuniting but it seems stagnant. Additionally, Snell has credited Sanchez with makinghim more aggressive and getting out of jams better this past season.

Sanchez doesn’t get on base much or hit for average but with his improved catching ability and undeniable power I think he would be a great signing. With a weak catcher free agency market the Red Sox could potentially get something valuable for Wong.

chawson · Dec 13, 2023

Roberto Perez already knows the Andrew Bailey pitching academy, so assuming it’s an mL deal, he’s a great AAA/third catcher if the plan is to rebuild Criswell, Walter, Murphy, and whoever else we option to Worcester. (Maybe they option Houck in the early going?)

What does Red Sox catching look like in 2024?

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