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Post by gregblossersbelly on Jun 3, 2013 10:23:27 GMT -5
I think Salty is a great platoon catcher who, unfortunately has a huge defensive deficit throwing runners out. His approach at the plate is inconsistent, but when he hits it - boy that ball goes a long way. As a still relatively young free agent, he's going make some nice cash in the off season. That said, I would be all in for McCann on 4 years* in the O.S. with the understanding that he splits time at 1st and ultimately transitions to primarily 1st and DH in year 4. *IF the medicals pass muster. If Xander stays at shortstop. And, I think he will. I'd just go for a defense first catcher. Unless we get Mauer as a salary dump. We have Vazquez maybe two years from being a plus-plus defender. Get a cheaper veteran to bring him along and platoon with Ross until then. We'll have plus offense at second base. I think JBJ is just what the doctor ordered in a cf. OBP, Speed and defense with some occasional pop. I'd sacrifice some offense at C and look to spend on offense from the corner spots.
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Post by James Dunne on Jun 3, 2013 10:59:29 GMT -5
Saltalamacchia's problems at the plate are often referred to as his approach, but I think the way he approaches his at-bats is just fine. He sees lots of pitches, and it's pretty rare to see him pop up or roll over a first pitch and make an out that way. Sometimes he'll take a too-good looking pitch early in the count, but really his problem is that he swings and misses too much, especially at curveballs and sliders when he has two strikes. And it's not necessarily a Delmon Young-type thing where he waves at curves down and away - he seems to miss those pitches in the zone, too. The only player in the majors with 100 plate appearances this year with a lower contact percentage on swings at pitches within the strike zone is Rick Ankiel. That's not approach, it's skill.
Despite that, he does enough to be at least an average catcher. I can agree that there is some sense in trading high on him, because there are some bright flashing red lights in his underlying statistical profile. But the Red Sox are a contending team, so there'd be risk involved to handing the every day job to Ross or Lavarnway.
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Post by Guidas on Jun 3, 2013 11:58:02 GMT -5
So the $13M dollar question - do they make Salty a qualifying offer?
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Post by Chris Hatfield on Jun 3, 2013 12:00:44 GMT -5
We all get that he's a below average defensive catcher, but do you think you could manage to use a statistic that doesn't have Jesus Montero with more defensive value than Matt Wieters right now? Or, you know, go ahead and use it. According to that link, Salty finished with 0.1 dWAR last year, while Lavarnway somehow managed to rack up -0.4. I was going to go with pointing out that their dwar has Tim Federowicz as a below-replacement defensive catcher, but yeah, that's messed up as well.
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Post by Oregon Norm on Jun 3, 2013 14:22:27 GMT -5
This is probably an echo, faint at this point, of stuff that will have much higher visibility as the trade deadline approaches. There are a number of possible scenarios where parts are traded off for young talent. That's the position the Sox put themselves in given their acquisitions this year. In fact, they've done such a good job that, since they may very well be looking like a serious contender as the trade deadline(s) approach(es), this is going to be difficult, in a fun sort of way.
As for the end of the year, I have no idea how the market for tendered players - that is to say those with qualifying offers in hand - will play out. We do know that, in the past, there hasn't been a shortage of teams willing to bid up talent. However people might see his defensive limitations, having a guy who can pop a few down in the six, seven or eight hole, might have appeal to teams, especially guys who can catch. Whether that's still true with the new rules remains to be seen. There's a price to pay if you insist you need a certain player. How many teams will be willing to pay it?
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Post by thelavarnwayguy on Jun 3, 2013 14:46:14 GMT -5
There is a big difference between MIGUEL Montero, and JESUS Montero. Jesus has thrown out 1 runner all year last I looked and is not even in the majors now if I remember correctly. Jesus is not on that chart.
I did cite 2 important defensive stats. dwar is about as valuable a defensive metric as you can get and projected runs cost or gained over a 135 game season is pretty relevant also. And costing a team 17 runs as compared to an average catcher is pretty darn huge.
In terms of CERA his performance this year is worse than Ross's last I looked also. He has been bad defensively for a long, long time.
I get that most analysts would not want to rock the boat on a winning team but Salty is not a championship level catcher IMO. Never will be. If he achieves a championship season, he will probably be one of the guys along for the ride.
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Post by Steve Henley on Jun 3, 2013 14:51:46 GMT -5
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Post by bluechip on Jun 3, 2013 15:05:21 GMT -5
I did cite 2 important defensive stats. dwar is about as valuable a defensive metric as you can get and projected runs cost or gained over a 135 game season is pretty relevant also. And costing a team 17 runs as compared to an average catcher is pretty darn huge. dwar for catchers seems to lag behind the other defensive metrics.
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Post by rdsxmbnt on Jun 3, 2013 16:29:24 GMT -5
So the $13M dollar question - do they make Salty a qualifying offer? Can't see another team matching that and I'd much prefer McCann at that money. Pass on Salty or better yet move him at the deadline if the value is there.
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Post by threeifbaerga on Jun 3, 2013 20:54:02 GMT -5
Yeah I think everyone would prefer McCann at that money. . . which is why he'll get a lot more. Salty seems to be the next best option for a team looking for a catcher for the next few years. All the other free agent catchers are either older, bad, or both.
the question is whether or not you think a team will be willing to give up a first for Saltalamacchia. Judging by what happened to Bourne I'd say no, but last years free agent market was flush with center fielders, a situation Jarrod is not getting in to.
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Post by thelavarnwayguy on Jun 3, 2013 21:45:25 GMT -5
If we offer a QO to Salty at $13 mil he probably would take it. That's the problem with that scenario. Who is going to offer him a multiyear deal in that range? I'm hoping he has a terrific 2nd half and makes that possible.
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Post by tjb21 on Jun 4, 2013 10:25:00 GMT -5
Yeah I think everyone would prefer McCann at that money. . . which is why he'll get a lot more. Salty seems to be the next best option for a team looking for a catcher for the next few years. All the other free agent catchers are either older, bad, or both. the question is whether or not you think a team will be willing to give up a first for Saltalamacchia. Judging by what happened to Bourne I'd say no, but last years free agent market was flush with center fielders, a situation Jarrod is not getting in to. But a team did sign Borne to a pretty good chunk of money. What am I missing?
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