Most of the free agent market is taking its usual time to develop. Major League Baseball is waiting to hear if and when several top name foreign prospects, including Yoennis Cespedes and Yu Darvish, will be made eligible. While this is the case with nearly every position, there has been an early run on catchers. Already this offseason, five (and nearly six) backstops have signed free agent deals.
Henry Blanco got things started earlier this month, agreeing to return to the Arizona Diamondbacks next season for $1.25 million. In doing so, Blanco slides back into his role as the club’s backup catcher behind Miguel Montero.
Since Blanco’s signing, several other backup backstops have reached agreements with teams. This week, Brian Schneider and Matt Treanor signed deals to become the number two catchers for the Philadelphia Phillies and Los Angeles Dodgers. It’s now being reported that the Detroit Tigers are nearing an agreement to bring back Gerald Laird for the 2012 season. Laird will be used to spell All-Star catcher Alex Avila.
While several catchers have come off the board, only two of those signed figure to see significant time behind the plate in 2012. The Pirates handed Rod Barajas $4 million to become their primary catcher next season. It’s also being reported that the Tampa Bay Rays are nearing an agreement with Jose Molina to complete a platoon behind the plate with John Jaso.
Though there have been a significant amount of catchers signed already, the market’s top options remain. Ramon Hernandez, Ryan Doumit and Chris Snyder all have the potential to slide into an everyday catcher’s role for a club in 2012.
You can check out all of the available free agents by position below.