Colorado Rockies Sign Ramon Hernandez
Earlier, I covered the Colorado Rockies trade that sent starting catcher Chris Iannetta to the Los Angeles Angels for the young Tyler Chatwood. The deal did carry some risk, but those risks don’t matter anymore now that the Rockies have signed catcher Ramon Hernandez to a two-year deal worth $6.5 million. This is an extremely inexpensive deal, and it looks like a bargain; Hernandez was worth 2 WAR last season.
Because he is set to make just $3.25 million per year, the Rockies “expect” Hernandez to be worth about 0.7 WAR. However, Hernandez is one of the better offensive catchers in baseball and had a 111 wRC+ last season. It is obvious that he will outperform this deal. Although Iannetta is the better player, Hernandez is actually cheaper by about $300,000.
Ramon Hernandez will be a more than adequate stopgap veteran for Wilin Rosario, and the prospect will probably end up playing before the end of Hernandez’s contract. Hernandez has rarely ever been a full-time catcher, so this split will make sense for the Rockies. Even if he only receives 300 PAs or so, this is still a bargain for the Rockies. A player like Hernandez should be making six or seven million on the open market, but he is instead getting a little over $3 million.
Hernandez should have a 105 wRC+ next season, and he does a solid job of getting on base for a catcher with a .341 OBP in 2011. However, he is terrible on the bases and is a subpar defensive player. His true value is as a hitter, and he will definitely see his traditional statistics receive a huge boost in a far more hitter-friendly ballpark in 2012.
The Rockies new starting catcher actually had his worst year at the plate in terms of discipline, as he was chasing far more pitches than usual and was making less contact. He started hitting more grounders, however he did have a much higher HR/FB% than usual and did not hit many infield flies. None of this matters very much, because a veteran catcher like Ramon Hernandez will not make drastic changes at the plate. This is most likely a product of statistical noise found in a small sample size of 328 plate appearances. However, Hernandez is going to decline next season, whereas Iannetta will maintain his level of production.
That being said, Hernandez should still be at least league-average at the plate, and this will make up for his lack of value in the other facets of the game. I see Hernandez as a 1.5 WAR player who is making less than what he is worth. This was a smart, minor move made by the Rockies to ensure that they didn’t have a mess at catcher. Hernandez will also ease in the prospect Rosario, and the difference between him and Iannetta isn’t huge. Iannetta is the better catcher, but the Rockies did net Tyler Chatwood in their first catching move of the day. Hernandez should outperform his contract by $5 million, and he will continue to be about a league-average catcher. It’s tough to find a solid offensive catcher, and the Colorado Rockies just did, and they barely gave anything up to get him.