Veteran catcher Matt Wieters remains among the top free agents still available. Could the Atlanta Braves be a fit for the switch-hitting backstop?
Last offseason, along with Colby Rasmus and Brett Anderson, longtime Baltimore Orioles catcher Matt Wieters was among the first crop of free agents to accept a qualifying offer. Wieters appeared in only 101 games between 2014-15 and also had to battle back from Tommy John surgery. It appeared that his goal was to put together a healthy year, and then hit the free agent market once again, which he has now done.
Although Wieters has had better seasons, especially from 2011-13, he still enjoyed a solid campaign this past year. The 30-year-old slashed a respectable .243/.302/.409 with 17 home runs, and he earned an All-Star nod for the fourth time in his career. Behind the plate, he had a 35 percent caught stealing percentage, which was above the league average of 29 percent.
With Welington Castillo now in Baltimore, it would appear that the O’s have moved on from the Matt Wieters era. For quite a while now, many have wondered if there could be a potential fit between Wieters and the Atlanta Braves. Wieters played his college ball at Georgia Tech, where he was a first-round pick of the Orioles back in 2007, so signing with the Braves would represent somewhat of a homecoming.
In November, MLB Trade Rumors predicted that Wieters would receive a three-year, $39 million deal and sign with the Braves. Recent tweets from ESPN’s Jim Bowden have helped keep the Braves rumors alive.
Matt Wieters remains on the Atlanta Braves target list according to a club source. https://t.co/sl0wntiyVR
— Jim Bowden⚾️🏈 (@JimBowdenGM) December 25, 2016
Heading into Spring Training, the Braves already have three catchers in Tyler Flowers, Anthony Recker and Tuffy Gosewisch. Though the Braves probably have enough depth at the catching position, they do at least appear to be open to the possibility of adding someone else.
Also asked about Wieters by others -- we are good with what we have, but if something crazy falls into our lap we would have to consider. https://t.co/uwLgjPT8NY
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) December 15, 2016
John Coppolella #Braves GM on Wieters: “Matt is a talented player, It would come down to price and years." Price and years are dropping btw
— Jim Bowden⚾️🏈 (@JimBowdenGM) December 25, 2016
Wieters is represented by Scott Boras, whose clients typically don’t come at a discount. It will be interesting to see how long Wieters will have to remain on the free agent market before his asking price begins to drop.
It is certainly fair to wonder how much Wieters is actually worth as well. He is still a very good catcher and posted a 1.7 fWAR last season, but it wasn’t exactly the 4.4 mark he had in 2011.
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Still, the Braves have been rather bold this offseason, bringing in veteran pitchers R.A. Dickey and Bartolo Colon while also extending center fielder Ender Inciarte. Moreover, with a promising young shortstop in Dansby Swanson and sluggers such as Freddie Freeman and Matt Kemp bolstering the middle of the order, the Braves may not be that far away from crawling back into contention.
It will be interesting to see whether or not Wieters fits into what the Braves are building for the future.