Chris Iannetta is the latest addition at catcher by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the wake of Welington Castillo’s departure. Who is set up for the most playing time next season?
After choosing not to tender a contract to Welington Castillo, the Arizona Diamondbacks had some questions to answer at the catcher position for next season. With Chris Herrmann and Oscar Hernandez already on the roster, they signed veteran backstop Jeff Mathis to a two-year deal and also claimed 27-year-old Juan Graterol off waivers.
However, Arizona indicated that they were not quite satisfied yet at the position. Reports surfaced that they were interested in one of the Red Sox’s young catchers such as Blake Swihart. This made some sense, considering new D-Backs general manager Mike Hazen’s Boston ties. But Arizona was apparently not willing to meet the Sox’s justifiably high asking price, and they moved on.
Matt Wieters is the big name still on the catching market, and although Hazen suggested that he might check in on the free agent, that didn’t seem like a strong possibility. Instead, the D-Backs have settled on another backstop with years of experience under his belt, agreeing to terms on a one-year, $1.5 million deal with Chris Iannetta.
OFFICIAL: The #Dbacks agree to terms on a 1-year contract with catcher Chris Iannetta. pic.twitter.com/7aDzOCFAYO
— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) January 14, 2017
As a corresponding move, they designated Graterol for assignment, removing the young catcher with nine games of big league experience from the mix.
So who will be the Diamondbacks’ primary catcher in 2017? It will probably be a fluid situation, but right now the newcomer Iannetta seems likely to start more games behind the plate. Like Mathis, he brings more than 10 years of major league catching experience to the table.
Neither has been much of a hitter over the course of his career, but Iannetta has been much closer to average. Iannetta owns a career .229/.346/.397 slash line (99 OPS+), compared to Mathis’ lowly .197/.254/.308 (53 OPS+).
In terms of defense, Mathis safely outclasses Iannetta, especially recently. Both have averaged a 4.6 Def rating from Fangraphs during their careers. However, dWAR likes Mathis better with an average 0.8 rating against Iannetta’s 0.4. Mathis has also averaged 2.9 DRS (defensive runs saved) per season at catcher to Iannetta’s -1.6.
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All things considered, the two players’ defensive disparity probably isn’t great enough to overcome the fact that Iannetta edges Mathis with the bat by a significant margin. He also has far more experience handling the bulk of a season’s catching duties. Iannetta has eclipsed the 100-game mark in a season four times in his career. Mathis never has, averaging 59 games played per year.
And that’s apparently right around where the D-Backs brass projects him for 2017. Last month, new manager Torey Lovullo said that he expects Mathis to catch around 60 games next season. That probably won’t change much, even with the addition of Iannetta. With multiple options, Arizona will probably ride the hot hand over time.
That said, Herrmann is still a name to watch. Though he played in a modest 56 games for the D-Backs last year, he posted a healthy .284/.352/.493 slash line with six home runs and 28 RBI in 166 plate appearances. He’s not exactly a neophyte at 29 years old and five seasons of a career .623 OPS in his ledger. However, if his hot bat carries over into next season, he could definitely push Iannetta and Mathis for playing time.
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The appeal of Mathis and Iannetta is their veteran status and the fact that what you see is pretty much what you’ll get. Steadiness is not a bad thing to have at a relatively thin position. Iannetta is the better hitter and Mathis the better defender, allowing the Diamondbacks to pretty much platoon accordingly. The team will hope that Herrmann emerges, but for now they have a few choices and will see what sticks.