Washington Nationals Backup Catcher Options for 2018 Season
By Tim Boyle
After a poor season from Matt Wieters, the Washington Nationals will need to spend this offseason reassessing their catcher options. This means doing more than filling the backup role with a veteran who owns a catcher’s mitt and shin guards.
Last winter, the Washington Nationals postured as long as they could when searching for a new catcher. They entered Spring Training with Derek Norris and Jose Lobaton expected to open the season on the 25-man roster. Then they struck a deal with veteran Matt Wieters. The contract paid him $10.5 million in 2017 and the same in 2018 if Wieters decided to remain thanks to a player option.
The long-time Baltimore Orioles’ catcher didn’t fair well in his first season with the Nationals. Through his 465 trips to the plate, Wieters slashed .225/.288/.344. He added just 10 home runs and struck out 94 times. Twice he has struck out more, but in each of those seasons he had more than 100 more chances to fan. Clearly, the Nationals got the raw end of this deal.
Wieters will likely use his player’s option to stay in Washington for another year. The worst season of his career statistically did some serious damage to his reputation and would have surely ruined any chances at a favorable free agent period.
As the Nationals decide on who their second-string catcher is next year, they will have to do more than sign a veteran. They need a guy who can actually take over the starting role if needed.
Wieters is not going to give the Nationals the kind of All-Star production he did early on in his career. To ensure the position doesn’t become an automatic out like it often was in 2017, the Nationals need to look at their options. They include these three catchers.