Tampa Bay Rays: Three catchers to target
The Tampa Bay Rays will look to upgrade their catching corps this offseason.
Even after taking the Los Angeles Dodgers to six games in the World Series, the Tampa Bay Rays kick off the offseason in desperate need of catching.
Last year, the Rays saw three different players split time behind the plate. This trio, comprised of Mike Zunino, Michael Perez, and Kevan Smith, was a tale of two tapes. Defensively, you could call this group elite. Zunino and Perez each recorded a .996 fielding percentage in at least 28 games, while Smith was a perfect 1.000 in 16 games.
On the other hand, watching these guys at the plate was not fun. Last season, Tampa Bay catchers combined for a dismal batting average of .176 and only 32 hits in 205 plate appearances. Both those marks were good for 28th in the league.
The Rays front office kicked off the offseason but cleaning house at the position. Tampa Bay declined Zunino’s $4.5 million club option and waived both Perez and Smith. According to Juan Toribio of MLB.com, the Rays are interested in potentially bringing back either Zunino or Smith, but Perez has already been claimed by the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Let’s check out three potential offseason targets for the Rays to upgrade at catcher.
Mike Zunino
The Rays would like to learn from their past mistakes. The biggest mistake in recent memory involving catchers? Tampa Bay let go of Travis d’Arnaud at the end of 2019 in an effort to prevent spending any considerable money. Of course, d’Arnaud went over to the Atlanta Braves and smashed baseballs at the plate. Last season, he hit .321, slugged .533, and knocked in nine home runs and 34 RBIs.
Unlike the situation in 2019, Tampa Bay could easily bring Zunino back for cheap. Last season, Zunino hit .147 with just 11 hits in 75 at-bats. His OBP was excruciating at .238 and he struck out 37 times.
Of course, this isn’t the prettiest option. But, a 29-year-old catcher that only hit better than .200 in half of his eight MLB seasons, Zunino would be cheap. And we all know that the Tampa Bay Rays enjoy keeping as much money in their pockets as possible.
Tyler Flowers
It should be noted that the Tampa Bay Rays currently employs one catcher on its 40-man roster: top catching prospect Ronaldo Hernandez. While Hernandez hasn’t played professionally above Class A Advanced, don’t be surprised if the Rays look to expedite his trip to the big leagues.
It’s very possible to see Hernandez in a big-league uniform halfway through the 2021 campaign. That being said, Tampa Bay will probably look for cheap, timeshare candidates that appeal to its analytics staff.
Enter Tyler Flowers. The 35-year-old Flowers hits unrestricted free agency after a season playing backup to d’Arnaud in Atlanta. Throughout his career, Flowers has been regarded as a premium pitch-framer who mashes left-handed pitching.
A primary defender who can successfully hit at one side of the plate? That’s the primary definition of a Tampa Bay position player. According to FanGraphs’ advanced metrics of catchers, Flowers recorded a 0.4 fielding rating. The majority of catchers on this list ranked negatively in this category.
While Flowers’ production against lefties has hit a downturn in recent years, Tampa Bay will be happy to look at the entire body of work here. Throughout 12 seasons, Flowers owns a .234/.333/.391 batting line against lefties. The 35-year-old is also decent at hitting to all fields.
Against lefties, Flowers has a pull percentage of 42.5 percent but hits to center field or opposite field nearly 60 percent of the time.
The Tampa Bay Rays could likely sign Flowers to less than $2 million next year, which makes this an even better possibility.
Matt Wieters
Matt Wieters is another solid catching option if the Tampa Bay Rays are truly looking to upgrade its offensive production at the position. Wieters has spent the last two seasons playing backup to Yadier Molina with the St. Louis Cardinals.
Unfortunately for Wieters, his offensive numbers are trending in the wrong direction. Nonetheless, the 34-year-old is still a career .249/.313/.409 hitter.
Despite recording zero home runs in 19 games last season, he’s been considered a successful power hitter throughout his career. In 12 years, Wieters has hit 146 home runs and 550 RBIs.
If the Tampa Bay Rays look to bring on Weiters, it would of course be in a timeshare role. Wieters is no longer the four-time All-Star caliber player, however offers a home run threat at the plate.
After spending eight years with the Baltimore Orioles, Wieters is also no stranger to playing at AL East ballparks, especially Tropicana Field. He’s seen 2,323 at-bats at AL East ballparks, with 191 coming at ‘The Trop’. In these 191 at-bats in Tampa Bay, Wieters has hit .319 with five home runs, 17 RBIs, and 13 walks.
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The 34-year-old is comfortable playing in the AL East and definitely adds some potential pop to the Rays’ lineup. Tampa Bay could surely sign the veteran to a contract less than $1 million.