Nope he doesnt hit left handed and that's the end of the intrigue. The contract sucks, he's a shitty catcher and we lose valuable core pieces that we cant afford too hang onto in two seasons. The end. Vasquez or Murphy are the only smart fits.
I would be fine with Vasquez but he wants to be the unquestioned starting catcher for a team. Not happening here. I don't see how we get Murphy without giving up Hunter Brown. Which to me is an absolute deal breaker after losing Verlander. I expect Contreras OR a much cheaper option like Narvaez, Alfaro, or Barnhart
Literally none of that is true. It's rare somebody makes that many observations and has every single one be false.
Your left handed argument is weird because you then advocate Murphy or Vasquez as the only smart fits and they both hit right handed as well. Also, they will both block Lee and/or Diaz. Also, Murphy would require being traded for.
No. Quite the opposite. However, I think the benefits of playing regularly far outweighs the benefits of seeing Maldy's prep but not playing regularly. I would say that for any prospect.
Vazquez will not even consider returning because of the lack of starting opportunity and how he was used last year. He doesn't hit left handed ( wasn't that one of your biggest objections regarding Contreras) And is a marginally better hitter than Maldy. Career OPS+ of 85 Lee and Diaz are not "stud prospects". They are both currently well outside any top 100 and project to he roster filler players unless they improve Murphy will cost the team much more than Contreras, as the A's are asking for MLB ready players, not prospects. Minimum of 3-4 players starting with Brown or Garcia Garcia, McCormick, and Matijevic would be absolute lowest potential option to be considered. Probably closer to Brown, S. Martinez, Paredes, and Hensley Murphy is not worth talking about anymore.
The idea that we have any young catchers who are likely to be plus major league hitters that are also capable of catching in our minor league system is pretty laughable. I have every belief at some point in time Korey Lee will be playable in MLB, but he ain’t doing anything other than Ops-ing 550-650 and competently catching. Which fine- at catcher and for minimum wage that’s plenty fine. But it’s not something any sane person would let get in the way of signing an actual major league all star caliber catcher.
Plan B since Abreu chose us. Would've been our plan B if he chose them. These Guardians are pretty fun for a young team.
There is no extension for Tucker, and it is very unlikely there will be an extension for Tucker. The Astros have tried several times to extend Tucker and he isn't interested. There are no discounts, he will cost the going rate. How many of the people you listed will catch 60-80 games a year? How many of those guys play the position with the lowest OPS+ in baseball? How many of those guys will replace an OPS+ of 69 with an OPS+ of 128+ 40-50% of the games? Teoscar Hernandez, Hunter Renfroe, Suarez and others you listed have an OBP% of 300-315. Bryan Reynolds would cost a fortune to trade for. When Josh Bell can gear up as a catcher for 60-80 games a year, we can talk.
From what I've heard from Nook and read elsewhere, the Stros think Diaz might be a plus bat at C and has the physical skills to be a decent major league catcher. His biggest issues are motivation to catch and getting enough reps. I personally don't think it makes sense to pay market rate for an external catcher when the money could/should be earmarked for eventual extensions for current players but it's Crane money.
Not significantly less than Abreu got, and Abreu's the superior hitter on paper. Abreu's contract looks better and better the more big names that get signed.
Again - Contreras hits well from both the left and right side. So does Jose Abreu. That would be adding two bats that that are efficient from either side in one off season.
Ok I get this is a parody and here is a slightly off-topic rant: as a lefty who played the catcher position in little league, it is a travesty that coaches steer left handed kids away from catching. I get that lefties can't play 3B or SS (well) but catching shouldn't matter, especially when it comes to doing the main job which is catching pitches from a pitcher. You actually have an advantage picking off the runner at 1B -- where a player throws to a lot more than a runner on 3B. The main disadvantage a lefty catcher has is tagging out a runner at home; your right-handed glove has to come across the body to make the tag. But it is sad that us lefties are discriminated against at the C position and are relegated to playing the outfield or 1B only. It's not like righties are discouraged from playing first. /end rant
I kind of think Crane is gearing up for it Last Dance style, with a strong 3 year run followed by a rebuild. The decision 2 years from now for Bregman and Tuve will be the big ones. The reality at that point is we'll have had one of the more impressive sustained decade long runs -- combination of picking low in the draft plus the lost picks will catch up to us at some point. I could see with someone like Contreras the debate of 4 years vs. 5 years being meaningful. I doubt we do a full fledged tear down, but there's likely to be a couple reloading years in there -- we're just not going to be able to keep the whole rotation and Tucker around forever.
I'm surprised he only got 2 years...given his age, I would assume he'd be gunning at a minimum for a 4 year deal. Good deal for the Guardians in this market, especially the years. And the Abreu deal is holding up pretty well.
But Contreras's games catching limit appears to be 110-ish, which does not contradict your 90 games number ... but ... catching 1 in 3 games versus 1 in 2 games could be difference maker :shrug:
