Mets, Marlins Interested In Torrealba

According to Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post, the Mets and Marlins have interest in free agent catcher Yorvit Torrealba.  The Rockies would like to bring him back, but otherwise they’ll look at Paul Lo Duca or Michael Barrett.

The 29 year-old Torrealba hit .255/.323/.376 in 396 ABs this year.  Typically he hits for a touch more power.  Meanwhile the average NL catcher hit .257/.318/.394 in 2007, so Torrealba’s bat is tolerable.

Torrealba was lousy at throwing out baserunners this year, checking in at just 19.7% caught stealing.  Only Jason Kendall and Johnny Estrada were worse among qualifiers.  Oddly Torrealba threw out 40.4% of baserunners in 2006 and 35.7% the year before.  The reason for the decline is most likely a strained shoulder that lingered into the season.

Torrealba earned $1.075MM in ’07, and he might be looking for $3MM or more in ’08.  Regarding the Marlins, they’re also interested in Barrett, Kendall, and Ramon Castro if they don’t keep Miguel Olivo.