The Rays are close to signing catcher Jose Molina to a one-year contract with an option for 2013, Major League sources tell Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com.
Molina, 36, is a 12-year veteran who spent the past four-plus seasons in the AL East with the Yankees and Blue Jays as a backup. A defense-first catcher (redundant, I know), Molina is a career .241/.286/.344 hitter, although he posted a .281/.342/.415 line in 2011 with Toronto, albeit in 191 plate appearances.
The Rays went with a catching platoon in 2011, divvying up playing time pretty evenly between Kelly Shoppach and John Jaso. Shoppach, a free agent, will presumably sign elsewhere this offseason, according to Morosi, so Molina could perhaps take his place in that time-share, barring any other moves by Tampa Bay for a catcher.
Molina is a Type B free agent, so the Blue Jays will receive a supplemental first-round pick for losing him.
YAWN
Cover your mouth, please.
A Molina for a young staff? Friedman makes another genius move.
I’ll miss him. Good luck in Tampa!
The epitome of a good back-up catcher. Always played well, happy to have the role he had – good luck in Tampa.
Thanks for the year and thanks for the pick.
He is great at framing pitches which will help the guys who work the corners(Hellickson, Davis, Cobb) and you do not run on Molina’s.
Awesome. Just wish he could hit.
draysbay had it at 4:58pm
I would hope so, considering they only follow the Rays……. Do you think MLBTR breaks all this news first or something? Isn’t if obvious based on the link they provide with every post that they basically scour all baseball sites and get the information posted here?
I was talking about how the article they linked to that was posted at 6:25pm.
Great move. Wish the Angels had signed him…
I liked him when he was on the Yanks. Glad to see people realize he is a very good catcher.
I hoped he would join his brother Yadi in St. Louis.
Theres always Bengie.
I bet my son $1 that he wod for sure sign with STL and back up Yadi. Brilliant move. He was always catching Rays stealing. So now that he’s on their side, that’s 1 less opposing defensive threat holding them on. I love it when he throws out former Yankee teammates. They underestimate him everytime. Plus he’s great @ getting Carl Crawford out too. Not to mention all the scouting intelligence he has on the other AL EAST rivals.
Nice move by TB. Wish the Phillies would’ve got him.
When are the Orioles going to make a move! I think they need to go with Doumit, but is he worth the money. He would provide a lot of flexibility.. to me it’s worth it. To the Orioles who knows?
And congrats Molina, you got yourself a good team in Tampa.
I understand Doumit could DH (and maybe OF?) and I don’t follow the Orioles at all, but Doumit’s primary position is C, and I’m guessing there just might be someone blocking him? I bet Doumit looks for a starting job before signing as a backup C for a team with an amazing young C.
whose going to catch brandon morrow now???
Obviously Morrow will be traded to the Rays.
lol, why not, we have like 9 mlb ready SP’s anyway, what’s one more?
10!
only logical thing to do lol
The almost as highly defensively regarded Brian Jeroloman
i don’t know about that it will probably end up being JP because there is nothing to suggest that jeroloman will have the same chemistry with morrow that Molina had.
Molina is just a better defensive catcher, thats all. There was no extra chemistry, he’s just better defensively
The only problem is that Jeroloman swings a water noodle
no there was look back to morrow’s comments he said that he and molina got each other. when cito was here he talked about it all the time.
http://www.thestar.com/sports/baseball/article/1028019–when-a-pitcher-meets-his-match
The same Jeroloman that just got claimed?.
Do the Blue Jays get a draft pick for him?
Yes, but only if the type B compensation system stays the same in the new CBA (for this off-season, at least)
I hope so.
needs jays rumour tag
Friedman obviously went out and got a Molina because it guarantees a WS berth…
Jose Molina actually gets way too much credit as a defensive catcher. The guy doesn’t move to nlock balls in the dirt, he just swipes at it with his glove.
FINALLY!!! A catcher who can throw out runners!!!!
To be fair, Kelly Shoppach actually was better than Molina at throwing out runners last year.
Shuldve resigned Kelly Shoppach
no
Shuldve resigned Kelly Shoppach
no
Shuldve resigned Kelly Shoppach
no
They should have resigned Kelly Shoppach, dammit!
Shuldve resigned Kelly Shoppach
no
Oh well now I guess the Jays need to sign Varitek. Apparently though he’ll only sign with a team if they give him the ‘C’.
Is there more than one supplemental round in the draft?
No, just one, long round.
Yes. There’s a “Comp Round B” that comes after the third round. Teams that don’t sign their third-round pick end up with a pick there.
Thanks cause I thought I rememberd there being one last year with only one team picking. Angels maybe?
Yup, Mariners picked Carter Capps in that comp round.
1) “A defense-first catcher (redundant, I know)” – With all due respect, kindly keep your opinions out of your pieces. You’re supposed to be reporting here, not pontificating. It looks unprofessional, plus the assertion isn’t even true – see Jorge Posada for the past few seasons, or Mike Napoli during his tenure with the Angels.
2) The Jays will only get a supplemental pick if the new CBA continues Type B draft pick compensation, which seems unlikely.
go pay for an espn subscription if you have a problem with how they report
1) Shut up.
2) This (apparently opinionated) site already posted something this week saying that the compensation rules would stay in place throughout this offseason.
I like his way of reporting.
Take a hike.
This isn’t your ESPN or Fox. AND Thank God for that!
Step 1: scroll to the address bar at the top
Step 2: type in any other website.
Step 3: dont come back
Not a good sign, now we need to find:
-a back-up catcher-2ND base
-Ace or second to Romero
-2 relief guys (extra one for 6-8, and a closer)
-and that’s if EE and Lind play like they did before/after the sucked.Although those 2 have a little more slack because EE finally seems comfortable at DH and if I’m not mistaken it was Lind first year at 1ST which I’m assuming takes a toll.Only good thing coming from the jays is the new jerseys tomorrow!!!
The hope is that JPA will continue to progress and that his bat will get better so he can play more games.
If JPA struggles, I wouldn’t be surprised if we see D’arnaud mid season
Agreed, though Jeroloman could get the call, too. Why is Johnny Mac gone, he was our emergency catcher lmao
Counting out the Sox, eh?
Ha. I like this one.
Casey Kotchman hit about .310 last year, should he be regarded as an above average hitter?
In 55 games though. Maddon is going to use him a lot more, just watch.
It’s hard to keep that cannon arm on the bench which is why Reid got so much playing time, he couldn’t hit but amazing with the glove.
He did that with a .363 BABIP — 70 points higher than his career .290. Neutralize that and… well, he can’t hit.
He said RESPECTABLE.
The Yankees are not a respectable organization if the Red Sox aren’t. Plus… The Orioles are the modern day definition of class and success. What gives?
Excuse you. He YELLED respectable.
I don’t quite understand.
He doesn’t need roids. In the super underground baseball community, Jose Molina has been known as the GOAT, and considered the MVP every season he has played.
He owned CC. I have no idea why. Every time I turned on the TV and he was facing Sabathia, he took him deep. Weird considering the guy gives up .00004697 homers.
I noticed that too. They were battery mates from 2006-2008 when they were both on the Indians, so that could have something to do with it.
Casey has always been a solid if unspectacular hitter in his career. Rarely strikes out and will hit a few homeruns for you.
Which Casey Kotchman have you been watching over the years? The guy hadn’t OPS’d .800 since 2007 and has never hit as many as 15 HR in a season.