While most deadline buzz surrounding the Padres has involved Andrew Cashner and Melvin Upton, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link) reports that San Diego is also “pushing hard” to trade catcher Derek Norris.
Norris has been rumored as a trade candidate for months, thanks to the Padres’ rebuilding plans and the club’s desire to permanently promote top prospect Austin Hedges (who has crushed Triple-A pitching over the last two seasons). In his examination of the catching trade market, MLBTR’s Steve Adams described Norris as no less than “the likeliest player in all of baseball to get traded.”
The issue, however, is that Norris is on pace for the worst hitting season of his five-year MLB career. Norris is hitting just .204/.263/.379 with 12 homers over 312 plate appearances. His .247 BABIP indicates a bit of bad luck, though he also has a career-high with a career-high 28.8% strikeout rate. It seemed as if Norris had turned the corner by delivering an .824 OPS in June, though he has struggled again this month. On the plus side, Norris had traditionally been considered a poor defensive catcher but as per both Baseball Prospectus (FRAA) and Fangraphs (Defensive Runs Saved) metrics, Norris has been one of baseball’s better defenders behind the plate in 2016. He has also thrown out 16 of 55 baserunners trying to steal on him this season.
Despite the rough hitting numbers and now two straight years of a subpar on-base percentage, Norris should still garner some interest. He is only 27 and is controllable through the 2018 season, as he is earning $2.925MM this season in his first time through arbitration eligibility. It was only two years ago, of course, that Norris reached the All-Star Game as a member of the Athletics.
Jonathan Lucroy is unquestionably the top name among catchers available in trade talks, so it’s possible the Padres may not get any momentum towards a Norris deal until Lucroy is off the board. On the flip side, the Brewers are obviously asking for a lot in return for their star backstop, so teams unwilling or unable to meet Milwaukee’s price for Lucroy could turn to Norris as a cheaper alternative.
The Rangers and Indians have both been linked to Lucroy, though they’ve also been connected to other big-time targets — the Rangers for top starters like Chris Sale or several arms from the Rays’ rotation and the Tribe to Aroldis Chapman. If either club has to surrender a big prospect package to land one of those targets, they might not have the young talent necessary to get Lucroy, so Norris could be next up. Texas, notably, had interest in Norris in the offseason and even in April when Robinson Chirinos hit the DL. The Astros like Norris, SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo reports, though it isn’t clear whether Houston and San Diego are actively discussing a deal.
Lol he’s a solid hitting catcher in a down year. Also playing in a division where he’s facing pitchers such as Kershaw, Bumgarner, cueto, samardzija, greinke, and some solid relievers within the division. So it’s not the easiest environment for him to be hitting .300
Indians might end up with him since Brewers want a lot for lucroy
Braves looking for a cheap catching option over the next two years could have interest. Like many others I believe Norris is better than his stat line indicates this year
I’m curious, why do you include “in the national league”?
Because he thinks that the AL having the DH automatically makes them better hitters, despite all of the evidence seeming to show that the leagues are a lot closer in general. If you rank all ML teams in BA, 8 of the top 15 are AL teams and 7 are NL teams. It is the exact same in OPS+ as well. Some people just prefer making their own assumptions act as facts.
Wouldn’t mind him with the Braves at all. Veteran receiver and with Flowers he should get enough rest.
I’d be fine w/ Norris coming to Atlanta.
Get it done Coppy.
Better option (financials included) than what most Braves fans are hoping for.
Norris will be gone by the deadline. The key is when the Brewers finally trade Lucroy.
Blair for Norris get it done Coppy
Blair would be enough imo. Padres can use a mlb ready-ish SP
Please Padres trade him so we can see Austin hedges full time!!
Lucroy to Indians and Norris to mets