The D-backs announced today that they’ve claimed catcher Juan Graterol off waivers from the Reds and designated catcher-turned-outfielder Peter O’Brien for assignment in order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster.
Graterol, 27, made his MLB debut and logged 15 plate appearances with the Angels this past season. The former Royals farmhand spent the 2015 season in the Yankees organization before inking a minors pact with the Halos last winter. He’s a career .274/.306/.338 hitter in parts of three seasons (95 games) at the Triple-A level and has halted stolen base attempts at a very strong 38 percent clip in the minors. Baseball Prospectus gives him average pitch-framing grades in the minors as well. He’s made his way from the Angels to the Reds to the Diamondbacks on the offseason waiver wire thus far and will give the new Arizona front office a seemingly solid defensive depth option behind the dish.
O’Brien, meanwhile, has drawn his fair share of attention over the years due to his gaudy power numbers in Triple-A. Now 26 years old, he’s compiled a career .270/.315/.530 batting line in Triple-A stints with the D-backs and Yankees — New York sent him to Arizona in the 2014 Martin Prado trade — and hit 35 homers in Triple-A as recently as 2015. However, while O’Brien began his career as a catcher, few scouts gave him much of a chance to stay behind the plate due to defensive concerns. Many scouting reports have suggested that O’Brien lacks any real position on the defensive spectrum, and he’s struggled in his brief taste of the Major Leagues to date (.176/.228/.446 with six homers but 32 strikeouts in 79 plate appearances). His pop could make him alluring to another organization, but questions surrounding his defense may limit the interest.
Padres should trade Dickerson to the Orioles or Blue Jays, claim O brien, and try him out in left field. If O Brien gains some value ship him off if not we still have a surplus of OF talent ready. Not super high on Dickerson and should seek a good package for him from OF needy teams.
He really can’t play the outfield though, either. He’s a DH-only option at this point, and the bat probably isn’t good enough for that even. And Dickerson doesn’t have any trade value.
.257/.333/.455 in 84 games with an OPS+ of 112 has value. And isnt a free agent till 2022.
Good package doesnt mean top prospects.
For instance-
Orioles could trade: keegan akin and alex wells
Blue Jays: angel perdomo and just maese
Those are good deals for both sides. They get an OF that is mlb ready for 5 years and padres add depth thatll be ready come 2019.
I don’t think alex Dickerson gets you three players. I saw him play a lot in college and last year in the majors; he has a fairly flat, line drive swing. He might turn into Nick Markakis or Seth Smith, but he might just be a fourth OF/pinch-hitter type. The defense isn’t great and he’s already 27.
Youre right he doesnt get 3 players. I listed two though for each team. And markakis and smith are decent players and have been semi stars in this league some years. So if dickerson can be thatx which 27-32 is prime years- itll be worth trading for.
Padres are better off keeping Dickerson I see him being part of the OF along with Margot and Renfro in a few years
I rather have jankowski margot renfoe tbh. Margot and jankowski add speed to the lineup
Pirates should claim obrien
Why? They already have Bell at 1b.
O’Brien to the Tampa Rays, Angels, or A’s
That is very surprising O’Brian could be a good fit for the Yankees or the O’s or maybe the Cubs he could be used as another Schwarber and under Maddon who is much better than whoever the D-Backs had at manager. I think it is worth a look for any of those teams
Orioles seem like the clearest fit to me. They need DH and outfield help and O’brien would be hella cheaper than Trumbo, Alvarez or Carter.
The cubs have heyward, schwarber, bryant, zobrist, almora, and jay for outfield and Contreras, montero, schwarber (maybe?) for catcher. Picking up obrien makes exactly 0 sense because he will never play.
Not being able to hit or field finally catches up to O’Brien, who would’ve thought!
He can hit it’s a small sample size in the majors plus he just cannot play catcher up to suitable standards. It’s not like he’s incompetent.
A’s or Angel’s seem to be good fits.
Bit surprised by this. Big fan of Peter O’Brien and hope he lands on a team that will give him an extended shot.
Good fit for the White Sox, A’s, Rays, Royals, Orioles, Indians, Angels, and Yankees.
Think he really could be a fit for the Royals as an outfielder slash first baseman slash dh add that with Garin Checcinan minor league contract. I think that could soften the blow of loosing next year’s free agents they will probably lose. They won’t be those guys but would keep them very competitive
Looks like the type of player the Jays or Orioles like. Lots of power, lots of strike outs. Little to no defensive ability and should DH.
I said the Cubs because it gives them a versatile option off the bench and Is able to bat and this lets them explore trading Montero. That was my thinking
Did you understand the part that says he can’t play catcher? No team can carry a high-strikeout, low-OBP, no-defensive-position pinch hitter. On top of that, the Cubs’ bench is already loaded with quality, versatile options.
There MIGHT be a team who can find a spot for O’Brien, but it’s more likely he’s AAA material, or possibly a guy who plays in Japan, Taiwan, or Korea.
O’Brien has also said he no longer wishes to play catcher anyway.
What in the world is Arz dumping O’Brien for? Saw the guy a lot last year at Reno and he looked awesome
That said, a change of scenery will probably do him good too – really question the development Arz has going on right now
To the A’s, the next Jack Cust.
I have reached the conclusion that Diamondbacks ownership must also own a significant share of MLB TV. I have watched their futility on FOX Sports Arizona for several years. Their apparent goal of achieving mediocrity has never been as close as it is right now. I had planned to “bite the bullet” again this year, but in just a few short months the new GM has been able to totally change that plan. Now, being an avid baseball fan, I have decided to subscribe to MLB in 2017 in order to watch my daily dose of real MLB baseball, as FOX Sports AZ will be broadcasting a daily dose of nausea this season while the toothless Diamondbacks demonstrate how a group of .200 hitters cannot compete against all of the stars that the team has chosen to trade or to release. Perhaps they are trying to show the fans that Dave Stewart wasn’t as bad as he appeared to be. Or perhaps they are trying to pump up the profits of MLB TV …
White Sox claim him now actually this lets them trade Abreu or Melky