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Email a copy of 'Blue Jays Agree To Minor League Deal With Jarrod Saltalamacchia' to a friend
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jdgoat
Ugh just use a good defender with no bat like graterol. We don’t need a backup catcher who isn’t good at defense and has a bad bat.
SuperSinker
Why.
jdgoat
Defense is more important in a catcher and although salty could be alright offensively, I’d much rather have a good glove no bat catcher
Erik Trenouth
Exactly. Thankfully this is just a Minor League deal, and other guys like Hanigan can be brought in on a similar deal to compete in ST
jdgoat
The only thing that I like about this is that he’s handled a starting job before and he hits righties better than lefties, so when we’re facing the tougher guys like tanaka and archer we could give Martin the day off and hopefully not lose to much offense
jakem59
Hanigan’s defense has completely eroded. He was basically Saltalamachia with a worse bat last year.
patborders92
Martins not much of a hitter anymore
JaysFan19
He was like top 5 in offense for catchers last year and was the only one in the AL with 20 homer behind the plate
jakem59
He was 6th out of 8 qualified catchers in oWAR, and actually was a negative with the bat. He was also 7th in overall WAR. His only above average asset last year was his pitch framing, and he only ranked 25th in that. Perez and Lucroy also had 20hr.
Iron Mike
compared to other catchers he was
filthyrich
No stat values catchers fairly yet.
To qualify as catcher is a big achievement alone!
I have to go min 275PA before I get close to 30 samples to compare from last season.
By ESPN version of WAR- Martin ranked 13th of top 29 based on min 275PA.
Pretty good, but the value to me is in being on the field… Still not top 5 for Martin!
He’ll hit if he can avoid getting too dinged up. Unlikely.
Last summer says he’s still got it, but last year in general says he’s aging before our eyes.
First six weeks of last year were brutal, I’d bank that he can at least repeat least year’s offensive numbers.
And the rapport with the staff can’t go unmentioned. There is a way he works with them that seems linked with how they overachieve.
Still can’t call him top 5 though? Maybe if everything went healthy..
jdubs346
He isn’t a great defender
Mike McLellan
Why not Navarro?
acm14
Navarro is pretty poor defensively (not that Salty is better) and would command a major league deal. Low risk insurance option here
jast25
Really! Horrible choice. Might as well give AJ Jimenez a shot as a backup. What they have to lose
emceecee
Think that might be why it is a minor league deal…. If AJ Jimenez doesn’t look like he can handle it during spring training they have Saltalamacchia and Juan Graterol to fallback on. Sounds like a good plan. no?
Iron Mike
agreed
osonvs
Don’t mind this signing. It’s a minor league deal at low cost. This doesn’t mean it’s the be all and end all of looking for a backup but at least it provides options and depth, especially considering there isn’t a lot of depth after Martin.
jdgoat
Ya I guess, his only real job is to give Martin a day or two off every week and if he does that it’ll be fine
clintwolfron
wish my twins could have signed Salty, I think Joe Mauer could have really shown him the ropes and mentored him
Iron Mike
shown him the ropes? he’s in his 30’s. He’s well aware of the “ropes”
clintwolfron
he could have learned a lot from Mauer
Gunnerson
i love that line
redsfanman
Looks like it’s time for Graterol to hit the waiver wire again!
I bet he winds up in Anaheim for the third time this winter.
clrrogers
I’d prefer Salty as the backup in AAA mentoring whatever young catcher we place there (assuming either McGuire or Jimenez). Hoping we keep looking elsewhere.
mcconaugheyslincoln
What can he mentor in? His defensive metrics rate below average and he has always been a back up catcher. So what he preps guys to carry bags?
SupremeZeus
No Dbacks?
mark0817
Why not bring Reese McGuire up to get his feet wet in the show and learn from one of the greatest defensive catchers in the game?
Doc Halladay
Because McGuire’s bat still needs a lot of seasoning and would get completely exposed in the MLB.
mcconaugheyslincoln
Hey Mark I agree. Reese is solid. And even tho not a notch above double A he would do well learning from Martin. I would have been happy them carrying him on from spring training.
But salty. That is the pop thole did not have. He is streaky but I think he is a lot better than Navarro doncha think?
mark0817
I know Reese bat needs work but catcher position is primarily defensive position so having him up to learn the defence side from Martin would help his career come along nicely and ready him for a full time role at the cost of offence production from a back up catcher position.
Salty is a much better upgrade over thole with the bat but I think defence should be the primary aspect of a back up catcher which salty lacks in greatly.
JaysFan19
Just think of it this way, tigers fans went into last season knowing this guy was their starting catcher.. us jays fans don’t have it all bad
bobbleheadguru
McCann was (and still is) the Tigers starting catcher. He took the job from Avila in 2015.
bobbleheadguru
One thing about Salty….
He represented the best value in a jersey as measured by letters/$ spent on the Tigers roster. You would have gotten FOURTEEN letters.
Compare that to Ex-Tigers pitcher Fu Te Ne (only TWO letters).
Smart Jays fans will grab his jersey if they are looking for value.
Iron Mike
hahaha that was awesome
tylerall5
Great analysis.
66TheNumberOfTheBest
They can hang it next to their Mike Krushelnyski Maple Leafs jerseys.
mcconaugheyslincoln
Y’all forget we had scrabble before he got important as a midlife inning guy.
mcconaugheyslincoln
Lol middle. But midlife works ha ha
terrymesmer
I wish the Jays had taken Tyler Heineman in the rule 5 draft. FG had this to say at the time:
“Tyler Heineman hit .259/.344/.351 at Triple-A this past year while logging 63 games behind the plate. Heineman’s short on power, but the switch-hitter’s contact-oriented approach has resulted in decent OBPs in the upper levels. Furthermore, both Clay Davenport and Baseball Prospectus rate him as a very good defensive catcher.”
terrymesmer
At the time of the rule 5 I had this thought:
“Imagine the Jays putting five switch hitters on the 25-man roster for 2017: Justin Smoak, Kendrys Morales, Dexter Fowler, Dalton Pompey, and Tyler Heineman. Three are under contract, Heineman would be basically free, with Fowler the only player who might be tough to sign.”
mcconaugheyslincoln
Right and that team you propose does not make the playoffs.
wiggysf
Anyone notice that he is Saltalamacchia as well as Salatlamacchia?
mcconaugheyslincoln
This is a good signing. Pop for a year. People forget we have Reese McGuire. He is sound defensively. A year at triple A and he can step in.