Matt Wieters is still looking for a new team, and the catcher is short one more potential landing spot now that Braves have agreed to sign Kurt Suzuki. Atlanta had long been cited as a candidate to sign Georgia Tech alum Wieters; just under 30% of MLBTR readers predicted the Braves as Wieters’ next team in a poll last month.
ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick explored the Wieters market in a series of tweets (1, 2, 3, 4), including the news that there is some sentiment within the Orioles organization to re-sign Wieters to a one-year deal. Under this arrangement, Wieters would split time with Welington Castillo behind the plate while also getting some at-bats as a DH. While Wieters is popular with Baltimore’s on-field staff, however, Crasnick describes the O’s as “a long shot” for Wieters since the team’s analytics staff has reservations.
Wieters would certainly be an upgrade over current backup catcher Caleb Joseph, and a one-year deal would give the Orioles future flexibility at catcher — Castillo has a player option for 2018 and top prospect Chance Sisco is close to being ready for the big leagues. Wieters would still carry a not-insignificant price tag even on a one-year contract, and the Orioles might not be keen to spend that much on the catcher position when Joseph is still in the fold at a low price and could rebound from his dismal 2016 season.
A timeshare-esque situation in Baltimore also wouldn’t necessarily help Wieters’ chances at scoring his sought-after multi-year contract next winter, so he could prefer a clearer path to playing time. An MLB source with knowledge of the catching market tells Crasnick that the Angels, Rockies and perhaps the Reds seem to be the best fits for Wieters on a one-year deal. The Angels have reportedly had some internal talks about Wieters already, while the Rockies could use a more established catcher in lieu of their planned Tony Wolters/Tom Murphy platoon.
The Reds are a new name in the mix, and their interest in Wieters or any other established catcher hinges on Devin Mesoraco’s health. Mesoraco underwent hip surgery last summer and was scheduled to begin catching drills around this point in January, so more should be known about his injury situation in the next few weeks. Since signing a four-year, $28MM extension after the 2014 season, Mesoraco has barely been able to get onto the field, playing just 39 games total in 2015-16 due to shoulder surgery and procedures on both his left and right hips. Tucker Barnhart handled most of the work last year in Mesoraco’s absence, hitting .257/.323/.379 in 420 PA and posting strong blocking numbers according to Baseball Prospectus, though both BP and StatCorner rank Barnhart as a below-average pitch framer. Rule 5 pick Stuart Turner is the only other catcher on Cincinnati’s 40-man roster.
The Diamondbacks and Nationals have both been linked to Wieters at various times this winter, though Crasnick echoes other recent reports in saying that the Nats don’t seem to have much interest in Wieters. After Washington acquired Derek Norris, there were rumors that the Nationals could sign Wieters and then flip Norris, though one would think that the Nats could’ve just signed Wieters rather than trade for Norris in the first place. It doesn’t seem like D.C. is a fit at the moment, though “you can never rule out the Nationals with Scott Boras clients,” Crasnick writes.
Don’t know why Angels are not interested.
How do you know they aren’t ?
The vaunted medial has not made one link between these two camps. So, what do you know that we don’t?
I’m not saying I know anything. You are the one who said “Don’t know why the Angels are not interested”
It’s possible the Angels have secretly signed Wieters and they’re not announcing it just to watch this thread go south
I love how people think that if it’s not reported the team isn’t interested. I didn’t see a single report that the Rockies were interested in Desmond, then they signed him. I’d be willing to be more than half the “interest” is never reported. And a lot of the interest that is reported is phony. Like the Cardinals interest in Dozier. The Cardinals GM said, news to me, when asked about it.
Same with the recent Valbuena signing. The only link I heard anywhere was from a buddy who has known Luis for a long time. But everyone had to keep it on the DL. This was back in October.
Well you’ve got to know something.
Heres why hes unsigned Boras started off asking for a $13 mil AAV
Wellington Castillo signing at $ 4 mil -totally messed up his market.
Theres prob several teams that would sign him at $ 4 mil – but Boras
is prob still looking for $8 – $10 mil AAV.
That is the hold up.
From what I remember Castillo signed for either $6M or $7M
Wellington Catillo signed for $6MM in 2017 and also has a $7MM player option for 2018. He should be plenty motivated to produce in Baltimore this season which would allow him to opt-out. If the Orioles signed Wieters to split time behind the plate, that might make a Wellington opt-out less likely with fewer games in which to produce.
Da 416?
If the price was right the Jay’s could look to sign weiters as a backup catcher and platoon 1b. Drop Smoak out of the rotation
Is wieters really that valuable of a 1b though, not saying he’s not an improvement over smoak just a thought
I like versatility. Smoak provides a 1b/DH that is going to strike out a lot and hit .225. If the Jay’s could use Bautista/Pearce/ with a 1b/RF platoon and mix a left handed bat of Weiters in at 1st and backup catcher then Gibbons could play the handedness advantage more.
I have been saying this for a while now. If the Jays could get him on a 1-2 year deal at a good price they could look to package both Upton and Smoak for a reliever if possible
Doubt he goes to Toronto, they don’t deal with Boras much
Kind of surprising to see the Reds listed. Not that it doesnt fit, but you’d figure they would go a cheaper route and stash someone in AAA. Tucker is capable of catching most games again if Mesoraco cant get back on the field in ’17.
Long shot possibility is the Brewers swooping in and grabbing him on a one year deal with the hope of flipping him at the deadline. Brewers kind of like the guys on their roster, especially Susac, but Wieters would clearly be the number one. If he can be had at a number that’s reasonable and even $7-8 million would easily fit in their budget, it’s possible.
Susac > Wieters this year and moving forward
Boras and Moreno had a falling out
Although, Boras apparently attends Angels games..
Anyway, I would be all for Wieters coming back to the O’s, but I do not have high hopes of Wieters returning, but I would not mind him returning to the flock for at least one more year.
The most notable Boras client on the Halos roster in recent history was Jared Weaver, and he signed a hometown discount. Other than that, the theory seems to be legitimate that Moreno doesn’t like to work with Boras.
And yes, Boras goes to a ton of Angels night games every season and he sits right behind home plate. He can be seen every pitch and I’m actually surprised any time he’s not there. I’ve always wondered if he enjoys being seen on camera to spite Moreno. I’ve also wondered if he’d ever be interested in purchasing the Halos.
It would be interesting to see Boras as an owner. I wonder how he would negotiate with other agents.
I wonder how he would negotiate with other agents.
Get the Popcorn would I
LOL, I wonder if Moreno would sell the Angels to him
I think Arte would rather poop himself in public before he would ever sell the team to Boras. At any rate, it would be extremely interesting to see Boras running the Angels. I imagine it would be a similar feel to Jerry Buss’ days as an owner in LA. Unlike anything the Halos have had before. It’s all hypothetical, I have nothing to base that off of.
Why don’t the Mariners make a play, they seem to love having multiple players at every position lol
Dipoto wants revenge on Duquette for getting the best of him.
True, and we have no idea what Zunino is gonna do this year. He’s a mystery
If Dipoto doesn’t want to work with anyone who gets the best of him in a trade, then he would only trade with the Astros.
Because they traded for Carlos Ruiz from the Dodgers and also have Mike Zunino. That’s why.
If Wieters is willing to take a 1 year deal… Seattle should jump on it. Zunino is not yet ready offensively (especially vs RHP) and may never learn to lay off the slider down and away. 33+% K-rate is ugly. If Zunino progresses then they could move Wieters before the deadline.
The O’s should have zero interest in bringing back Wieters. If they really wanted him, they wouldn’t have signed Castillo so early in free agency. At this point in his career Wieters is pretty much just a DH that can occasionally catch and play a few games at first. He would be a huge waste of money, probably worse than the Gallardo signing.
Can’t agree more. Os have much experience watching him not earn the mega bucks he was overpaid on QOs. What they did behind the plate this offseason will bridge them until Cisco is ready. Another Boras overvaluation.
I read somewhere that Wieters had his best defensive season since like 2011 or 2012. I know he’s not good at pitch framing, but he’s still a starting catcher.
Weiters to the reds would be good for both. Assuming it charges him up- good flip candidate at the break and only cost Cinci $3-4 mill.
Rockies.
No way. They’re not spending $10m on a catcher when they have Murphy and Wolters, who complement each other perfectly. Not even sure Wieters could beat them out. Only way I see that happening is if Murphy is in a trade, maybe for Quintana.
I thought the Halos would sign Weiters, but it seems even more unlikely after the Valbuena signing. The Major League roster seems to be getting pretty full of guys who I imagine would expect to get substantial playing time.
Despite being in rebuild mode, it would not shock me to see the White Sox sign Matt Wieters to a one year pillow type contract or perhaps a deal with a second option year. The White Sox don’t have an established MLB catcher on their current 40-man roster. They did sign veteran Geovany Soto to a minor league deal with an invite to spring training to possibly platoon with left-handed hitting holdover Omar Narvaez who was a pleasant rookie surprise in 2016.
The White Sox top rated catcher in their farm system is Zack Collins who was their #1 pick in last June’s Rule 4 draft. He is an advanced college bat who is also ranked among MLB’s top catching prospects mainly because of his hit and power tools. His ETA is late 2018 or 2019 so signing Wieters to a short term deal makes some sense. It would also give the White Sox an experienced receiver as they begin promoting their elite pitching prospects, perhaps as soon as this summer.
Even though the White Sox are rebuilding, they still have a somewhat competitive ball club presently, only having dealt Chris Sale and Adam Eaton thus far. If they fail to consummate another deal before opening day they would still have a potentially respectable starting rotation in Jose Quintana, Carlos Rodon, Miguel Gonzalez, along with veteran comeback candidates Derek Holland and James Shields.
With better health than last season, the White Sox bullpen might actually be pretty good in 2017 with closer David Robertson and setup men like Nate Jones, Dan Jennings, Jake Petricka and Zach Putnam. A second #1 June pick from last year is flame-throwing Zack Burdi who is being groomed as the clubs future closer and has already excelled at three levels in his short pro debut, including AAA. Burdi should be ready for prime time later this summer.
Their starting infield of 1B Jose Abreu, 2B Brett Lawrie, SS Tim Anderson and 3B Todd Frazier is also not too shabby. They also have a solid utility player in Tyler Saladino who can hit, run and play good defense along with a solid reserve glove at 2B in Carlos Sanchez.
It’s their OF that appears below average with only veteran switch-hitter Melky Cabrera as a proven commodity, at least offensively. Signing a veteran like Wieters and perhaps adding a short term veteran OF to another pillow type contract might actually make the White Sox competitive to begin the season. At worst, adding a couple more veterans would give the organization a two more flip pieces in advance of the summer trade deadline, joining impending FA’s Frazier, Cabrera and Lawrie. Win-win?
Cubsoxcessful that makes a lot of sense
Catching is the halo’s only offensive weakness. If we get wieters, our lineup is going to be outstanding! Think about this….
C. Maybin
K. Calhoun RF
M. Trout CF
A. Pujols DH
C. Cron 1B
M. Wieters C
L. Valbuena or Y. Escobar 3B
D. Espinosa 2B
A. Simmons SS
Bench:
B.Revere OF
M. Maldanado and C. Perez C
L. Valbuena or Y.Escobar 3B
J. Marte and C. Pennington IF
Just add some starters and some bullpen and this team is ready to win 85+ games
The Angels batting order is average at best, even with Matt Wieters. With the current pitching staff they’d be very fortunate to win 75 games.
Shut up
Tough year for Matt to be on the market. I’m sure he’s as happy as the O’s feel silly for paying him $15.8M last season. Your big spenders are pretty much set at catcher, Boras was banking on the Braves to throw a ton of cash at him and it just didn’t happen. If Wieters were smart, he’d go to Colorado on a 1 year deal, inflate those offensive numbers during those 81 games at Coors Field then jump back out on the market.