In his weekly notes column for the Boston Globe, Nick Cafardo explores the possibility of a Cubs/Red Sox World Series while also sharing some hot stove items…
- The Cardinals may have some interest in Derek Norris. St. Louis currently has Eric Fryer penciled into the backup catcher role, with prospect Carson Kelly waiting in the wings at Triple-A. Norris has received interest from multiple teams (including the Rays) since being released by the Nationals earlier this week, so he could prefer to sign somewhere that can offer him a clearer shot at a starting job, rather than settling for a role as Yadier Molina‘s understudy.
- According to scouts Cafardo has spoken to, Norris would be best served by avoiding the Cardinals and other NL teams in order to stay in the American League. The general consensus among Cafardo’s sources is that Norris isn’t much of a defender, so playing for an AL team would allow him to take the field as a DH. The scouts do praise Norris’ work ethic and leadership abilities, on the plus side.
- The Marlins are looking for third base help in the wake of Martin Prado‘s hamstring injury, and Cafardo suggests that Brett Lawrie could be a fit. There isn’t any suggestion that Miami is specifically targeting Lawrie, though it makes sense that the team is doing its due diligence on third base options. Prado is undergoing an MRI today to determine the severity of his hamstring issue. Lawrie isn’t healthy himself, as he is looking to fully recover from a lower-body injury before signing a new contract. The Marlins already have the left-handed hitting Derek Dietrich to fill in at third, so if the team did need depth in the event of an extended DL stint for Prado, a righty bat like Lawrie would make sense for platoon purposes (though utilityman Miguel Rojas is also on hand).
- Along with his previously reported June 15 opt-out date, Red Sox right-hander Kyle Kendrick will also have a chance to exit his contract Aug. 15. Kendrick signed a minor league deal in January, but he has since become a legitimate contender to serve as the Red Sox’s sixth starter at the outset of the season. The 32-year-old last pitched in the majors in 2015, when he started in all 27 of his appearances with the Rockies and logged an ugly 6.32 ERA in 142 1/3 innings.
Norris at DH would be brutal. He should try to be a part time catcher somewhere. Mets maybe?
d’Arnaud, Plawecki, Rivera. He’s not a fit, fortunately.
Exactly. Why would a team want a DH who can’t even surpass the Mendoza line.
What is Houston’s plan for a third catcher? Gattis will DH and backup McCann, but if something happens to McCann in a game, they’ll lose the DH. Could he serve as a third catcher with minimal playing time?
Gattis will split time with Beltran at DH I believe.
Gattis is a Horrible catcher compared to Norris
Beth and gattis similar type of player
Gattis way better DH than Norris
How dare those scouts that Cafardo spoke to call out Norris about his Defense lol. I mean I only watched every game he played in a Padres uniform and saw the same thing from the eye test. Butttttt, westcoastryan is going to hop on here any minute and give everyone the advanced metrics as to why Norris is so good and name call everyone who choose’s not to agree. Just wait for it, wait for it..
Careful
Ryan takes screen shots
Why would someone try to argue that Norris was a good defensive catcher? He was near the bottom in almost every counting stat like PB, WP, and Errors, they ran all over him the past two seasons, he was 89th of 104 catchers in pitch framing. Now there are 4-5 articles in the past few months including the one by Buster Olney today saying he didn’t get along with his pitchers and teammates. I can’t seem to find anything he did well on defense.
I never understood why when a player is suppose to be out for a short period of time all the writers have to find his external replacement. Who wants Lawrie anyways???
The Cardinals don’t need norris at all. Fryer is a great back up, if yadi goes down, kelly can back up fryer. Mo needs to stop collecting bad catchers like pena and cruz. Waste of money.
Cardinals won’t sign Norris. They should probably focus on a starting pitcher. The depth isn’t as glorious as they think.. espeacilly after seeing the Ace Wainwright give up 10 runs in 1 and a half innings.
Spring Training, genius.