Though he’s coming off a huge season split between the Tigers and Cubs, catcher Alex Avila said on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM today that he’s open to a backup role on a contending team (Twitter link). Avila explains that his “number one” priority is signing with a team that has an opportunity to reach the postseason, rather than guaranteeing himself a starting job on a team that is less of a clear-cut contender. Set to turn 31 in January, Avila batted .264/.387/.447 with 14 homers in 376 plate appearances this past season. He also ranked second in the Majors in hard-contact rate (min. 300 PAs) and tied for 18th in average exit velocity (min. 100 batted balls). The Nationals, D-backs and Rockies are among the expected contenders that could add a new starting catcher, while several playoff clubs could look to augment their backup catching option.
A few more notes on some free agents…
- Brandon Kintzler also made an appearance on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM today and revealed that he’s been in touch with a number of clubs but has yet to receive a firm offer (Twitter link). The Nationals and Twins have both reportedly expressed interest in retaining Kintzler, and the pitcher himself revealed that his wife would love for him to sign in Arizona, though Kintzler didn’t specifically state that the D-backs had reached out to him. Moreover, while the former Twins closer would surely prefer a multi-year pact, he also expressed that he’d be comfortable betting on himself on a one-year deal if need be. “I feel like I’m not a guy who can be picky,” said Kintzler, a former 40th-round pick who played independent ball from 2006-09. “A few years ago, I was a minor league free agent just trying to get a job.”
- In need of a fifth starter, the Tigers have had preliminary talks with right-hander Chris Tillman, tweets Jon Morosi of MLB.com. The longtime Orioles righty is coming off the worst season of his career and represents a nice rebound option that the rebuilding Tigers could look to as a potential summer trade chip if he can regain his form. Tillman, 30 next April, had the start of his season delayed by shoulder problems and pitched to a ghastly 7.84 ERA with 6.1 K/9, 4.9 BB/9 and 2.32 HR/9 in 93 innings when healthy. While those numbers are tough to look at, the former second-rounder was Baltimore’s most consistent starter from 2012-16, when he pitched 844 2/3 innings of 3.81 ERA ball. From 2013-16, Tillman averaged 32 starts and 190 innings per season with a 3.91 ERA. MLBTR ranked him 47th on our top 50 free agent list, pegging him for a one-year, $10MM contract in Detroit.
- Carlos Ruiz will turn 39 years old in January, but he’s still hoping to return for another season in 2018, tweets ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick. “Chooch” spent the 2017 season in Seattle, where he batted .216/.313/.352 with three homer sin 145 plate appearances. He threw out a respectable 7 of 30 potential base thieves (23 percent) in his limited time behind the dish but also drew quite poor framing marks from Baseball Prospectus and StatCorner. That said, Ruiz maintained a solid 9.7 percent walk rate and has been lauded for his leadership and presence in the clubhouse over the years. For a club eyeing a more affordable backup option than Avila, he’d certainly make some sense.
Kintsler to the Braves, his wife will love Atlanta.
Nobody in their right mind likes Atlanta
Chooch will play forever
Would be great for the Cubs.
Avila to the Astros makes a ton of sense.
No it doesn’t they have too many catchers. They might even have to let Gattis go.
Who consists of these too many catchers? Gattis could potentially be traded, but it’s not because he is a catcher, rather because he is not a capable catcher and not really good enough to be full time DH. Avila makes some sense there as he would be a backup with a heavy workload.
The biggest drawback is that he bats left handed, which means he’s not an ideal platoon partner with McCann.
Agreed, I wish I would have read your comment before posting my own..
How does it make a ton of sense? Usually, the backup catcher bats from the opposite side of the plate of the primary starter (basically a platoon).. Since McCann is a left handed batter, how much sense does it make to sign another lefty?
Now Avila to the Yankees to back up Sanchez (who bats right handed) actually does make a ton of sense.. He would probably get more at-bats than a usual back-up because Sanchez has a solid bat. He could easily slot into the DH spot for quite a few games. If, Avila is serious about playing for a contender and wants as many at-bats as possible for a back-up, I would have to say the Yankees are for sure his best fit.. The Nationals also make quite a bit of sense but they are shackled to Wieters for $10+ million on 2018.
A back-up for the Astros that makes a ton of sense to me would be Derek Norris.. He had a decent bat a couple of years ago and might benefit from having someone like McCann in front of him on the depth chart. He would also come dirt cheap..
That’s sort of a misrepresentation. Most teams feature a RHH catcher backing up another RHH catcher. There aren’t that many lefty catchers (9 with over 100 PA in 2017) so it’s not accurate to say that teams “usually” feature a platoon partner for their catcher.
Now when your starter is a (-at this point in his career – mostly) bat first lefty, it probably makes sense that you would seek out a defensive righty hitter. Lefty catchers are rare and there is a decent amount of righty hitting catchers so it is probably more of a natural fit to add a player like Norris.
Additionally, Avila’s skillset is pretty similar to that of McCann. It doesn’t necessarily make a ton of sense to have a bat first lefty behind your bat first lefty, especially when you consider that many lefty hitters struggle with platoon splits.
So overall, I agree that Avila backing up McCann doesn’t feel like a great fit, but I disagree (at least partially) on why.
Avila to the Astros
Avila to the Nationals please. Get some time at first and behind the plate. Makes too much sense.
Avila to the Jays. Last year we relied on minor leaguers 3/4 of the year cuz Martin is always hurtin somewhere!!! Makes too much sense!!!!
Yankees seem like the perfect fit for Avila. . A nice lefty BUC for Sanchez..
Offer 3 years instead of 2 for a slightly lower rate.
There are a few guys in the league who are just straight gamers, in that they will do absolutely anything to help the team will. Chooch is one of those players. Despite the fact that he’s 39, he still takes more than his fair share of walks, he can hit above the mendoza line, he has a solid glove, and honestly, he looked very good on the mound last year (lol). He has easily been one of the most underrated players throughout his career and I wish him nothing but the best going forward. First class guy too.
so is avila
Back to the cubs.
If the Yanks jump at Avila then I hope the Braves jump at Romine. Not interested in Kinzler want Addison Reed instead and I believe Tillman would be a perfect fit in Atlanta for what Dickey/Colon were suppose to provide last year. Buy low and look to flip at the deadline. Bring back BP as well.
As much as I want to see us compete I am going into next season with the same expectations as last year giving AA a year to see what he got before putting his moves together.
Which Romine?
Romine (Austin) is basically a AAAA player.. I bet he would do well in Japan or Korea because he usually has pretty solid seasons in AAA.. He is dreadful in the majors though and will probably be non-tendered this year (So the Yankees can re-sign him for closer to the minimum).. I think MLBTR projected him for $1.2 million or so in arbitration this year.. I would prefer they used that money towards Avila or even Chooch..
AA is basically a more modern DD (Dombrowski). DD pretty much builds the best team he possibly can for today and could care less about a few years down the road.. AA always seems to keep a solid grasp on his farm (like DD did when he was younger with the Expos and Marlins).. He has done some serious fleecing in the past (Donaldson), has been seriously fleeced (Tulo, Halladay).. Having him instead of Coppy and Hart will probably speed up the Braves path to contention by a year (at least).. He also has a very solid eye for scouts and talent evaluators.. It seemed like he was constantly trading away the farm only to have solid replacements in 2 or 3 years. In 2012 he traded away Thor, D’Arnaud, Hechavarria, DeSclafani plus many more and still had the ammo for Tulo and Price only 3 years later. AA also loves 10 player trades.. I think he has done around 3 of them since 2011..
I really like AA as a GM and am looking forward to what he does with the Braves starting around the trade deadline next season. I am sure he wants to spend a few months setting up his front office and evaluating the farm before he starts building the team he wants.. When he does start it is going to be a fun ride..
Sorry about the long post.. I looked at your name after I wrote it then realized we have had discussions in the past and that I am not telling you anything you don’t already know.. I just really liked the AA hiring and am actually excited to see what he does in Atlanta.. I don’t think they could have hired anyone better to finish the rebuild..
You do what you have to do to try and make your team better, prospects are just that. For me, as a fan, there’s no worse than waiting and waiting for a prospect and then finding out he’s a marginal player. I don’t know the stats but seems like if the prospect isn’t a top 50 it’s far from a sure bet
I would love to see a kintzler reunion in Minnesota. As the set up guy preferably. Twins traded him away in good faith to a good team. If they had seen what was coming they would have never shopped him.
Give him a year with a mutual option. Win win. He does great he can get a multi year pack, he falls off and twins aren’t on the hook, and right in the middle he has some security.
If the Cardinals want to trade Carson Kelly, Avila would be a nice back up until Knizner is ready.
Agreed! The thought of a blu-chip prospect playing 35-50 (if Kelly is lucky) games for 3 years is asinine and while his value is still high by way of his future projections via lists such as MLB’s top 100 prospects list, they need to package him & again, strike while the iron is still hot which will fade as time progresses!
Derek Norris might be interesting as well if his legal issues have been cleared up…
Kelly’s not getting traded !
Tillman to O’s makes sense, for both sides.
Tillman to Atlanta makes more sense.. His arsenal seems better suited for the National League.. The O’s should sign Sabathia and someone like Jamie Garcia. C.C. would be a great influence on Bundy and Gausman while eating innings and keeping them in the game.. Garcia will be realatively cheap and will also provide an F.IP around 4.00 which is all the O’s need if their offense is firing correctly.. They only need solid innings eaters that were proven last year.. Their window is rapidly closing and betting on a bounce-back from Tillman would be foolish.. I also think Chatwood would be a good fit for them.. He is only 27 so he still has a year or two to grow before reaching his prime.. So, they might be able to sign him for 3-4 years on the cheap and get a pitcher who is possibly emerging into a very solid #3 candidate..
It doesn’t really make sense for him. He’ll likely be looking for a change of scenery and will want to get out of that park
If Avila is content as a back up on a contending team, and the Cubs still want him, he should go back to the Cubs. Terrific defensive catcher and has plenty of pop in his bat. Perfect complement to Wilson Contreras.
I was impressed with him. Since he’s ok with being a backup, I hope they resign him. Great depth if Willson needs days off.
I’m a tiger guy and a season ticket holder. avila IS a starter caliber catcher don’t forget. he’s unselfish and making sure everyone knows it. clutch at the plate and handles pitchers very well. a teammate and a field general. I think he stabs and jerks a few too many close pitches but a good pickup for anyone imo
Kintzler to The D-Backs would make sense. They need a closer, especially after Fernando Rodney is a free agent, and underwhelmed in Arizona. They could put Archie Bradley in a 9th inning role, but I think they’ll likley use him in a role like Yusmerio Petit in 2017. Long relief, occasional high pressure, and late inning chances.
I wouldn’t mind Ruiz as a Cub if he signs for $1 M…it could allow them to save money and increase their chances to sign 2 SP and 2-3 RP, and not trade anyone. Willson will be getting most of the starts behind the plate anyway, as long as he stays healthy (Caratini in AAA 1 more season in case Willy does get hurt).
Avila has got to be coming to DC, right? Meets his number 1 wish of contender, but there is also the chance to start.
He’d be a good platoon fit with Wieters. Like you said, he could become the regular catcher for them, if Wieters under performs again.
Avila to cards. Need back up to Molina when kelly is traded to rays, marlins or blue jays
I’m amazed at how Avila has become a hot commodity. Not because he doesn’t deserve it, but because no one was interested in him last year. Dad signed him late and then provided the Tigers a very nice return in the trade with the Cubs. He’s a solid player that would be a great addition to most teams. Sure bet that he won’t be resigning with the Tigers again as we wants to be with a contender. He can also grow a full beard by the 5th inning.
Leyland lung…hilarious
Ruiz or Avila to A’s right now…