The Phillies have avoided arbitration with catcher Cameron Rupp, according to Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer (via Twitter). Rupp will earn a $2.05MM salary for the coming campaign — just a hair shy of the $2.1MM that MLBTR projected he’d earn in his first arbitration year.
Though Rupp was not quite as productive last year as he was in 2016, he has established himself as a decent MLB hitter with a lifetime .234/.298/.407 slash. As that line hints, Rupp delivers good power (30 total home runs over the past two seasons) but not much in the way of on-base skills. Rupp did boost his walk rate to 10.3% in 2017, though his strikeout rate also jumped to 34.4%.
Defensively, the 29-year-old has not graded well as a framer. But Baseball Prospectus has graded Rupp as average in blocking balls in the dirt and controlling the running game.
All told, Rupp is a solid part-time catcher in an appealing contract situation. Given the presence of younger options — Andrew Knapp and Jorge Alfaro — some have wondered whether the Phillies would end up dealing Rupp this winter. That could still come to pass, though the organization likely isn’t in any rush to anoint one or both of those backstops.
i guess either Knapp goes back to AAA to play regularly, or one of these three gets dealt.
i dont necessarily see the point of keeping Rupp , and Knapp in AAA, at this point.
This transaction sums up the Phillies losing ways perfectly.
This organization is so content with losing its sickening. They’ll have journeyman Rupp backup a 25 y.0. prospect(Jorge Alfaro) who had a .748 OPS in 8 minor league seasons.
There wasnt a great amount of catching help on the FA market but Lucroy,wellington Castillo,Avila were all available but the Phils take the cheap road with a suspect err prospect and a journeyman at the most important position in baseball (C).
Unbelievable. The Phils made $80 M in net operating income in 2016 and probably repeated that last year 2017. Got to do better than an unproven prospect and a journeyman at catcher.
Who cares? It’s their money to spend.
Uhm as a Phillie Fan I care.
2012- 17 Games Out
2013-23 Games Out
2014-23 Games Out
2015- 27 Games Out
2016- 24 Games Out
2017- 31 Games Out
2018-??? How many Games out with this catching combo? 35?
So a few things.
1. You realize we are still in a rebuild right? And that Alfaro is one of the top rated catching prospects in all of baseball?
2. You realize that the only way an “unproven” prospect will be able to prove himself is by playing right? Ask Carlos Ruiz how he got so good.
3. You realize that Alfaro has a higher ceiling than any of the 3 options you mentioned right?
4. And just for further reference, let’s look further at the three catchers you mentioned.
Wellington Castillo is a proven clubhouse cancer who b*tched his way out of Chicago and threw his fellow teammates and team under the bus. You want to bring him in and expose our young clubhouse culture to that?
Avila was one more bad season from being out of baseball. In fact he was going to be DFA’d by the Tigers but his FATHER issued him a contract. He’s been decent since but is not worth blocking Knapp’s development for 2 to 3 years.
And finally Lucroy. Has any player’s career fallen off of a cliff faster than Lucroy’s in the last two years? His once excellent framing numbers have descended into garbage. His offense has all but disappeared. The only thing that has saved his offensive stats at all is from playing in Arlington and Coors.
Doesn’t matter if they would want to bring in Wellington Castillo or not. He is already signed.
Are you sure that was Castillo that did that and not Montero?
Why would anyone sign any of those catchers? Besides… Alfaro is a top 100 prospect… Why wouldn’t a team in the stretch run of a rebuild want to see what he’s got??? But seriously….Wellington Castillo???? Come on…
Thinks it’s a precursor to a future trade of Alfaro
LuCroy isn’t going to get you into the playoffs any more than Rupp is. Nationals spent good money on Wieters – how’d that work out? They didn’t win because of him certainly.
I would rather go cheap than spend a nickel in any of the players you named, all of whom would probably require multiple years.
I clicked on this article just to see how many people were complaining about this.
I wasn’t disappointed.
So- you wanted to non-tender a catcher who has averaged 15 home runs a year over the last two years when he could be retained for $2,000,000 (which is not a hard salary to trade)?
Good idea guys!
Amen
Rupp stinks on ice..
Middleton and the thrifty Phillies owners have done a number on you sheep.
Battered Phillie Fan Syndrome. 4
All of you need Help.
Phutility seems like a ton of fun. Must be great to check out a game with him