Nov. 20: The Nationals have formally announced Suzuki’s two-year deal.
Nov. 19, 11:10am: Suzuki’s contract is a two-year, $10MM deal that’ll pay him $4MM in 2019 and $6MM in 2020, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic tweets.
10:24am: The Nationals have agreed to a two-year contract with free-agent catcher Kurt Suzuki, reports Mark Feinsand of MLB.com (via Twitter). The deal is pending a physical. Suzuki is represented by the MVP Sports Group.
Long a sturdy option, the veteran Suzuki took his offensive game to new heights over the past couple of seasons, hitting at a .276/.341/.485 clip with 31 homers over the course of 697 plate appearances while sharing time with Tyler Flowers.
Unlike many players who experience a significant jump in power production, the 35-year-old Suzuki hasn’t simply “sold out” in terms of sacrificing his typically excellent contact rate for some additional pop. He’s fanned at just an 11.8 percent clip over the past two years — the ninth-lowest among all MLB hitters in that time (min. 600 plate appearances). Suzuki upped his hard-hit rate and homer-to-fly-ball ratio in significant fashion and will look to carry that improved production over to a return stint with the Nationals, for whom he played in 2012-13.
In Suzuki, the Nats will likely find an offensive upgrade over the production (or lack thereof) that they received from Matt Wieters over a previous two-year deal of his own. Getting some help behind the plate was imperative for the Nats, who saw Wieters and a slew of backup options combine to bat just .211/.290/.319 through 1259 plate appearances in 2017-18. Even with some regression in his bat — Nationals Park, notably, is not as hitter-friendly as SunTrust Park — Suzuki should be able to provide an uptick in offensive output at the position.
Defensively, Suzuki hasn’t generated the same level of results. His throwing improved with the Braves after a poor two-year stretch with Minnesota in that regard, but Suzuki’s 21.3 percent caught-stealing rate (25-for-117) over the past two seasons still checks in well below the league average of about 27.5 percent. To Suzuki’s credit, Baseball Prospectus has graded him among the best in the game at blocking pitches in the dirt over the past two seasons, but B-Pro has also rated his framing skills to be below-average in each season dating back to 2008.
It’s not yet clear if Suzuki will represent the Nationals’ sole addition at catcher. Solid as his bat was with the Braves, Suzuki averaged 85 games caught between the two seasons and hasn’t topped 100 games behind the dish since serving as the Twins’ primary backstop in 2015. Pedro Severino, Spencer Kieboom and Raudy Read represent the organization’s other three catching options on 40-man roster, and while any could conceivably serve as a backup to Suzuki, none has experienced big league success to date. Suzuki’s excellent production in 2017-18 should assure him of a prominent role in the Washington lineup, but the rest of the outfit still looks uncertain.
The addition of Suzuki is the third notable pickup in what has been an active offseason for Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo and his front office. The Nats have already acquired righty Kyle Barraclough from the Marlins in exchange for international bonus allotments, and Washington also rolled the dice on a one-year deal with former Cardinals closer Trevor Rosenthal, who’ll be returning from Tommy John surgery in 2019. Of course, the biggest question surrounding the Nats will be whether they retain former NL MVP Bryce Harper in free agency or if they let him sign with another organization. Certainly, the money promised to Suzuki on this new contract won’t stand as any real impediment to those efforts, but the Nats have holes to fill in the rotation and possibly at second base, as well.
As for the Braves, they won’t receive compensation for the loss of Suzuki, and they’ll now have to watch the former fan and clubhouse favorite suit up for one of their top division rivals. Atlanta already extended Flowers through the 2019 season, but it seems quite likely that they’ll be adding a catcher of some note to step up and handle a significant chunk — if not the vast majority — of playing time for the 2019 season.
Suzuki checked in 46th on MLBTR’s ranking of the Top 50 free agents this offseason, with an estimated two-year pact worth a total of $8MM. In our corresponding Free Agent Prediction Contest, just 3.87 percent of respondents correctly guessed that he’d return to the Nats.
0-1
haha same
Ugh same. I picked the Braves
Yep, had them too. Now I wonder where the Braves will go…
I’m felling Maldonado to the Braves for some reason.
I picked Maldonado for the Braves too
Trade with Cleveland?
Could there be a fit on a Corey Kluber, Yan Gomes trade?
I had Suzuki signing with Arizona. 0-1
0-2 really because the catcher I thought would go to the Nats obviously is not.
I thought about the Braves too tbh, but when you look at their other needs this offseason, you can clearly tell where they’ll be throwing most of their money(pitching).
That’s not clear at all because AA overpaying TOR pitching is the reason they’ve invested so heavily in high-ceiling pitching. I would see them overpaying in prospects more than overpaying in dollars.
And which pitchers did AA overpay for? AA made some odd trades but he didn’t overpay in FA for pitchers. You could argue that Dickey was overpaid but he stayed healthy and ended up with decent results. Same goes for Buerhle
Overvalue, but not overpay.
I had Milwaukee
I picked the Braves and had Ramos going back to the Nationals so I’m likely 0-2 now
Lol…I had Grandal to the Nats so I’m in the same boat. I wonder if “getting all the catchers right” will be the key to winning?
I picked the Astros getting Grandal, but yeah at this point the catchers are probably the key just because if a team gets one they probably won’t get another
Grandal may still go to the Nats. Suzuki is a backup catcher. He is going to be sharing time with someone who gets close to 90 starts while Suzuki gets his 70-74 starts.
same
I had Mariners for some reason
Dang, really thought A’s were the go here. Wrong former team.
same…I think the A’s are strictly looking for a one year contract to ease Murphy into the picture.
Yeah he would have been a great fit. Im Hoping for Maldonaldo personally
I’m hoping for Maldonaldo too. He would bring a lot of valuable insight playing with the angels and astros. He also was teammates with Khris Davis.
Don’t worry, the Nats will trade him to the A’s mid season. Again.
I can’t remember where I had Suzuki going. Is there somewhere where I can see who I picked to go where again.
They should have sent u an email with your picks
Probably means I’ll be 0-2. I had Grandal going to Nats.
Free agents picks not going good so far
They couldn’t announce this 12 hours ago and give everyone a freebie
On the bright side since everyone else got it wrong it doesn’t make as much of a difference
Speak for yourself and everyone else. ;P
Since waited 100+ posts to correct false info, gonna get ripped for ‘bragging’ now
Not surprising that Suzuki signs with a former team. As a Braves fan I’ll miss his bat, but not his time behind the dish. Of course there are far worse options.
“I’ll miss his bat, but not his time behind the dish”
Go and look at Foltynewicz ERA when Suzuki caught him as opposed to when Flowers caught him. Irrespective of what all the ‘experts’ say about pitch framing and the like, I prefer a catcher than can hit a bit.
Flowers had 5 more PB than Suzuki, and there is only a 4% difference in caught stealing percentage, Suzuki 19%, Flowers 23%, Flowers stats are also down in OBP, OPS, and SLG. Suzuki is the better player, regardless of his 3 year age difference.
Sean Newcomb, Era when he pitches to Suzuki 3.24-when he pitches to Flowers ERA 4.60, .228 Ba with Suzuki and with Flowers .245 and 19 home runs conceded as opposed to 8 with Suzuki catching and only +20 innings pitched difference with Flowers catching.
Suzuki is a big loss to the Braves.
Ok, let’s look at Folty’s numbers.
Over the past two seasons, Folty walked a higher percentage 67/641 vs 52/576 or 10.5% vs 9.0% and struck out a lower percentage 165/641 or 25.7% with Suzuki behind the plate vs 161/576 or 27.95% with Flowers behind the plate.
Folty gave up 76 runs in 167 2/3 IP for a 4.08 ERA with Suzuki behind the plate and 63 in 152 2/3 IP for a 3.71 ERA with Flowers behind the plate.
Flowers superior pitch framing is evident in those numbers. It’s not close.
I don’t think the way pitch framing statistics are calculated is what you think it is.
lol
Pads Fans;
If Flowers is a better pitch framer, and pitch framing is so evident and so effective, then why did Newcomb have better results with Suzuki then Flowers?
And I keep asking…….where are the stats of how many strikes were called balls?
Suzuki calls a better game. That’s his inside trade skill. Pitch framing only gets you so far.
Would’ve liked to see another term with the A’s
That’s what I thought as I dont see the A’s as suitors for grandal or ramos figured Suzuki was a great idea.
Aye 1-1 so far
You appear to be the leader early on
Stupid Nationals you couldn’t do this yesterday and give us a freebie?
How dare they not consider your feelings.
I picked the Mariners… I didn’t know the Nats were gonna be cheap. I thought they’d get JT but I guess the price was too high
Me too. Looks like the mariners Will get some other free agent catcher though
Lucroy, Chirinos, Wieters, or Maldonado now
Yeah I picked the Mariners too as the destination for Suzuki.
Same I did mariners
Dammit! 0-1
Wow, not a bad signing by the Nats at all. Sure he maybe 35-36, but he still has great hitting and defensive attributes to go along with him. However, I honestly predicted the Oakland A’s would sign him since they also need a catcher and had some good years with Suzuki. The Nats would sign Yasmani Grandal to plug in at catcher.
Would’ve been a nice acquisition for the Yankees
You picked the yankees signing all top 50 free agents didnt you.
Well, that does mean he will get 1 or 2 right. =}
Kurt’s happy. Teammates are happy. Nationals fans are very happy.
Yes, his defense is not good. But he’s always called games and handled pitchers well – which is the major responsibility of a catcher. He’s experienced, which is worth a lot.
Now get him a platoon partner. Very few can handle the wear and tear of catching full-time anymore. The Braves were smart to use Kurt and Flowers in tandem. The Indians do a similar thing with Gomes and Perez. Keeps the catchers fresh – if one is injured for a few weeks, the other plays full-time. The pitchers don’t have to learn to work with a guy from Triple-A.
Mlbtr free agent prediction contestants are not happy.
Hate to see him go to the bad guys.
Stud!
Grandal just lost a lot of money. One of the big suitors is out. Maybe a return to LA?
Mariners*
Yeah, I picked Yas to the Nats
I’ve got Grandal to the Mets
Mets need a catcher, but so do a lot of teams. I picked only Brach to the Mets
I gave them Kimbrel, Ramos, Maldanado, Kelly and Justin Wilson.
Figured I’d get at least two of them right:)
Damnit, I picked that Angels
About time the Nats replaced Wieters. The guy was a walking disaster for the team. The Nats letting Wilson Ramos walk in the 2016 offseason was one of the dumbest moves they’ve made as a franchise. Especially when you consider game 5 of the 2017 NLDS. Where Wieters made defensive errors,that practically along with the pitching, cost them the game.
Ramos was hurt bad at the end of 2016 and would not have been ready for 2017. He didn’t start for the Rays until June that year. The Nats had to move on.
Wieters, on paper, was a solid deal. Career 256 / 318 / 421 for the Orioles, 2016 All-Star rep, good replacement for the injured Ramos, no? But alas, they don’t play games on paper, and when the season was underway, it was obvious he was not going to cut it.
One other item regarding that 2017 Game 5, Wieters knew the rule for interference and tried to argue it to the HPU, but Dusty didn’t come out of the dugout to back him up. IMO Dusty lost that game by not forcing the crew to apply the correct rule.
Darn had athletics reunion.
I figured A’s or Braves was a lock.
I had the mets
Would’ve been a nice signing for the Angels who got no offense from catcher last year.
I like Suzuki. Great bench player.
For those lamenting the miss in the Free Agent Prediction Contest, you’re far from alone! We don’t have the leaderboard functionality fully developed yet, but I went into the back end and quickly was able to tabulate the number of contestants who correctly guessed Suzuki: 3.87 percent.
Added a note to the end of the post, and will try to do so throughout the winter with these signings to add some context.
Thanks Steve!
Lol 1 out of every 25 people lol. Please do a prediction percentage piece of all top 50 at the end. Please.
Sadly, i never got my email from MLBTR for my picks. I know i didn’t have Suzuki going to the Nats, but i could have at least looked at it and cussed thoroughly.
Your picks were submitted. I just searched for your email address in the results, and they’re in there. You did have Suzuki going to the Angels, so you’re correct that you could look and cuss thoroughly, ha.
I’m not sure why Google didn’t send you a confirmation that your picks were submitted. Mine was auto-generated, as were the others from our team. Maybe check your Spam filter? They could’ve gotten stuck in there, I suppose.
At any rate, if you don’t have them, I can send you a rundown of your picks.
I did check both spam and every other processed meat folder in my email. Unfortunately, no luck.
I’d very much appreciate your sending me my picks rundown.
Thanks, Steve!
Sent them to the email you have associated with your account here. Hopefully that helps!
That did the trick!You are a gentleman & scholar, Steve. Much appreciated.
Yes! I’m 1-for-1! Now I’m gonna go 0-for-49 for the rest
2-0 so far. I don’t really need the money so when I win I am going to donate half to the local animal shelter and the other half to Wound Warriors.
I’m giving half of mine to Slevin and half of mine to Xabial. The 2 reasons why I’m still on this page.
Need the money to pay rent, living in ur head 24/7
Anyone who chose the nationals didn’t actually mean to choose them don’t give me that.
Should be a good signing. At least an offensive improvement but I don’t think this doesn’t put them out of the Ramos/Grandal market,though.
Good for him. I don’t think he’ll maintain but he’s been playing at a different lvl, so who knows
The off-season has begun!
What a nothing move. This guy is a jagoff.
Can we please start seeing some actual real players sign/move? Sheesh.
Last season’s pace was unbearable and this one is shaping up to be similar. I won’t be the least bit surprised if guys like Harper don’t sign until mid January.
Naw man Harper already signed a 1 year deal with the Nationals to boost his stock, the guy in the Giants thread said he knew it for a fact.
He could also hurt his stock, I would say he doesn’t do a 1 year deal.
I think Nationals still need a catcher that can handle good chunk of games. Suzuki started about 70-80 games last two seasons. I hope they aren’t planning for him to be primary.
Suzuki is a turd. Never liked the guy.
Clearly someone lost the election to be Kurt Suzuki Fan Club Prez
Braves gonna run al over this guy with the speed we have
I loved Kurt so not knocking him but he won’t throw anyone out and Atlanta has a lot of guys who can steal now so there’s a silver lining to Nats picking him up when we play them
Sour grapes sometimes do make for a good whine.
Yeah I thought about the Braves baserunners should like this. The only thing is Suzuki murders fastballs inside. Most of Atlanta’s pitchers don’t posses enough control to sneak a heater past him.
Yea, but Trea Turner, Victor Robles and Michael Taylor will single-handedly have more steals than the entire Braves regardless of whose back there for them.
Also Grandal to Braves for those who missed on the FA prediction contest
Oakland here
0-1 , On the Road to 0-50
One team out of the JT Realmuto sweepstakes; one team now more desperate as they lose their catcher. Not that this matters because the Marlins aren’t likely to trade Realmuto to a division rival any way, unless one of them empties out the farm to where the Marlins can’t pass it up.
With regard to the other non-NL East teams, this means one less catching option on the market, as JT remains available for the right prospect haul.
Damnit i had Suzuki to the marlins wrong NL East team, i didnt give the nationals a catcher for some reason so im not automatically 0-2.
He couldn’t take the gamble of signing with them, when there is a chance that nobody meets the Marlins’ demands for JT. On top of that, Suzuki is a bit better and in a part of his career, where his only option would be a rebuilding team that is looking to keep payroll down until they can compete again.
Suzuki has the 3rd highest wRC+ of all catchers over the last 2 seasons with at least 500 AB’s along ; Tied with Realmuto and just behind Posey and Ramos by 2 points. I dont know who you’re referring to as only being an option for cheap rebuilding teams, but Suzuki has been a great hitter who can be a very good secondary catcher and Bench bat or a decent starter.
OK, I may have miswrote that or not clear enough. I was pointing out that Suzuki is a bit good and in a point in his career where he wouldn’t be signing with the Marlins in their current situation because they wouldn’t be his only option, which is the case for any catcher that signs with them at this point. Essentially it would be a guy that has not very many options/offers, which isn’t the case for Suzuki who has multiple options from contending teams (a lot of the teams that are currently looking into Realmuto).
Damnit, I picked the Angels
This means the cost for Realmuto and Grandal is too high. I doubt the Nats would put this kind of money up for a backup if they had other intentions.
Suzuki makes more sense financially than Grandal. As for Realmuto, it does point to the asking price that the Marlins are asking. If it’s high for non-NL East teams and AL teams, you can imagine the price tag for NL East team for Realmuto is astronomical, and farm depleting. Braves would do themselves a favor by looking elsewhere very fast before they are out of other options, unless they are willing to empty out the farm for Realmuto.
The Marlins have already said they would prefer not to trade with division rivals. So the Braves would really have to wow them.
I don’t think we will meet their asking price.
As far as Zuk going to the Nationals, seems like a lot of money for someone on the wrong side of 30 as a catcher. I don’t see his production trending better…
I like the deal with his current production maybe even with a little regression but he is 35.
If I was Harper, I would take the offer the Nats gave him. I doubt he gets it any better.
I agree..especially if more contracts like these appear. Solid sign for the Nats
Congratulations! You win dumb comment of the thread. It was a heavy competition, but your comment wins the prize.
Not the former Nats catcher reunion I was looking for (wanted Ramos to return), but this is still an upgrade over Weiters, at a $10M savings. S Kieboom or Raudy Reed could be the other half of the platoon. Nats need to say bye-bye to Bryce and turn their attention to pitching.
Glad to know we are all still tied in FA contest. Lol
This is dirt cheap for a fringe starter.
I assume this means the braves wouldn’t offer him 2 years.
I hate catchers going to division rivals because they gain a greater unserstanding of the former teams pitching staff.
I hope jt and zook being no gos puts a fire under aa’s ass to get yasmani.
Nats signed a backup catcher. Now who are they going to get to be the starter?
I thought the same at first, but if you look at Suzuki’s recent stats and projections he’s a starting-caliber catcher. A combo of Kieboom, Severino, and Read can back him up.
(Suzuki has a 1.6 projected WAR for 2019 and .743 OPS, not bad hitting for a catcher)
His defense is questionable for sure, though.
How is this dude still getting contracts? He’s at best a below average catcher. And an average hitter. I guess he able to handle a pitching staff that’s the only explanation
Actually, among catchers with at least 300 ABs last season, he ranked 4th.
I had this one right. Expected the Nats to go for Kurt or the Buffalo. Both have caught our pitchers before. Look for them to add another backstop as well perhaps Ramos. Kurt isn’t an everyday catcher anymore, but I’m sure glad he’s back on the Nats.
Suzuki didn’t come here, for $4M-$6M to be a backup. Nats need to spend serious dollars on the rotation. Backup catcher will likely be one of our minor league guys (Kieboom, Read, or Severino), or an older vet on the back end of his career.