The Padres overhauled their catching mix at the August 31 trade deadline, acquiring Austin Nola and Jason Castro in separate trades with the Mariners and Angels, while Luis Torrens went to Seattle as part of the Nola trade and Austin Hedges was sent to the Indians as part of the trade return for Mike Clevinger.
The end result was that Francisco Mejia was the only catcher who entered and exited deadline season in a Padres uniform, though he wasn’t on the active roster. Mejia was on the injured list due to a thumb contusion and, once activated, he played in only one more MLB game before being sent to the Padres’ alternate training site. As we get deeper into the offseason, it’s fair to wonder whether that one September game (a pinch-hit appearance on Sept. 16) might also mark Mejia’s final outing as a Padre.
Nola is still the projected starter, but recent reports from Yadier Molina himself have connected San Diego to Molina’s free agent market. Star catching prospect Luis Campusano also made his big league debut in 2020 and, perhaps tellingly, was included on the Padres’ postseason roster over Mejia as the third catcher. However, Campusano’s status is currently up in the air following an October arrest for felony marijuana possession.
Given the uncertainty over Campusano and the chances that Molina could sign elsewhere, it’s quite possible that the Friars could simply hang onto Mejia and use him as Nola’s backup. (If not Molina, another veteran catcher could be signed as further depth, perhaps to a minor league deal rather than the MLB contract Molina will demand.) If the Padres did sign Molina or another noted veteran catcher, however, Mejia could suddenly be expendable.
It was back in July 2018 that Mejia was a much more prominent trade chip, as he was sent from the Indians to the Padres in exchange for both Brad Hand and Adam Cimber. At the time, Mejia was widely considered one of baseball’s top minor leaguers, ranked as high as fifth in Baseball Prospectus’ top-100 prospect ranking prior to the 2018 season. Over an even 2200 career plate appearances at the minor league level, Mejia has hit .295/.349/.462 with 58 home runs and looked all the world like a player ready for the Show.
Even in 2019, Mejia performed well enough in his first extended taste of Major League action that he seemed to be living up to the prospect hype. Despite two separate IL stints due to a knee sprain and an oblique strain, Mejia still hit a respectable .265/.316/.438 over 244 PA in 2019. Unfortunately, Mejia couldn’t come close to this form last season, hitting just .077/.143/.179 in 42 PA — with Hedges posting equally dismal numbers, it isn’t surprising that San Diego chose to shake up their catching corps at the deadline.
Mejia only turned 25 last month and is still close enough to his blue-chip prospect days that he would certainly generate some interest on the trade market. Any number of teams would like to upgrade their catching situation, ranging both from rebuilding clubs to would-be contenders. The Yankees, Phillies, Nationals, Mets, Braves, Marlins, Rays, Brewers, Reds, Angels, or Cardinals are some of the names in the latter group, and the two New York teams, St. Louis, and Anaheim have also been linked to Molina.
While lots of teams need catching, one of the outstanding questions about Mejia is whether or not he’ll ultimately stick at catcher over the long term. Mejia saw some action as a corner outfielder when he was in Cleveland’s farm system, and he also played four MLB games as a left fielder for the Padres in 2019. Obviously Mejia’s bat carries more value at catcher than at any other position, though showing an ability to at least passably play on the grass might not hurt Mejia’s trade value all that much, given how multi-positional versatility is so prized by modern front offices.
The Padres’ interest in Molina shows that the club has at least some inclination to alter its catching mix yet again, so this might be the position to watch since San Diego is otherwise pretty set elsewhere around the diamond. Rather than again deal from their deep farm system, the Padres could prefer to move an MLB-ready player like Mejia who might be in need of a change of scenery.
He’s still so young and had that prospect pedigree that it’s hard to let go of him. Honestly, I’d just find a way to keep him and hope he figured it out if possible. At this point, what value does he really have?? A little cash? A low end top 30 player at best? Idk
Classic change of scenery candidate. I would suggest a Mejia for Mickey Moniak deal, where PHI can improve their C depth, while getting out from Moniak – who would be a sort of coming home. PHI could save face of sort by moving on from a top overall pick under new leadership, while seeing if they could build on Mejia’s offense with a great ground floor defense.
Think Mejia is a downgrade from Knapp. Don’t see the Phils as a fit.
Downgrade defensively is what I mean of course.
No, not better than Knapp, but positional depth with a shot on building, and at the very least, a backup C.
Von: If Phils don’t sign Realmuto, I could live with Mejia as our primary catcher.
I don’t think Mejia is destined to stay a catcher for much longer, and the Phillies have too many bats that can’t field.
That swap with PHI makes a lot of sense. And yea, it’s not that he’s coming in to replace someone, at this point if he can redevelop back into a decent ball player, that’s a win for the kid. Backup catcher or whatever. I think heading back to the Indians makes a lot of sense. Again, not cause they need him, but because he might reignited what was working for him with them
Unfortunately the more Mejia has played behind the plate, the worse his play has gotten. If he would agree to move to LF then the Padres might have a place for him on the roster.
Seems like his bat won’t cut it for LF
The may be an inaccurate portrayal but this guy is so parallel to Gary Sanchez. Tons of hype, tons of potential, and for some reason can’t get it together. I remember after he first signed, all the talk and projected path to the majors.
Hopefully he gets the chance and the change he needs to tap fully into his potential because he could obviously be top-level talent for someone if he does.
Poor comparison. Sanchez put up out of this world offensive numbers in 2016-2017 (at ages 23-24) , and his club has tried to live with his defensive deficiencies. Mejia, during the same age span, has not played all that much and been below average to terrible with the bat, and has already been traded once.
Cleveland seems to have regarded Mejia as a 4A player, as they shopped him for a year before the Padres made that crazy trade.
If he had any value they wouldn’t of needed to make the Castro/Nola trades last year. They think he’s so bad they needed to add two players at his position during the season then left him off the playoff roster. Best they can do is change of scenery swap.
Honestly Mejia still has a high ceiling
Musgrove for Mejia and a top 10 prospect
Tigers should certainly consider!
I think Mejia would be a good fit with Milwaukee. I would switch him to firstbase regularly because he could also be your emergency catcher behind Nottingham and Navarez. But then again I think the Brewers would defensively better with moving Huria to third base and Urias as second baseman, more double plays turned.
Hiura doesn’t have the arm to play 3rd, that’s been the problem. If his bat doesn’t come back after a sophomore slump, he’s going to be too much of a liability to even keep on the roster.
Beyond the outfield, assuming Cain comes back, and a few bright spots at pitcher/bullpen, there are a lot of huge holes to fill. Gonna be interesting to see how their roster fills out this winter/spring. Not exactly a lot to feel good about, knowing payroll is coming down.
If you think that’s a good option, just proves you should not be a gm. A 5’7 to 5’8 depending on the site to man first? Air balls all over
I think the Tribe gave him some time at third and in LF. He is only 5’8″, so probably not a good fit for 1B. I agree though – I am not sure if any team is going to see him as a catcher. It makes sense for someone to give him a shot though and see if that bat comes around at the major league level.
Since he was almost a Brewer until Jonathan Lucroy nixed the deal, it would be fitting for him to end up there.
He’s way too short to play first base.
This is a really interesting option for the Rangers… If he busts, then big oof, we have Huff… But if he does succeed we can play Huff at 1b and clear up both catcher and first base issues. If he doesn’t work out, we can go get a first basemen and Huff can catch.
I like it. What would you send back to the Friars in return?
Maybe the 4th round pick from last season LHP Dylan MacLean and outfielder Steele Walker? Walker and MacLean for Mejia? I really am not sure what his value is, but I think that would be a fair package.
That is, according to baseball trade values, an accepted trade in terms of the values being traded. The real question is if the Rangers value Mejia more than keeping those two in their system.
Teams would have to determine if they want him as a Catcher or corner OF and then he’d probably be moved for another former prospect with equal potential.
Why would the Padres want prospects when their window has opened? I would think they are looking for this year, a major league player.
Because they won’t be able to do better. Mejia will not bring back a ML ready player.
Mejia as a catcher is difficult to see, he allows lot of passed balls. He reminds me of a Carlos Santana, where he moves away from behind the plate to see how his bat in a lineup will be beneficial to a team.
Santana moved away from catcher because of concussion issues and the fact that the Indians had better defensive options at catcher in Yan Gomes and Roberto Perez.
Intresting, I saw Santana in the minors and he had an issue with blocking balls in the dirt, so I assumed it was for that.
Amed Rosario for Fransico Mejia?
Padres don’t really need Rosario though with Tatis. I think the Mets would hopefully grave someone more stable at C too. Doesn’t really seem like a match.
The Mets need a defensive catcher they’ll have enough offense, I wish the Mets would get McCann and use the real $$ lol on Bauer,Springer,Hand and a 2nd tier SP & RP
As a Ranger fan, I say it sounds like the mess we went thru with Jurickson Profar
If yadi doesnt resign, would Padres trade him and myers(full contract)to the cards for someone like Carlos Martinez, Jake wofford and and harrison bader? I know return is alittle lite for the pads but myers is due alot more than martinez and Bader combined. Pads would get a decent young pitcher in wofford and a decent starter above average bullpen piece in cmart, gold glove in center with Bader. Cards would take on payroll with myers who should help the lineup and Mejia who would slot in with knizer behind the plate. All would hinge on molina not resigning of course
The Pads would make that trade in a hot second.
Myers had a great season in 2020 and has 2 other seasons pretty close to 30/30. $20 million is not much for the performance he showed in 2020.
Myers had a great 55 games in 2020.
baseballpun: So “Myers had a great 55 games in 2020”. Mejia hit .265/.316/.438 in 244 at bats in ’19 despite 2 injury list stints. In ’20 in 42 at bats (that’s like 12 games) he hit .077/.143/.179. Why do you blow off one set of #’s (55 games) as a small sample size and yet Mejia not hitting in like 12 games seems like the narrative is that he’s fell off a cliff?
Then hit .100 against Dodgers in postseason he’s a LOSER
Lol
The problem is you can find these 60 game hot streaks in most years for Myers. And his numbers still suck at the end. No one is going to believe he can hold it together for 162, because he did it for 60
“return is a little lite for the pads”
You are delusional.
Why am I delusional?
That’s far from a light return for the Padres. They’re getting a pitcher who when he’s healthy is either a solid starting pitcher or decent relief pitcher, a top 30 organizational prospect and a strong defensive outfielder who had an 111 OPS+ last season and salary relief from Myers.
My thoughts are Martinez is an enigma. He could be a number 2 starter or set up type reliever, or he could pitch 2 games and miss the rest of the season, it’s happened a couple times. Myers is similar in that he could hit 30 Homer’s and gave 100 rbis, or hit 17 and have 65 rbis. But the thought is, even with 17 and 65 he still would have been our 2nd best hitter. Our outfield is so light hitting that you have to improve the hitting. They have oneill and carlson who are good to great defensively to make up for the loss of Bader. Plus I feel if Bader is always going to be a great defensive and below average hitter. The cards have to add offense and I think myers and Mejia do that even at their worst. Bader martinez and wofford can be replaced in house or with other players shifting.
So you want the Cardinals to trade an $11.7 million enigma plus Bader and a top 30 prospect for a $45 million enigma and Mejia? Look, 30 home runs and 100 RBI’s and 17 home runs and 65 RBI’s can be equally productive. No team is going to trade for Myers unless you throw in a pretty talented prospect, eat most/all of his contract, or take on a bad contract. Martinez has one more year of guarenteed control left for $11.7 million while Myers has two guarenteed years of control left for $22.5 million each. I’m sure the Cards are willing to take the gamble on Martinez over trading him for a more expensive gamble on Myers/Mejia.
Myers wouldn’t get one of those guys
If BaseballTradeValues is any indication, the Cardinals probably say no to that deal. Take Bader out and have the Padres pay $4.5m of Myers’ contract each year for the remainder of the contract plus the buyout of his club option for 2023 and then it would be about even.
The Profar comp seems apt. Could see Mejia carving out a decent yet unspectular career for a few years as a bat first backup. I am an SD can and have seen him play for short stretches. He is not an everyday catcher definsively although his arm is very good.
Padres fans can only hope the Mejia experiment is over. He cannot catch and he can’t hit either. The question is do any teams see him as a player worth trading for?
You aren’t citing runs produced to try and argue that Austin Hedges is a better hitter than Francisco Mejia yet?
Mejia is clearly a change of scenery candidate.
Padres could opt to trade him to a team for a guy theyre expecting to non tender.
Looking at potential non tender candidates
Jose Urena from the Marlins could use a change of scenery and Padres need pitching
Tyler Naquin from the Indians would be a decent 4th OF option for the Padres if Myers or Pham get injured again.
Other pitching candidates from mlbtr list include Steven Matz, Vince Velazquez, Jon Gray, Reynaldo Lopez
Cleveland would not want Meija back.
Amazing how a former top prospect can be written off after just 330 ABs. This kid needs to be given a real shot.
My feelings too. Hasn’t been given anything resembling a full, consistent season to prove himself.
See: Carson Kelly
Hoping Mejia pans out but whenever I think of him these days, Jesus Montero comes to mind.
Pirates should be in on him as well. They have nothing behind Stallings and no one in the pipeline
That’s the kind of team he needs to be on since they can afford to give him more playtime, he’s blocked everywhere on SD. If PIT or another rebuilding team can’t get him enough ABs at catcher they can probably get away with using him in the OF more to see whether the bat will play.
I think he would also just really benefit from a little minor league playtime to get his approach in order. He’s always been aggressive, but this year he was swinging at even more pitches outside the zone and it’s not like he could go play everyday in AAA to sort it out. Might make sense for SD to have him work on pitch selection in actual games for a while before moving on from him.
I don’t know if he should be viewed as a “change of scenery” candidate just yet.
For whatever reason, it feels like he’s been around forever, but he’s still played in only 128 big league games, garnering less than 400pa.
Additionally, his 2019 wasn’t that bad — essentially league average — and he just turned 25 in October.
Now, if due to the lack of impact catchers around the league makes teams overzealous for Mejia, then I could see SD dealing him, otherwise I think they should give him another year and see where it goes.
Nola is their catcher, Mejia hasn’t really taken advantage of his opportunities, and another year like 2020 and his trade value is completely gone. He’s a change of scenery candidate now because he still has a little bit of value.
I absolutely agree that his value could plummet following another down year, but there’s also a chance he produces and his value goes up.
I personally think it’d be worth the risk to see if he can take a step forward.
As for Nola, he’s appeared in 51 games behind the plate in the Majors, and has played in just 127 games overall, so he’s not quite a sure-bet.
What is the batting line of the average MLB back-up catcher? I’m certain the Padres can handle keeping him as a second catcher. I seriously doubt the Padres will sign Molina anyway.
The thing is, he’s not a great defender behind the plate. The batting line for the average backup catcher shouldn’t be hard to top, but that’s because backups are usually really good defenders.
If he can only hit about as well as a backup catcher, it won’t matter what position he’s playing unless it’s for the El Paso Chihuahuas.
Mejia is not a catcher. He doesn’t frame well so he won’t be able to stick at that position. However, he does have a monster arm and given time he could be a good defender in the outfield. He hit fairly well in 2019 when he was healthy so I think he could be a decent starter in the future. I would prefer that the Padres keep him to be their starting outfielder in 2022 to replace Pham or Myers.
Framing won’t matter at all once they switch to computerized strike zones. And before anyone says it will never happen, just remember they started putting runners on second base at the start of innings last year. ANYTHING can happen under this commissioner. Well anything except keeping the game recognizable to long time fans that is.
Framing is only one small part of the defense part of catcher. So much more goes into the job of a good defensive catcher.
Framing in mlb is the equivalent of flopping in the nba/mls
He’s a really good athlete, but his issue in Cleveland was that he wasn’t willing to commit to catching. He could probably defend well if he put in the effort, but that was always the big question mark.
And he refused to play the field to expedite his trip to the majors. They thought his bat was ready, so much for that as he has underwhelmed in his MLB career so far.
He had a golden opportunity this year and couldn’t take advantage. Still he basically has very little trade value Compiseno is a sure bet to be suspended and Nola was not exactly a great acquisition so far. They are best to hold onto him as they are thin in the outfield and could be thinner if Pham is nontendered
Like you say Nola didn’t exactly set the world on fire. If healthy Meija will get another shot, they aren’t going to dismiss him over 42 poor at bats in a bizarre season. They have enough production elsewhere to afford to experiment for a little while.
He had a golden opportunity this year and couldn’t take advantage. Still he basically has very little trade value Compiseno is a sure bet to be suspended and Nola was not exactly a great acquisition so far. They are best to hold onto him as they are thin in the outfield and could be thinner if Pham is nontendered
Doesn’t matter how many positions he can play if he hits .077!
So what went wrong between being ranked the #5 prospect in baseball to essentially being replaced with by 4 other players in one year?
Overrated!
Niko Goodrum for Mejia. Niko plays every position and has a league average bat w a little pop, runs well and is a good clubhouse guy. Perfect NL Utilty player, and still young enough at 29 to be around all through SDs window as he is arb eligible in 21 and rights retained through 23. He, like Mejia, cratered in 2020, but he has a couple years of solid performance prior to that to make you think it’s an anomaly.
Another train wreck trade by hipster. He trades Hand great regular season closer and Cimber for Mejia who’s done nothing as Padre