The Guardians have claimed catcher Christian Bethancourt from the Rays, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. The latter club had placed the backstop on waivers over the weekend. Cleveland has yet to officially announce the move.
This ends Bethancourt’s tenure with the Rays, which began a little before the 2022 trade deadline. Tampa Bay acquired the right-handed hitter in a deal with Oakland, sending a pair of minor leaguers to the A’s. The Panamanian catcher owned a .249/.298/.385 line with the A’s and provided similar production down the stretch in St. Pete, hitting .255/.265/.436 over 45 games.
That was enough to hold his roster spot into 2023. Bethancourt’s low on-base numbers became more of a problem this past season. Over 332 trips to the plate, he hit .225/.254/.381. The one-time top prospect connected on 11 home runs but walked at a 3.9% clip while striking out 27.4% of the time. His strikeout rate was pushing 30% in the second half, contributing to Tampa Bay’s decision to give an increasing share of the reps to René Pinto.
Once the season came to a close, it became apparent Bethancourt would no longer be in the Rays’ plans. He was projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz for a $2.3MM salary if tendered a contract. While that’s not an outlandish figure, the Rays have a huge arbitration class and intended to look for a catching upgrade. Rather than wait until the non-tender deadline, they placed him on waivers a few weeks early.
Cleveland’s decision to place a claim indicates they’re likely to tender Bethancourt at that price. The Guardians have lefty-hitting Bo Naylor as their #1 option. Cleveland didn’t get much out of Cam Gallagher this year, though, making him a non-tender candidate. Bethancourt could take on the backup role as a righty-swinging complement to Naylor. Statcast pegs him as a below-average framer and blocker but credits him with excellent arm strength, a plus he has had dating back to his prospect days.
Bethancourt has between four and five years of service. He’d therefore be eligible for arbitration again next offseason if he holds his roster spot all year.
Well he hits better than Hedges. And anyone hits better than Gallagher. What’s not to like?
Watching Mike Zunino last year made me miss Hedges..
Yes!
I wondered if the Guardians would be interested in him. He isn’t a great hitter but hits better than Cam Gallagher. He is a pretty good fielder with a great arm. Much more expensive, though. Estimated $2.3 million.
Better than the last Rays catcher they picked up.
Not a bad pickup for them. They’ve seemed to struggle with getting any offense from the catching position recently so this might help them a little bit
Bethancourt is a good backup catcher, but I wouldn’t expect in most cases for a contender to trot him out there every day.
After what Naylor showed at the end of last year, he’ll come in and relive him on Sundays.
As a rays fan I’m kinda sad to see him go
Good catcher. Got squeezed by the Rays roster crunch.
Me too. Also, I’m kind of puzzled why they let him go. I know they needed the 40-man space, but not sure who is going to back up Pinto at this point. There doesn’t seem like there are better options on the free agent market that are in the Rays price range.
Why didn’t Vogt just name himself as the backup catcher /player manager? He hit better than Gallagher last year.
Bethancourt is an OK hitter which is more than can be said of most of the scrubs they’ve had behind the plate over the past 3 or so years, but I don’t think they’ll be satisfied with his defensive skills. Time will tell.
He’s always seemed to play well against the Guards. Will be glad to not be facing him again next year.