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Jeff Mathis

Cafardo On Rays, Mathis, Flowers, Red Sox

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Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe opens this week's Sunday Notes column by taking a look at how the Rays have succeeded this year depite losing many key players in the offseason. Cafardo points out that the AL East looks like a "very flawed division" so far, meaning the Rays could once again be bunched up with the Yankees and Red Sox in the standings. Here are some other notes from Cafardo:

  • Jason Varitek praised the defensive abilites of Jeff Mathis, who may be a trade candidate: "He’s a very athletic catcher. He has a good arm. He creates a good situation for his pitching staff. You can tell the pitchers really enjoy throwing to him. He’s fun to watch back there because he does things so easily. He’s one of the best."
  • Tyler Flowers, the catcher for the White Sox' Triple-A club in Charlotte, could be available and was scouted by the Red Sox and a handful of other teams in Spring Training.
  • Red Sox minor leaguer Josh Reddick has "generated a lot of chatter among scouts," according to Cafardo, who speculates the outfielder would draw plenty of interest if Boston made him available. One scout on Reddick: "He’s a major league player and he’d be playing for a lot of teams in the big leagues right now."
  • Former Red Sox and White Sox catcher Carlton Fisk would like a chance to instruct young players for either organization, but says he's never received a serious offer to do so.

Cafardo’s Latest: Ortiz, Red Sox, Martin, Angels

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In today's column for the Boston Globe, Nick Cafardo wonders what the future holds for David Ortiz after his contract expires at the end of this season. An American League official says the Red Sox should be "looking at keeping his salary level around the same if his production maintains steady." Ortiz, who is earning $12MM in 2011, would like to retire with the Sox, and acknowledges that signing with a National League club is unlikely: "I would have to consider it. I don’t think people want me for that, because I’m a hitter." Here are a few of Cafardo's other notes:

  • In the short term, Marco Scutaro, who has been discussed internally by the Phillies, could be valuable to a team looking for a middle infielder. Down the line, the Sox could still have an excess of infielders – Cafardo says Jose Iglesias should be ready to be a full-time MLB shortstop in 2012, meaning Boston may not have enough room in its lineup for him, Jed Lowrie, and Kevin Youkilis. If I'm the Red Sox, I view that as a good problem to have, and address it if and when it comes to that.
  • A Dodgers official concedes that Russell Martin is "playing great" for the Yankees. "Better than he played for us," adds the official. However, he cautions that Martin tends to fade in the second half, which has to be of some concern for the Yanks. While Martin's career batting splits don't fully back up that assertion, the backstop did miss most of the second half in 2010 with a hip injury.
  • The Angels have been exploring potential trades involving their catchers since Spring Training. They'd likely prefer dealing Bobby Wilson to Jeff Mathis, and may be seeking a left-handed outfield bat in return.

Cafardo On Angels, Red Sox, Reyes

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In his Sunday column, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe writes that scouting and development people in baseball are extremely underpaid.  While the Pirates, White Sox, Twins, Red Sox, and Yankees are known for taking good care of development people, other clubs are less-than-generous when it comes to salaries and benefits.  Cafardo asked Athletics GM Billy Beane why development and scouting people don’t get paid well.  Beane's response: “The good ones do.’’  Here are some of Cafardo's other Sunday notes:

  • The Angels have a surplus of catchers and prospect Hank Conger is being groomed for the job.  The Red Sox are looking for a veteran catcher they might be able to keep at Triple-A in case someone gets hurt.  It's possible that Jeff Mathis or Bobby Wilson could be a fit for the BoSox.
  • Scouts are watching Boston's bullpen situation closely because Dennys Reyes is becoming a hot commodity.  It would be a tough call for the club as they also have Hideki Okajima signed through this season.  The club has also received interest in Rich Hill.
  • Infielder Drew Sutton seems to be destined for Boston's Pawtucket affiliate, but Cafardo wouldn't be surprised if the club gets some trade interest on the 27-year-old.

Discussion: Could The Angels And Astros Be A Match?

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Recently, after learning of Jason Castro's season-ending injury, Astros owner Drayton McLane reportedly decided that the club could allocate extra money to find a backstop for 2011.  It remains to be seen exactly how much funding the team is willing to put towards the catcher position, especially since Houston doesn't seem poised to contend this season and whoever they acquire will be simply keeping the spot warm for Castro.

There are plenty of catchers on the block, such as Pittsburgh's Ryan Doumit.  Doumit could fit the bill as a one-year solution, though he will take in $5.6MM on the year when including the $500K buyout of his remaining years.  The Astros' first choice to step in for Castro was Twins catcher Drew Butera, but they were quickly rebuffed.  Nationals backstop Jesus Flores reportedly drew interest from GM Ed Wade but the club is said to have cooled on him in recent days.  The 26-year-old has appeared healthy in Spring Training but Houston is still wary of his surgically repaired right shoulder.

While it seems that Wade won't take advantage of the Nats' glut at the catcher position, he could look elsewhere to find a club with a backstop to spare.  We've yet to hear of the Astros reaching out to the Angels about one of their catchers, but it would make an awful lot of sense for them to make an inquiry. 

While Jeff Mathis is in position to be the club's Opening Day catcher, Bobby Wilson is looking good in Spring Training – both literally and figuratively.  The soon-to-be 28-year-old dropped 33 pounds at the behest of manager Mike Scioscia and seems likely to take the No. 2 position on the depth chart, in part because he's out-of-options.  With youngster Hank Conger waiting in the wings, it would make sense for the Halos to clear a path for the up-and-coming prospect by dealing from a position of strength.  Wilson could obviously be had for less than Mathis, but both catchers have affordable contracts and it's unlikely that either one would be termed "untouchable".

Angels Agree To Terms With Jeff Mathis

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The Angels have agreed to terms with Jeff Mathis to a one-year contract, avoiding arbitration with the catcher, according to a team press release.  Mathis will earn $1.7MM in 2011, reports Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times.

This was Mathis' second arbitration year, and he earned $1.3MM in 2010 after winning an arbitration case with Los Angeles last February.  (The Halos offered $0.7M.)  Mathis, 27, has served as the Angels' backup to Mike Napoli behind the plate for the last four seasons.  Mathis has just a .199/.265/.311 slash line in 1079 career plate appearances, but the Halos value him for his defense.

Mathis is the second arb-eligible player to settle a contract with the Angels in as many days, following Alberto Callaspo's $2MM deal yesterday.  Los Angeles still has six more players eligible for arbitration, including such notables as Howie Kendrick, Kendry Morales, Napoli and Jered Weaver.

Mike Napoli’s Trade Value

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The problem with Mike Napoli, as Mark Saxon of ESPNLosAngeles.com puts it, is that he "is a 'tweener,' too inconsistent strictly as a hitter, not reliable enough as a catcher."  The Angels might not want to give such a "tweener" an arbitration raise above the $3.6MM that Napoli earned this season, which is why there have been rumors that Los Angeles will try to move Napoli over the winter.  

Given the dearth of power-hitting catchers, many teams would be willing to overlook Napoli's defensive shortcomings for a catcher who has 92 homers in 1778 career plate appearances and a career .839 OPS.  As an everyday player, however, Napoli has his limitations, many of which were on display this season.  Napoli has received a career-high 484 plate appearances thanks to his taking over the lion's share of time at first base after Kendry Morales was lost for the season in May. 

His power notwithstanding, Napoli has an underwhelming .247/.332/.488 slash line entering Friday's action.  These numbers are largely due to the fact that the right-handed hitting Napoli struggles against right-handed pitching; he has a .704 OPS vs. righties this year, as opposed to a whopping 1.082 OPS against southpaws.  (Napoli's career OPS splits are .798 against righties and .962 versus lefties.)  If put back into his comfort zone of facing primarily left-handed pitching, Napoli can be a force.  If a team has a left-handed hitting, defensive-minded platoon partner at catcher, Napoli is an ideal complement.

The catching market is always tough to predict in advance, but here are a few potential trade partners for the Halos…

* Florida.  The Marlins are known to be looking for catchers, though Napoli may be too expensive for their liking.

* New York.  Left-handed hitting Josh Thole will be the Mets' starter next season, so Napoli could be brought in to complement both Thole and another lefty bat (Ike Davis) at first.

* Chicago.  As with the Mets, the White Sox will have a youngster (Tyler Flowers) taking over the starting job.  This is presuming the Sox won't bring back A.J. Pierzynski, though Chicago could also maybe have a hole at first depending on if Paul Konerko signs elsewhere or retires.

* Texas.  Napoli could finally give the Rangers some stability behind the plate, though it's hard to see L.A. making a deal with their division rivals.

* Boston.  The Red Sox made a waiver claim on Napoli in August before the Angels pulled him back, and will need a catcher if Victor Martinez leaves as a free agent.

* Baltimore.  Speaking of Martinez, Napoli could be the Orioles' catcher/first base/DH backup plan should the team's pursuit of Martinez fall short.

If Napoli was dealt, Los Angeles would be left with Jeff Mathis and rookie Hank Conger behind the plate.  Conger, LAA's first-round pick in the 2006 draft, has an .825 OPS in 1705 minor league plate appearances and was rated the 84th overall prospect in baseball by Baseball America's preseason rankings.  Mathis is entering his second arbitration year after earning $1.3MM in 2010, but has had an overall poor season (as outlined by Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times).  The Angels could go into 2011 with a totally overhauled catching corps should they trade Napoli, non-tender Mathis and acquire a new veteran backstop to play alongside Conger.

Odds & Ends: Rangers, Red Sox, Wilson, Dodgers

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Links for Saturday..

Odds & Ends: Nationals, Angels, Royals

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As the West Coast games get started, here are some tidbits to snack on…

Olney’s Latest: Smoak, Davis, Ripken, Mathis, Lowell

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In today's blog post at ESPN (Insider required and recommended), Buster Olney writes that Rangers' first base prospect Justin Smoak is off to a strong start in Triple-A and could push Chris Davis either out the door or onto the bench. Smoak is hitting .300/.475/.567 with two homers in 40 plate appearances so far this year, while Davis is off to a .194/.265/.290 start with 10 strikeouts in 34 plate appearances.

Here's the rest of Olney's rumors…

  • A possible reason why Orioles owner Peter Angelos declined to hire Cal Ripken Jr. is because of "concern about whether the addition of the legend would lead to office politics and ugly fallout." 
  • With the Angels carrying three catchers, Olney speculates that Boston could be a trade match for Jeff Mathis, and wonders if the talks could be expanded to include Mike Lowell given the Halos' troubles at the hot corner. Red Sox catchers have thrown out just one of 17 base stealers this season, and Mathis has thrown out 23% of would-be base stealers in his career.

Mathis Wins Arbitration Hearing With Angels

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Jeff Mathis won his arbitration hearing with the Angels and will earn $1.3MM this year instead of the $700K salary the club offered, according to Ronald Blum of the AP (via Yahoo). The Angels have reached deals with all of their arbitration-eligible players now that Mathis and Erick Aybar have set contracts.

Mathis, 27 next month, shares the team's catching duties with Mike Napoli. Mathis appeared in 84 games for the Angels last season, hitting .211/.288/.308 with five homers. This is Mathis' first year as an arbitration-eligible player and he isn't expected to become a free agent until after the 2012 season.

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