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John Buck

John Buck To Retire

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Catcher John Buck is retiring in order to spend more time with his family, the Braves announced. The veteran backstop had been in camp with Atlanta but did not figure to make the Opening Day roster.

Buck, 34, has played in eleven big league campaigns, amassing over 4,000 plate appearances and 1,000 games behind the plate. His .234/.301/.398 batting line and 134 career home runs are solid numbers for a catcher. A sturdy defender, Buck was a stabilizing force who saw the majority of the catching reps for his team in eight separate seasons.

After coming up with the Royals, Buck had his biggest season in a one-year stint with the Blue Jays in 2010. That year, Buck slashed .281/.314/.489 and swatted a career-high twenty long balls — excellent production while catching 118 games.

Buck landed a three-year, $18MM pact with the Marlins before the 2011 campaign, but never quite got back to his All-Star form. In addition to the teams already named, Buck ultimately spent time with the Mets, Mariners, Pirates, and Angels

Braves Sign John Buck To Minor League Deal

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The Braves have inked veteran backstop John Buck to a minor league deal with an invite to big league camp this spring, MLB.com’s Mark Bowman reports on Twitter. Buck is expected to open the year at Triple-A, Bowman adds.

Atlanta now appears to be set with veteran options behind the dish to supplement youngster Christian Bethancourt. The club already brought in A.J. Pierzynski, and will now slot Buck in behind that major league duo.

Buck 34, has seen action in parts of eleven big league seasons. Over 4,009 total plate appearances, he owns a .234/.301/.398 slash with 134 home runs. He spent last year with the Mariners and Angels, receiving just 97 big league turns at bat and putting up a meager .570 OPS, though he did hit well in his time at Triple-A. Despite poor framing ratings, Buck has been valued as a good defensive catcher in the recent past. But Seattle reportedly let him go last year in part due to concerns with his abilities behind the dish.

Given Buck’s high standing as a good clubhouse presence, the Braves will surely hope for the best on the field and look to benefit from his presence with their top minor league affiliate.

Outrighted: Tabata, Buck, Boesch

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After being designated for assignment last week, Pirates outfielder Jose Tabata has been outrighted to Triple-A Indianapolis and accepted the assignment, reports MLB.com’s Tom Singer. The move is not a surprise, as had Tabata rejected the assignment he would have forfeited the remaining $8.5MM on his contract.

Here are some more outright-related moves from around the league…

  • Both John Buck and Brennan Boesch have rejected outright assignments from the Angels in lieu of free agency, Angels director of communications Eric Kay announced (on Twitter). Buck, 34, picked up five plate appearances with the Halos this season after spending much of the season with the Mariners. The veteran batted .225/.289/.281 in 97 plate appearances overall on the year. Boesch, 29, hit .187/.203/.293 with a pair of home runs in 79 PA for the Angels. The duo was designated for assignment earlier this week when the Angels claimed Alfredo Marte and Roger Kieschnick on waivers.

Angels Claim Alfredo Marte, Roger Kieschnick; Designate John Buck, Brennan Boesch

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The Angels have claimed outfielders Alfredo Marte and Roger Kieschnick off waivers from the Diamondbacks, the club announced. In a corresponding move, the team has designated catcher John Buck and outfielder Brennan Boesch for assignment.

Marte and Kieschnick have each seen fairly minimal time at the MLB level over the last two years, and neither has been productive in those short samples. But the 25-year-old Marte is fresh off of a .319/.407/.519 campaign at the Triple-A level, his best line as a professional. And while Kieschnick, 27, was less impressive in his first season in the D’backs organization (.260/.317/.461), he put up two productive Triple-A campaigns in the Giants system in the years prior.

Meanwhile, Buck was slated to become a free agent after the season. He signed on with the Halos after losing his backup job with the Mariners, with whom he signed a one-year, $1MM deal before the season. On the year, Buck slashed a meager .225/.289/.281 in his 97 big league plate appearances. Boesch, who could have been controlled through arbitration, will also get a slight head start on free agency. After joining the Angels on a minor league deal, Boesch struggled in 79 plate appearances with the big club but did tune up the PCL with a .332/.381/.636 slash over 407 plate appearances.

Angels Sign John Buck

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The Angels have signed the recently released John Buck to a minor league deal and assigned him to Triple-A Salt Lake, according to Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register (Twitter link).

Buck, a client of ACES, was designated for assignment and eventually released by the Mariners earlier this month when after hitting .226/.293/.286 in 27 games (92 plate appearances). The 34-year-old will provide some veteran catching depth for the Halos, who have been using a productive combination of Chris Iannetta and Hank Conger behind the dish this season.

In parts of 11 big league seasons between the Royals, Marlins, Mets, Pirates and Mariners, Buck is a .234/.301/.398 hitter with 134 home runs. He’s gunned down 25 percent of opposing base-stealers in his career and was at 21 percent in 2014 with Seattle.

Minor Moves: Clint Robinson, John Buck, Brandon Hicks

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Here are today’s minor moves and outright assignments from around the league…

  • The Dodgers have outrighted first baseman Clint Robinson after designating him on Thursday, according to the PCL transactions page. In the midst of a highly productive minor league campaign (.309/.402/.523 with 14 home runs), the 29-year-old was able to pick up his first three big league hits during a brief stint with the big club.
  • Catcher John Buck was released today by the Mariners, the club announced. Buck was recently designated for assignment after struggling to a .226/.293/.286 line in his first 92 plate appearances with Seattle. He signed a one-year, $1MM deal to join the club over the offseason.
  • The Giants announced that Brandon Hicks has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A Fresno. Hicks was designated for assignment upon Marco Scutaro’s activation from the DL. While he hit just .162 in 242 trips to the plate, Hicks showed plate discipline (13.2 percent walk rate) and some pop (eight homers) in his time with the Major League club.

Mariners Designate John Buck For Assignment

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The Mariners have designated veteran catcher John Buck for assignment, according to Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times (Twitter link). He notes in a followup tweet that it seems likely the Mariners will recall Jesus Sucre from Triple-A Tacoma.

Buck, who turned 34 years old Monday, inked a one-year, $1MM contract with the Mariners to serve as the backup to young catcher Mike Zunino. He’s struggled to get on base and hit for average in recent years, but he’d shown good pop until this season with Seattle. In 27 games (92 plate appearances), Buck was hitting just .226/.293/.286 with one home run.

Divish notes that the move likely won’t go over well in the Mariners’ locker room, as Buck was popular among his teammates. He adds, however, that there had been growing concern from the Mariners’ decision-makers over Buck’s receiving and blocking skills with the staff — particularly the team’s harder-throwing pitchers. Indeed, Buck grades out poorly in terms of pitch-framing metrics (per StatCorner.com’s Matthew Carruth and per Baseball Prospectus), although that’s hardly a new trend. Buck had one passed ball on the season and had been behind the dish for 11 wild pitches in just 164 innings, so the Mariners likely felt that some of those could have been blocked.

A veteran of 11 Major League seasons between the Royals, Blue Jays, Marlins, Mets, Pirates and Mariners, Buck is a lifetime .234/.301/.398 hitter.

Twins Notes: Rosario, Buck, Draft, Defense

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Twins prospect Eddie Rosario’s 50-game suspension will be over at the end of the week, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN. Vice president of player personnel Mike Radcliff tells Wolfson that Rosario will open his season at Class-A Advanced to shake off some rust, despite a solid showing in 70 Double-A games last season. Rosario has been ranked on several Top 100 Prospect lists — including the 2014 editions of Baseball Prospectus (60) and ESPN’s Keith Law (49) — but his stock took a hit when he tested positive for “a drug of abuse” for the second time this offseason. A few more links on the Twins…

  • Mariners catcher John Buck told Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press this weekend that he was “extremely close” to signing in Minnesota this offseason. According to Buck, his agent (Seth Levinson of ACES) told him there was a very good chance they’d finalize a deal, but Kurt Suzuki jumped in at the last minute and landed a spot with the Twins. “The way Kurt is swinging, they didn’t choose wrong, I guess,” Buck told Berardino. “He’s doing great.” Suzuki has been a surprisingly strong force this season, slashing .312/.378/.416 with the Twins.
  • La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star Tribune spoke with Twins scouting director Deron Johnson about the upcoming draft, who spoke to the tricky nature of this year’s draft without a clear-cut No. 1 overall pick. Neal writes that the Twins are doing the most due diligence on LSU right-hander Aaron Nola and NC State left-hander Carlos Rodon on the college side of things. As far as prep players go, righty Tyler Kolek, left-hander Brady Aiken, shortstop Nick Gordon and catcher/outfielder Alex Jackson are all in play.
  • The 2014 Twins have an alarmingly dangerous mix of low-strikeout pitchers and poor defensive players, writes Mike Petriello in an ESPN Insider piece. Petriello looks at the Twins’ poor outfield defense, in particular, noting what he describes as a “spring decision that backfired terribly.” The Twins elected to keep infielder Jason Bartlett as a utility player/backup outfielder — a decision that resulted in the loss of Alex Presley on waivers. When Bartlett abruptly retired, the Twins were forced to designate outfielder Darin Mastroianni for assignment, and they lost him to Toronto on waivers. In other words, as Petriello writes, “by keeping Bartlett, the Twins received zero production and lost two decent outfielders.”

Mariners Sign John Buck

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The Mariners announced today that they've added to their catching depth by inking veteran backstop John Buck to a one-year contract. Buck's contract is a Major League deal that is reportedly worth $1MM and should make him the favorite to serve as Seattle's backup catcher. The 33-year-old is a client of the ACES agency.

Buck

Buck, an All-Star back in 2010, got off to a hot start last season for the Mets. He ended April with a .844 OPS and 9 home runs, but faded over the course of the year. Buck ended up with a composite .219/.285/.362 line in 431 plate appearances for the year, though he did swat 15 home runs. His overall numbers line up with the figures he posted over the previous two seasons, falling well shy of his two best seasons: 2009 (.247/.299/.484) and 2010 (.281/.314/.489, 20 home runs).

Buck has appeared in at least 100 games in eight of the last nine seasons, making him a durable option. He has rated positively in terms of blocking pitches in the dirt, but has been ranked among the worst pitch framers in the game. Indeed, according to StatCorner (hat tip to Dave Cameron of Fangraphs), Buck came in dead last among all catchers in framing last year, costing the Mets over 20 runs.

Buck inked a three-year, $18MM contract with the Marlins after those big 2009-10 campaigns, but — depending upon how one values catchers, in particular — never quite lived up to the deal. Fangraphs figures his value at 4.1 WAR over the life of the deal, while Baseball Reference pegs it at just 1.1. And further downward adjustment could be warranted to account for Buck's poor framing metrics. He was ultimately dealt three times over the life of the contract: first to the Blue Jays, then to the Mets, and then to the Pirates. Hitting the open market for a third time, Buck ultimately settled for a relatively modest guarantee this time around.

Young catcher Mike Zunino figures to be the Seattle's primary catching option for 2014 (and beyond), but Buck will presumably leapfrog 25-year-old Jesus Sucre and veteran Humberto Quintero on the depth chart. As MLBTR's Aaron Steen has noted, the unseasoned Zunino could probably stand to spend more time in the minors or in a reduced role. With Buck's long history as a starter, however, he is a plausible candidate to see significant time behind the big league dish.

Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports first reported that the two sides were nearing a deal, and Jon Heyman of CBS Sports first reported (on Twitter) that the two sides had reached a $1MM agreement.

Steve Adams contributed to this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Mariners Close To Deal With John Buck

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TUESDAY, 4:20pm: Seattle is expected to give Buck a major league contract, Morosi tweets.

MONDAY, 11:25pm: The Mariners are close to a deal with free agent catcher John Buck, reports Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter). Buck, 33, is represented by the ACES agency.

The backstop played out the last year of a three-year, $18MM contract last season. After originally signing that deal with the Marlins, Buck was dealt from the Blue Jays to the Mets, and then to the Pirates. Buck raced out to a hot start in 2013 — he had a .844 OPS and 9 home runs in April — but faded over the course of the year. He saw only 24 plate appearances in his late-season stint in Pittsburgh, and ultimately ended the 2013 campaign with a .219/.285/.362 line and 15 home runs over 431 plate appearances. Buck has appeared in at least 100 games in eight of the last nine seasons and has a lifetime .701 OPS.

As things stand for Seattle, young catcher Mike Zunino figures to be the club's primary catching option for 2014 (and beyond), with 25-year-old Jesus Sucre and veteran Humberto Quintero also in the mix. At first glance, Buck would presumably fit in as Zunino's backup if a deal is consummated. On the other hand, as MLBTR's Aaron Steen has noted, the unseasoned Zunino could probably stand to spend more time in the minors or in a reduced role, and Buck's long history as a starter makes him a plausible candidate to see significant time behind the big league dish.

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