Kurt Suzuki: A better backup for the Atlanta Braves than Recker any day
By Josh Brown
On Saturday it was announced that the Atlanta Braves have signed veteran catcher, Kurt Suzuki, to a one-year $1.5MM deal pending a physical.
Shortly after the announcement was made, a small fallout on Twitter began, from Braves fans who think Anthony Recker should be the rightful heir to the backup catcher throne behind Tyler Flowers.
I’ve spent the past five minutes contemplating why the Atlanta Braves would sign a guy like Kurt Suzuki and I think I’ve figured it out. Kurt Suzuki is better at playing baseball than Anthony Recker.
If you’re upset that Recker might not be the Atlanta Braves backup catcher in 2017, then we need to talk. Its understandable, though. While we’re all excited about our No. 1 farm system and Ender, the big league team hasn’t been good the past few years. Because of this, we’ve let our standards slip and now think Recker is a good baseball player and we get mad over things like Jason Castro going to anther team.
In 33 games with Atlanta in 2016, the 33-year-old slashed .278/.394/.433. Before this “flash in the pan,” the most Recker had played at the big league level was in 2014 when he saw 189 plate appearances and slashed .201/.246/.374.
Recker is a lifetime .200 hitter who has never played more than 58 games in a season at the big league level. So, with all do respect, while Suzuki might not be a substantial signing, when you have a backup catcher like Recker, signing Suzuki actually is a substantial signing.
Suzuki has a much more consistent and proven track record as a big league catcher than Recker. In fact, Suzuki could have more business being the Braves starting catcher than Flowers does. And before you get your virtual panties in a wad, understand that I’m one of Flowers’ biggest advocates. Google it.
Source: #Braves finalizing deal with free-agent catcher Kurt Suzuki, as @ChrisCotillo said. Would put Anthony Recker in play for trades.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) January 21, 2017
And for anyone who thinks Recker is part of some luxurious “trade deal,” Williams Perez‘s jock strap could fetch a better return than Recker could. Furthermore, my bartender has more insider information on the Braves than Ken Rosenthal does.
Suzuki is just a few years removed from being an All-Star (2014). He’s a decent lifetime .256 hitter with an arm. (I used batting average right there in an effort to offend all of you.)
Suzuki is also good with guys in scoring position. Many of you believe that RISP and RBI mean nothing, but last time I checked the objective of a baseball game is to score more runs than the other team and in order to do that, you have to get more guys to the plate than the other team. Last year, Kurt hit .295 w/RISP.
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It’s a small one-year deal. Simply put, the Atlanta Braves just upgraded their backstop situation with Flowers and Suzuki. The organization is still probably two years out from any catching prospect making it to Atlanta. I still think Jonathan Morales has the most promise to be that guy, but he’s a ways away.