Atlanta Braves: ranking the free agent backup catchers

While we wait for the Atlanta Braves to find a bat, there’s still one more pressing need — that of a backup catcher.

While a trade possibility still remains as the Atlanta Braves attempt to find a backup catcher, that’s not the usual route that teams take to find such a player.

Backup catchers, in particular, come in just two varieties:  those you go out and grab immediately and those who… linger.  Often this happens until Spring Training is about to start.

Given that Alex Anthopoulos doesn’t often hesitate when there’s a “must have” player out there, one can come to the conclusion that this position doesn’t fall into such a category since there’s been exactly zero “buzz” on the subject.

Granted, getting a backup to Travis d’Arnaud isn’t exactly a hot topic, but the Braves have been making a habit in recent years of finding a tandem that has been one of the top offensive duos in the league, and that shouldn’t be ignored.

Given that, here are the free agent catchers still out on the market that could be signed by the Braves… along with the pros and cons (or likelihoods) for each one.

The List

J.T. REALMUTO.  Let’s get this out of the way first:  yes, he’s on the list… but the chances here are exactly zero.

YADIER MOLINA.  Almost as unlikely.  The 38½-year-old still sees himself as a primary catcher, and the only real chance of seeing him in a Braves uniform would be if he simply wanted to spite the Cardinal organization he’s been with since being drafted in 2000.    Of course, St. Louis hasn’t exactly pursued him this Winter since the two sides have to be way apart on price… even $10 million (half his prior salary) would be way too much for a Braves backup.

TYLER FLOWERS.  He turns 35 this week, but his inevitable decline has been underway for a couple of seasons now.  He is probably the easiest to obtain, but it’s hard to imagine that the Braves would have let him go if they thought he was the right guy to return… but he virtually vanished in the post-season.

TONY WOLTERS.  At 28½, he’s the youngest around, but the Colorado catchers were projected dead last in offensive production before the 2020 season, and… the results were accurate.  You can’t even give Wolters points for defensive skills, so this is a non-starter.

ALEX AVILA.  Avila has enjoyed flashes of brilliance at the plate, though those years (2017, 2019) could be behind him now at age 34 (next week).  Still, he was the best defensively among the Twins catchers last year.  This would appear to be a decent fit for Atlanta.

JASON CASTRO.  At 33½, he’s still a decent defensive option… of course, he’d better be since he hasn’t hit above .245 since 2013.  If you’re looking for a strictly defensive receiver as your backup, then you could do a lot worse, but there have to be better options.

ROBINSON CHIRINOS.  He might be a bounce-back candidate… if you believe that a 36½-year-old catcher could do that.  Offensively, his bat had traditionally been solid, but that completely fell apart during the short season.  He’s also not that much of a glove man.

JEFF MATHIS.  If he gets a job, this would be his 17th MLB season.  He’d also turn 38 as the season starts.  Mathis would be another ‘glove only’ backup, but without full support from other Braves’ bats, he’d be a hole in the lineup.

WILSON RAMOS.  At 33½, Ramos had been one of the top offensive catchers around… until becoming a member of the Mets.  Still, his glove isn’t terrible, so if he could be persuaded to take a backup role (with a corresponding salary reduction), it might not be a bad idea.

AUSTIN ROMINE.  Just over 32 years old now, Romine has had his ups and downs… on both sides of the ball.  The trick here is simply not knowing what you’re going to get out of him… maybe something around league-average defense with an 80-90 OPS+ without a lot of offensive pop.

MATT WIETERS.  Seemingly around forever, Wieters will turn 35 in May.  At this point, he is what he is… which is maybe Austin Romine with a bit more slugging potential.

My general takeaway on these guys?  If you’re an aspiring ballplayer in your teens, consider catching, for you might have a job forever… even if you’re not very good.

Putting Numbers on it

That’s the list… so here’s my ranking of them in terms of likelihood that Atlanta will sign them:

• AVILA  (25%)
• WIETERS (25%)
• ROMINE (15%)
• RAMOS (10%)
• FLOWERS (10%)
• CHIRINOS (5%)
• CASTRO (5%)
• MATHIS (5%)

And those I project with 0% chances:  Realmuto, Molina, Wolters.

As we say:  not a sexy topic, but it’s one that the Atlanta Braves still need to resolve — and that should probably be in place … perhaps within the next week?