Advanced Metrics Show Why Braves Signed Jeff Mathis

According to David O’Brien on Twitter: “The Braves are signing veteran catcher Jeff Mathis to a minor league contract, a source tells The Athletic. Mathis, a 16-year veteran who turns 38 on Wednesday, is looking to transition into coaching.”

There are most likely multiple reasons why this move was made. The most obvious one, based on what O’Brien is saying, is for the mentorship.

William Contreras was optioned back to AAA to ensure that he gets every day at bats. This was a smart move since he has the skill set to be more than just an MLB backup.

Defense, Defense, Defense

It goes deeper than just the mentorship though. Why Mathis? Jonathon Lucroy is available and had a fantastic spring training with a slash line of .333/.478/.867, albeit in only 18 at-bats. The answer seems to be hinging on one thing — defensive Depth.

In the past few years, it has proven to be very successful for the Atlanta Braves to have a tandem of catchers where one is bat first, and one his glove first. For as much as Tyler Flowers lacked in some areas, he was an elite pitch framer.

Lucroy was very solid on defense in the early part of his career. He has a total of 54 Defensive runs saved. However, since 2015 he has -36 DRS, and that is without playing any games in 2020.

d’Arnaud’s defense is suspect

As well as Travis d’Arnaud did last year with the bat (.321/.386/.533, 138 OPS+ and an Offensive Wins Above Replacement of 1.5), he had a terrible time in the field.

d’Arnaud accumulated a defensive WAR of -0.5 in 44 games. In a full season, he was on pace for a -1.35 dWAR. In case you did not know, that is bad enough to start considering moving a guy to DH.

He has only ever had a positive defensive year once, and that was way back in 2013 when he had 1 DRS. In total, he has -25 for his career.

Enter Jeff Mathis for the Braves

Jeff Mathis is the opposite. He has been arguably one of the best defensive catchers for the past 13 years. He has never been good with his bat, with a career 48 OPS+.

Mathis is still bringing very good defense. DRS and dWAR are accumulative stats, much like hits. Since 2017, Mathis has 31 DRS and 3.6 dWAR, and that is with never playing more than 86 games in a season.

Can the Braves depend on Jackson?

Alex Jackson is going to be the primary backup to Travis d’Arnaud to start the season. This is not a knock on Jackson by signing Mathis, but his ability at the Major League level is largely unknown. As a prospect, he started off as a bat-first catcher. In fact, the Mariners shifted him to the outfield for a while before he was a Brave.

In the minor league signing of Mathis, the Braves took a low-risk signing and got a win-win situation. They added mentorship for a rising star, while also adding defensive insurance should they need it.