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Carrying the Tools of Ignorance
Wow...this has got to be someone's idea of a really, really bad practical joke.
The only four catchers in my system are, in alphabetical order:
A.J. Hinch, Robert Machado, Miguel Olivo, and Mike Rivera.
Hinch hit .231. In AAA. He's 31 years old. Great.
Machado has a stat line that will give me nightmares. His batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage, respectively, are .176/.195/.244. Best of all - he'll earn $410,400 next year. I can't begin to express just how unfathomable this is.
Miguel Olivo hit .261 this year, stole 10 bases, and smacked 7 homers. He's got a nice arm, too, throwing out 30% of opposing baserunners. But he also managed an OBP of .295 and an OPS of just .587 against right-handed pitching. I'm all for secondary skills, but I refuse to let Olivo be anything more than the backup and lefty-mashing catcher next year, because his supposed offense against right-handed pitching would be, well, offensive. By the way, he was 27 this year. That's the peak year for most players, so Mr. Olivo, who's a career .234 hitter, could decline precipitously next year. Almost all of his damage was done against left-handed pitching, so if he regresses there, it could be a very sharp decline.
Mike Rivera hit .254 this year. In AAA. He's 29, and only popped five home runs. Makes me yearn for Mr. Hinch.
I think we need a catcher.
Craig
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