Tuesday, November 14, 2006

 

Free Agents:

The Catchers

Hello All! Again, too tired to do the rest. I will be back with the Outfielders. I will be back later in the day to post the updated NFL "Expert" Pick standings.

Here are the catchers who are free agents. Many of them are backups with a couple of every day players. The Twins have Joe Mauer and Mike Redmond at the big league level. Chris Heintz is on the 40 man roster. Unless one of these wants to spend the year at Rochester, none will come to the Twins.

Catchers (16)

Sandy Alomar, Jr.

2006 Team - Chicago White Sox

Comments - 40 year old Alomar has had a solid big league career. He has stayed in the league for 18 years despite the fact that he has done little offensively since the late '90s. Last year, he played in just 46 games the whole year, 17 of them after he was acquired by the White Sox in a late July trade. 

2007 Projection - Chicago White Sox

Contract - 1 year, $600,000

Twins Interest? - None.

Paul Bako

2006 Team - Kansas City Royals

Comments - The 34 year old Bako has never played in more than 96 games in a season, and that was his rookie season of 1998 with Detroit. He has made a nice career by being terrific behind the plate. For his career, he has hit .236/.308/.321. He has no power and strikes out every third at bat. He won't be a starter anywhere (unless it's in AAA), but he will likely find another backup job. 

2007 Projection - Toronto Blue Jays

Contract - 1 year, $750,000

Twins Interest? - None.

Rod Barajas

2006 Team - Texas Rangers

Comments - Barajas has been starting for the Rangers the last three seasons, primarily because of his bat. He is a career .240 hitter, but he hit 21 and 15 home runs in 2004 and 2005. Despite a career high .256 batting average, he had just 11 homers. The fact is that much of his power could have been ballpark contributed. Gerald Laird has been more than ready for a couple of years now and deserves to get the starting nod.

2007 Projection - Toronto Blue Jays

Contract - 2 years, $3.4 million

Twins Interest? - At this time, none.

Gary Bennett

2006 Team - St. Louis Cardinals

Comments - 34 year old Bennett has been in the big leagues since he got one at bat with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1995. The last five years, he has played between 60 and 96 games a season. He doesn't hit much either, .241 for his career, but he is solid defensively. If you're looking for a positive, in 35 at bats against lefties, he hit .400/.462/1.062.

2007 Projection - Chicago Cubs

Contract - 1 year, $750,000

Actual - Cardinals, 1 year, $800,000

Twins Interest? - None.

Henry Blanco

2006 Team - Chicago Cubs

Comments - I still find it comical that some people think that Henry Blanco had a good year for the Twins in 2004. He hit .206/.260/.368. His numbers were that bad despite his surprising ten home runs. He used a clause in his contract to become a free agent and got a little extra money to go to the Cubs. That was a great break for the Twins as they were then able to sign Mike Redmond. Last year, Blanco played in 74 games and hit a career-high .266 with six homers. He is a solid backup though.

2007 Projection - Atlanta Braves

Contract - 1 year, $1 million.

Actual - Chicago Cubs, 2 years, $5 million.

Twins Interest? - None.

Einar Diaz

2006 Team - Los Angeles Dodgers

Comments - Diaz was once such a big prospect with the Indians. In 2006, the 34 year old got just three at bats with the Dodgers. He was 2-3 though. He began the season with Buffalo, the AAA affiliate of the Indians, and hit just .218. After going to AAA Albuquerque, he went 3-7 with two doubles before he was called up. 

2007 Projection - Kansas City Royals

Contract - Minor League

Twins Interest? - None.

Mike DiFelice

2006 Team - NY Mets

Comments - Let's see, what do you think the market for a 37 year old catcher who spent the majority of his season catching in AA? That's what DiFelice did. He was called up to the Mets when Ramon Castro went on the DL in early August. He then went 2-25 with the Mets. He is a career .235 hitter in just under 1,500 at bats.

2007 Projection - NY Mets

Contract - Minor League deal

Twins Interest? - None.

Robert Fick

2006 Team - Washington Nationals

Comments - In 60 games last year, he hit .266/.325/.455 for the Nationals. Fick was an All-Star for the Detroit Tigers when they were really bad in the early '00s. In 2001, he did have an .815 OPS. He has not had an OPS of .800 in any other season. He can catch, but not well, and that's about how well he plays 1B and the OF too.

2007 Projection - Kansas City Royals

Contract - Minor League deal

Twins Interest? - None.

Todd Greene  

2006 Team - San Francisco Giants

Comments - Just think about where Greene would be if not for all the injuries early in his career. He was a big prospect. Now, he is a solid offensive backup catcher. Last year, in 61 games, he hit .289/.335/.428 with a couple of home runs. He is Eliezer Alfonso's backup, and I think he will remain that way.

2007 Projection - San Francisco Giants

Contract - Minor League

Twins Interest? - None.

Mike Lieberthal

2006 Team - Philadelphia Phillies

Comments - Injuries limited the 34 year old Lieberthal to just 67 games. He was the #3 overall pick in 1991 and was up with the Phillies by 1994, but not for good until 1997. That's 12 big league seasons with the same team. He was a fairly consistent performer. Since 1996, he has had just one season with an OPS under .700 and three above .800. Health is his only concern. And now Chris Coste has proven he can handle regular catching duties and Carlos Ruiz remains the catcher of the future.

2007 Projection - New York Yankees

Contract - 1 year, $4 million with options

Twins Interest? - None.

Doug Mirabelli

2006 Team - Boston Red Sox

Comments - Tim Wakefield's personal catcher may have to catch someone else next year. Of course, when he was traded to the Padres last offseason for Mark Loretta, the thought was he would catch others. Well, the Josh Bard experience with Wakefield didn't work and Mirabelli was quickly returned to Boston. I don't think that will happen again.

2007 Projection - Arizona Diamondbacks

Contract - 1 year, $1.6 million

Twins Interest? - None.

Bengie Molina

2006 Team - Toronto Blue Jays

Comments - After eight years behind the plate in Anaheim, Molina thought he was pretty good and was going to cash in on his first free agency experience. It didn't happen. In the end, he signed with Toronto for one year, plus an option. We were told that he had a bad year and didn't warrant the second year. Looking at his numbers though, in 117 games, he hit .284 with 20 doubles, 19 homers and 57 RBI. Not bad. I still don't think that he will get a huge, multi-year deal though. 

2007 Projection - Cleveland Indians

Contract - 1 year, $3.5 million

Actual - Giants, 3 years, $15 million

Twins Interest? - None.

Mike Piazza

2006 Team - San Diego Padres

Comments - Arguably the greatest offensive catcher in baseball history, many thought that he was washed up last year. He has never  been a great catcher, specifically throwing, but he could hit. Last year, I thought the Twins should consider him as a DH type who could play 1B from time to time. But I think Piazza felt he could still catch, and the Padres gave him a shot. He came through with a .283/.342/.501 with 22 homers and 68 RBI. He caught in 99 games last year. However, in the playoffs, he was being platooned with the aforementioned Josh Bard and even former Twin Rob Bowen got some time behind the plate. At 38, as a DH, he could play a couple more years.  

2007 Projection - Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

Contract - 2 years, $12.6 million, with option year

Twins Interest? - If he is willing to DH, maybe backup at 1B once in a while, and NOT catch.

Todd Pratt

2006 Team - Atlanta Braves

Comments - If you're looking for an example of the perfect backup catcher, Todd Pratt is it. Excellent defensively, great teammate and teach and enough pop in his bat that he must be respected, even at age 39. You can't neglect the role that Pratt likely had in Brian McCann's terrific rookie season.

2007 Projection - Boston Red Sox

Contract - 1 year, $900,000

Twins Interest? - None.

Chris Widger

2006 Team - Baltimore Orioles

Comments - After playing in just 26 games with the White Sox a year ago, he was released by the team in early August. Soon after, he signed with the Orioles and got in 9 games. The previous year, he got into some games at 3B as well. Another guy who has been around forever.

2007 Projection - Colorado Rockies

Contract - Minor League Deal

Twins Interest? - None

Gregg Zaun

2006 Team - Toronto Blue Jays

Comments - Most of the guys on this list are career backup catchers. Zaun is not as exception, but I think he should be. The Blue Jays should have given him primary catching duties a year ago, but instead signed Molina. Zaun should be the regular Blue Jays catcher in 2007, but I wouldn't blame him for leaving to play elsewhere. That said, he really could get even more ABs next year. At 35, he is running out of chances.  

2007 Projection - Oakland A's

Contract - 2 years, $3.2 million

Actual - Blue Jays, 2 years, $7.25 million

Twins Interest? - None

 

Do you have any thoughts on any of these?

 

Tonight, I will finish my look at free agents with the outfielders.

Please leave any comments below. Thanks!

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