Do You Want Salt on That?

I've been called a lot of things, (just ask my ex-wife, HEY-O) but no one would ever call me someone that has been an advocate or a fan of Jarrod Saltalamacchia. That being said, the Red Sox are in quite the conundrum after the season with his impending free agency.

Saltalamacchia has by and large had a solid year offensively (ranked 7th in terms of raw power (ISO)) and has certainly improved to be a better catcher defensively than in years past. The pitchers do seem more comfortable with him yet you will still see the occasional terrible throw back to the mound to still make me nervous about his bout with the "yips". Derek Lowe spoke at length in a recent Red Sox broadcast about how much he appreciated David Ross because his throw was always perfect back to the mound which kept him in rhythm. All this withstanding he has been an integral part of the success of this team this year, admirably catching both ends of a double-dip and his ability to be in the lineup day after day.

My thoughts on this are simply this: Tell me who takes over for him and what's the cost.

There is one free agent catchers that I would consider "big name" (Brian McCann) and one trade candidate (Yan Gomes). For those of you saying, "what the hell is a Yan Gomes?", he is the backup/timeshare catcher for the Indians with Carlos Santana and Kelly Shoppach.


How do they stack up against one another offensively?

 I would say Gomes' 2013 is every bit as impressive as Saltalamacchia and McCann's despite having fewer at bats. Catchers typically blossom a little later in their careers compared to other position players and while Salty and McCann are in their respective primes Gomes is approaching his and doesn't become a free agent until 2019. These three are clearly head and shoulders above Ruiz offensively.

The UBR stat takes into account all base running scenarios (taking the extra base, tagging up and advancing etc.) Saltalamacchia is the leader in this category and given John Farrell's mantra of taking the extra base, and the fact that been very fortunate lately with a few steals it is not a surprise, but Gomes is a much faster base runner.

Looking at wOBA, which is a wonderful stat that measures a hitter's overall offensive value, it shows that Gomes, McCann and Saltalamacchia are well above average in terms of overall offensive value. Gomes also has created 33% more runs than league average which for a player that has not yet reached his prime is quite remarkable. He is ranked 33rd in terms of wRC+ of all players with at least 300 plate appearances ahead of the likes of Buster Posey, Evan Longoria and Prince Fielder. This is what we call a diamond in the rough.

I included a new stat called 'Dollars' which is basically what the player is worth given their performance. if you divide it by their WAR it comes out to be approximately 5 million per Win. Yan Gomes has been worth 3.6 Wins Above Replacement this year which totals to be about $17.8 million. When you consider the fact that he is not even arbitration eligible this is one of the biggest bargains in baseball this year.

While you want every player on your team to be well-rounded I place an importance on catcher defense because of the ripple effect that it has on the rest of the team especially the pitching staff. If a pitcher has the confidence of his catcher that he will control the running game, or block a pitch in the dirt, it is one less thing that he has to worry about and can focus more of his effort on the execution of his pitches.

I'll let Fangraphs explain how they quantify Catcher Defense:

"Like all defensive stats, both rSB and RPP are centered around 0, meaning that a score of zero is considered league average. Scores above zero are good, and those below zero are bad.

Note: these values are for each stat separately. If you would like tiers for catcher defensive value in total, double the values of the above tiers in order to get a quick-and-dirty estimate."

Given these metrics how do our candidates measure?

If you do as Fangraphs 'Note' tells you and add up rSB and RPP you will get the following:

Gomes 5.9
McCann 2.2
Saltalamachhia -1.6

This would put Gomes' defense at just about 'Great', McCann at slightly 'Above Average' and Jarrod Saltalamacchia approaching 'Below Average' in total catcher defense.

While Saltalamcchia has thrown out more runners than the other two he has been attempted on about twice as many times which speaks to the fact that the other teams don't fear his arm behind the plate and are daring him to throw them out, which he has been below average at best at in his career. This does not bode well for a long-term catcher as well whom will only get slower and less agile with age.

Numbers however are not the only factors when considering a player. McCann had shoulder surgery this past off season and for a position that throws just as many throws as the pitcher this is somewhat worrisome. Saltalamacchia and Gomes have not had major injuries to key body parts.

As mentioned Saltalamacchia's throwing is something that would need to be taken into consideration as the "yips" is something that could rear its ugly head at anytime, before doling out something long-term.

With McCann being the sexiest name as far as catchers go he will almost assuredly cost more than all the other catchers. I would guess that he gets at least a three to four year deal somewhere other than Atlanta, but if I am the Red Sox I pass on him at that length and being that he will be on the wrong side of 30 come next Spring Training.

Gomes will cost something in a trade, given his age, production, non-injury history and value (in terms of salary). Therefore you have to weigh, is what you're giving up plus the savings on Salty's contract demands worth it? I would say that one of the Indians needs is starting pitching which you could deal from a relative surplus depending on their demands. In the off season would you hesitate dealing the year of Jake Peavy an established veteran pitcher straight up for Gomes? I would. Or what about someone else who was cost-controllable like Doubront or Workman? I wouldn't think twice about this either. If Cleveland started talking about players like Barnes or Owens, then you'd certainly balk. But what about Webster? I digress.

Saltalamacchia is making 4.5 million this year so what would I deem to be an acceptable contract? At roughly the same age John Buck got a contract of 3 years 18 million. I believe Saltalamacchia is worth more than that. 3 years 23 million is the most that I would go for Saltalamacchia. I would go no longer than three years and while the money could fluctuate it is about length of contract not overall value. However, he is not a 10 million dollar per year player. Looking at just the salary, he would get a 3.1 million dollar raise per year for the next 3 years from his current salary which is a 70% pay raise from his current salary. You don't break the bank for flawed players, and given his age and current skill set this offer is more than fair.

There aren't many options but there are some. While the best option is to look into the trade market, ultimately I think the Red Sox strike a deal with Saltalamacchia and hope Blake Swihart makes strides in the minor leagues to supersede him in the future.

Stay Tuned,
Norton