Three Catchers The Guardians Should Target This Offseason
Out of all of the positions on Cleveland’s roster heading into the offseason, the biggest question mark is at catcher.
Austin Hedges was the starting catcher for most of the games in 2022 and Luke Maile did a fine job defensively as a backup but still left something to be desired at the plate.
Then there is Bo Naylor had made his debut at the end of September, and was on the playoff roster, but didn’t get substantial playing time. The verdict is still out on whether or not he’ll be on the Opening Day roster next April. But there are other options via free agency or trade that Cleveland could pursue.
Before I get into the other options, I just want to say I’m all for bringing back Hedges. He’s clearly loved in the clubhouse and is a great veteran presence to have around. He may not be the starting catcher, but something like that is invaluable and doesn’t necessarily appear on the stat sheet.
But there are other options for the starting role:
Sean Murphy
If you’re a die-hard Guardians fan, this one isn’t a surprise. All season fans have said how great of a fit Sean Murphy would be with this team and the Cleveland organization did inquire about him before the trade deadline. However, talks with the Athletics fell apart and a deal didn’t get done.
Why not pick up where the two teams left off?
Murphy really would be a great fit with the Guardians. He offers the offensive boost they’ve been missing from the catching position with his .250 batting average and 18 home runs.
He’s also a solid defensive catcher too. He ranked in the 96th percentile in catcher pop time and the 84 percentile in farming. If you can bring in a catcher that is an offensive improvement and won’t be a downgrade on defense that is certainly something worth exploring.
Alejandro Kirk
This one may seem like a wild card, but hear me out. I think this could make a lot of sense for both sides and Alejandro Kirk to the Guardians makes a lot of sense.
The first one is that the Blue Jays have a log jam of catchers. At one point last season they were carrying all three of them because they deserved playing time. The other two catchers are Danny Jansen and Gabriel Moreno.
Again, if the Guardians were to be looking for a new catcher then they need to have good offensive numbers. Kirk definitely has that. He had 14 home runs 63 RBI and a .787 OPS in the 2022 regular season.
Out of all the catchers the Guardians could go after, the price for Kirk may be the highest. Toronto also may be unwilling to move on from him with him being an All-Star in 2022. But the Guardians have plenty of prospects they could use to trade for Kirk and what he would bring to this team could take them to the next level.
Christain Vazquez
If the Guardians were to look at an improvement at catcher it’s going to be for an offensive-minded catcher. One option is Christian Vazquez who will be a free agent this offseason.
Vazquez is coming off a great year at the plate where he slashed .274/.315/.399 while hitting nine home runs with 52 RBI. This is a bat the Guardians would love to have in the lineup.
If Cleveland were to bring back Hedges, then he and Vazquez could easily co-exist. Hedges is the defensive catcher late or early in games and Vazquez could be a pinch-hitting offensive option when needed.
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