As I was saying during the last time I spoke about Danny Jansen, it's a great time to be a mediocre catcher without a lot of contracted time remaining.
It's been made clear that the Phillies, Guardians, Diamondbacks, and possibly the Rays, Mariners and Pirates, will be looking for catching help this deadline. The big names on the board are Elias Diaz and Danny Jansen, though I'm not sure if Logan O'Hoppe is out of the question. And because those are the biggest names, and there's still a lot of teams that need catching help, a lot of more...workable options are involved in talks as well.
One that I'm still confused about is Shea Langeliers, who is falling into the Mike Zunino track of being a good player by the metric of statistics that may not entirely matter. Right now he's hitting .205 with a pace that could leave him with a 150-strikeout season, he's got negative figures in the batting and fielding WAR fields, and he's got an OPS of .698. And yet he's gotten 41 RBIs, 14 home runs and a 1.4 WAR. So technically he is a good player, just on account of his power numbers, but I don't think he's a catching upgrade, nor is he especially a very versatile player. But people apparently are looking at him. I mean...maybe it's circumstantial, maybe he needs the right environment to blossom, but...I dunno, guys. Daniel Vogelbach looked like an upgrade in 2022 as well.
Meanwhile, Jacob Stallings, after refusing to hit for two seasons in Miami, has finally figured things out again in Colorado. Yes, some of it may be in accordance with the ballpark, but this is his best hitting season yet. He's hitting .279 with 19 RBIs and 4 homers as the primary backup [turned starter since Diaz is hurt]. There's the issue of his defensive numbers receding a bit, but for the first time in a while Jacob Stallings actually has presence rather than being a replacement option. Unlike Langeliers, one has to wonder how much of this hot year is circumstantial, and if he'll be able to retain a lot of this energy if he is dealt to another market. I think what sets Stallings apart from somebody like Austin Hedges is there's more versatility to him than simply just 'man behind plate'. He'd be a great backup option somewhere that needs backstop variance, and is still good in high tension defensive situations.
Both of these teams will be alright if these two go. The Rockies have been using Hunter Goodman as backup catcher, which, while not his primary position, could be a way of keeping him in the lineup. Down the line they have Drew Romo, who's looking MLB ready, and may be called up in the next month. The A's have Kyle McCann as the immediate option, Carlos Perez as a replacement option, Yozel Pozo as a potential call-up, and hopefully one of those works. If none of them get traded...it's good to have the options, I suppose.
Maybe 2025 will have a deeper trade pool at this position. You never know.
Coming Tomorrow- He hit homers against both my teams this year, yet I can't completely dislike the guy.
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