Guardians Winter Meetings dispatch: The never-ending pursuit of a catcher
Sep 20, 2022; Oakland, California, USA; Oakland Athletics catcher Sean Murphy (12) hits an RBI double against the Seattle Mariners during the fifth inning at RingCentral Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
By Zack Meisel
5h ago
SAN DIEGO — Insights and sounds, all pertaining to the Cleveland Guardians, from the Manchester Grand Hyatt on the shores of the San Diego Bay …
Why are the Guardians in pursuit of an established catcher when Bo Naylor, widely considered a top-100 prospect in the sport, is on the cusp of the majors?
They don’t want to overburden the 22-year-old, and it wouldn’t be shocking if he opened the 2023 season in Triple A. They’re eyeing another division title and a deeper postseason run, so they would prefer not to simply hand him the reins, slap him on the backside and wish him the best, given he has spent only three months with Triple-A Columbus.
“We’re not in a position,” team president Chris Antonetti said Monday from the team’s suite overlooking the harbor, “just to see, ‘Oh, let’s see how it goes.’”
That’s not to say Naylor won’t factor into the catching equation in 2023. Perhaps the Guardians’ pursuit of another reliable entity behind the plate will fall flat and Naylor will wind up atop the depth chart. They called him up at the end of last season, affording him the opportunity to shadow Austin Hedges, Luke Maile and Sandy Alomar Jr., just to inch him one step closer to big-league readiness. But they’re seeking more certainty at the position, especially after Hedges, Maile and company combined to produce a .178/.265/.265 slash line in 2022.
“Is it fair for that to happen Opening Day next year? I’m not sure,” Antonetti said about Naylor’s potential major-league emergence. “Is it some point during the season? Hopefully. When? It’s hard to predict.”
Will Bo Naylor be on the Opening Day roster? Chris Antonetti said it’s “hard to predict.” (Mark J. Rebilas / USA Today)
Cleveland values catchers who aren’t liabilities behind the plate and who can guide pitchers through opposing lineups. That’s a lot of responsibility for a rookie, especially when the club wants more offense out of the position, too.
Thirty rookie catchers appeared in at least one game this past season. Only 15 totaled more than 100 plate appearances. Only two totaled more than 300 plate appearances, and one of those — Kansas City’s MJ Melendez — only started 65 games at catcher.
So, as has been well documented, the Guardians have been in pursuit of a certain catcher for a while now.
That’s right, Meibrys Viloria, whom they signed to a minor-league deal over the weekend. OK, that’s a depth move.
Sean Murphy, of course, is the prize, the most coveted catcher available on the trade market. Cleveland pursued Murphy at the trade deadline four months ago, but they were reluctant to move top prospects Daniel Espino, Gavin Williams and George Valera.
Some things have changed since then. The Guardians established themselves as actual contenders, rather than a club hanging around on the periphery of an underwhelming American League Central race. Murphy has slightly less team control, though not being eligible for free agency until after the 2025 season still gives him significant value. And since it’s the offseason, more teams can consider dealing for him, with rosier outlooks than they might have had in August. (Those teams also have more options to choose from in free agency and via trade.)
Cleveland’s front office has developed a reputation for etching a line in the sand and not budging, which might explain why the Guardians remain interested in Murphy, but also why Murphy hasn’t been moved, even though everyone in the baseball universe expects the A’s to move him and there seems to be a new suitor revealed on the rumor mill each hour.
Antonetti characterized the team’s catching situation as “a work in progress.” A staring contest has to end sometime.
Part of the dilemma is there are alternatives. The Blue Jays could trade one of their catchers. Free agent Christian Vázquez might be appealing, depending on the length of his eventual contract.
And it’s not just catcher the Guardians are seeking to upgrade. They’ve spent time canvassing the market for right-handed hitters in general, including the first base/designated hitter crop. They’ve been quite fond of outfielder Bryan Reynolds since the summer of 2021 and he has recently forced his way onto the trade market. Once the Guardians cut ties with Franmil Reyes in the summer, they rotated players through the DH spot, treasuring the flexibility it gave manager Terry Francona. They aren’t married to that approach.
“If we had David Ortiz in his prime …” Antonetti said. “For the right guy, we could sign a DH or trade for a DH.”
The Guardians hope to fill their two coaching staff vacancies created when Brian Sweeney became the Royals’ pitching coach and Justin Toole became the Mariners’ director of player development. Sweeney was Cleveland’s bullpen coach the past three years. Toole spent the past three seasons as the team’s hitting analyst. It’s expected both will be replaced with internal hires.
Andrés Giménez, expecting to be asked to play shortstop for Team Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic in March, asked the Guardians for permission to get some work at the position in winter ball in his native country. Jose Altuve figures to be Venezuela’s second baseman, despite Giménez winning a Gold Glove at that spot in 2022. As of Monday, Giménez had appeared in three games in winter ball, all at shortstop. He committed one error.
A few weeks ago, Antonetti said he expects the club’s payroll to be “appreciably higher” than the $68 million it spent last season. What, exactly, does mean?
“More than $1,” Antonetti said. “Less than $100 million.”
OK, so a payroll between $68,000,001 and $167,999,999.
That would arm the team with enough cash to sign Aaron Judge.
“I’d be happy to say hello to him,” Antonetti said. “He’s a really nice guy. I would encourage him to go to the National League.”
Really, though, Antonetti said owner Paul Dolan hasn’t supplied any directive or payroll cap. Antonetti and general manager Mike Chernoff stressed they are aiming to spend on the right players, not just spending in general. If that’s the case, cost shouldn’t be prohibitive in their pursuit of upgrading the lineup, as they attempt to level up from a nice, division-winning story to vying for an AL pennant. File this topic away for a couple of months from now, once we have more clarity on how the Guardians’ offseason unfolded.
Cleveland’s front office flew through Detroit over the weekend en route to San Diego. Antonetti had an aisle seat. The middle seat in his row was empty. In the window seat? Scott Harris, the Tigers’ president of baseball operations.
“I couldn’t exactly open up all my notes on players,” Antonetti quipped.
A group of Reds executives took the same flight but sat in a different section of the plane. Chernoff was across the aisle from Antonetti.
“I was able to work for five hours,” Chernoff said. “Chris had to sit there, twiddling his thumbs for five hours.”
