Pirate Catching

The Bucs figured they had their tag team behind the dish last year in Ryan Doumit and Chris Snyder, with switch-hitting Jason Jaramillo serving as insurance in Indy while they awaited the development of 2009 first-rounder Tony Sanchez.

Well, all three of those guys were hurt for considerable chunks of the season, and the Pirates let the trio go in the off season, with Dewey landing in Minnesota, Snyder in Houston and Jaramillo with the Cubs. How often do you see a club release its top three catchers?

Because of the injuries, Pittsburgh ended up using eight different catchers during the season. The top returnee at the position is Mike McKenry, who got into 58 games after the Pirates got him from Boston in June. His line wasn't much, just .222/.276/.322 with a 24% K rate. He took three off season trips to visit with Clint McHurdle and get some one-on-one batting lessons.

His strength is his defensive game. McKenry threw out 25% of the opponent base stealers and is supposedly good in handling a staff. He's young in catcher years, turning 27 next month, and has 136 service days in the bigs, so he's no threat to the payroll. McK also has an option remaining.

The righty is one of two catchers on the 40-man roster, and won that roster spot during the off season when the Pirates opted to keep him and dump JJ. But they weren't about to entrust McKenry with the everyday job of catching.

The FO identified the guy they wanted early on, and went out and signed Rod Barajas, a grizzled 13 year vet, to a 1 year/$4M deal in November with a $3.5M team option in 2013. They overpaid, but it was a thin market and a position of need.

He's another guy with an iffy stick and a rep as a streak hitter, with a career line of .238/.284/.414 but with 52 long balls in the past three seasons, not bad for a guy that projects to be a bottom-of-the-order hitter. The 36 year old has 125 home runs and 449 RBIs in 1,010 career games with Arizona, Texas, Toronto, Philadelphia, the New York Mets and the Dodgers.

Barajas hit close to that average for LA last year with a .230/.287.430 line and 16 HRs. He's also noted for his glovework, ability to control a staff, and being a good clubhouse head. RB matched McKenry's throwout rate of 25%.

He doesn't have a history of durability, and that combined with his age make it likely that the Pirates are looking for about 100-110 starts for Barajas. They should get it. Except for one season (he backed up Carlos Ruiz in Philly during 2007), he's started between 97-125 games per year since 2004.

The Pirates brought in one non-roster catcher to compete, Jose Morales. He was a third round pick of the Twins in 2001, and has parts of four MLB seasons under his belt. His career line is .289/.365/.344 (yep, his slugging % is lower than his OBP; he's a Billy Beane kinda player).

Morales, 28, is athletic, a switch-hitter, and played a bit of first and second in the past couple of seasons. As with most slash guys - he was a SS when he was drafted - defense isn't his forte, as eight passed balls in 382 innings indicate. But he has thrown out 34% of would-be base stealers in the show, and 30% during his minor league work.

Camp invitee Jake Fox can also catch, and that's his listed position on the roster, but that spot is just as part a complete utility presume. In his four big league seasons, he's played 47 games as a corner OF'er, 32 as a catcher, 31 as a third baseman and 24 at first base. So he's in the mix as a bench candidate and third-string catcher if he makes the camp cut.

Barajas is the default starter, and if he catches to his usual standards, will probably return to start in 2113.  It's been sort of assumed that McKenry is penciled in as the back-up, as he's already on the 40 man roster and does seem to be a FO favorite.

We wouldn't write off Morales, who can get on base, even if he doesn't have any power, and has an opt-out clause if he doesn't break camp with the team. McKenry still has an option to burn. That adds a spicy little sidebar to the back-up competition. The decision will probably hinge on whether or not the Bucs want to carry two defense first catchers or add another stick, both for the bench and the 50 or 60 starts that the #2 guy is in line to make.

The Pirate system has no immediate help to offer. 2009 first-round pick Tony Sanchez will be in camp, along with brother prospects Ramon Cabrera and Eric Fryer, but all three will begin the year in the minors.

Sanchez hit .241 with 20 extra-base hits and 44 RBIs in 118 games at Altoona last season. While his defense seems to be up to snuff, the oft-injured catcher needs to settle in at the plate. We don't see him as big-league ready until mid-21013, if then.

Fryer is another athletic guy who has been often used as an outfielder. That has hurt his development some, but he's still probably going to be in Indy this year and could be the Buc's #3 catcher if Morales doesn't win the back-up job. Cabrera tore up the Florida State League last year, winning the batting title with a .343 average, but his defense needs lots of work. He should be in Altoona this season, but so will Sanchez, so RC's assignment is still up in the air.