Victor Caratini signs with Astros

[Brock Beauchamp]

Good for him, getting a significant paycheck for two years.

[patrickgpe]

The bigger question is what will the brewers do at backup Catcher. They have Quero, but he hasn't hit Nashville yet, and doesn't profile as a big league backup playing once a week. There aren't really any internal options. I know there are tons of backups that are limited offensively and OK behind the plate, so we shall see. 

[Brock Beauchamp]

3 minutes ago, patrickgpe said:

The bigger question is what will the brewers do at backup Catcher. They have Quero, but he hasn't hit Nashville yet, and doesn't profile as a big league backup playing once a week. There aren't really any internal options. I know there are tons of backups that are limited offensively and OK behind the plate, so we shall see. 

I think they go the veteran defensive catcher for close to the league minimum route. It makes the most sense given Quero's situation.

[TURBO]

I don't see why the Brewers couldn't have matched that price.  You have him as your back up in 2024, and if need be (because of Quero) you trade him in 2025.

To me, that is a great price for what he offers, especially if we plan to hang onto Burnes this year (which will be ridiculous if it happens).

I mean, I realize we can probably get a journeyman vet for a lot less, but we know what we have in Caratini and he isn't a black hole in the lineup when he plays.

So much still up in the air for the 2024 season...

[TURBO]

38 minutes ago, Brock Beauchamp said:

I think they go the veteran defensive catcher for close to the league minimum route. It makes the most sense given Quero's situation.

The issue I have with this is when that defensive vet catcher does play, he provides nothing in the line-up, and for an already challenged line up, it just provides another 3-4 outs per game.  Meh, I get it, 12 million is 12 million, but the constant penny pinching just gets frustrating.  (Yes, I know, small market, blah blah blah)

[Joseph Zarr]

My proverbial Brewers Minor Leaguer(s) plug: 

C Brian Navarreto is more than capable of playing the part of an MLB back-up.

C Payton Henry (currently a Minor League Free Agent) is also more than capable of handling back-up catching duties.

Both young men are extremely professional. They have the physical stature. Henry hits for average with acceptable defense. Navs is the better and more dynamic defender and has become a clutch hitter. His arm and pop are a weapon.

Maybe they sign a low cost vet FA? I'd rather they fill the role in-house. Season Quero in Nashville to get him ready.

[Brock Beauchamp]

1 minute ago, TURBO said:

The issue I have with this is when that defensive vet catcher does play, he provides nothing in the line-up, and for an already challenged line up, it just provides another 3-4 outs per game.  Meh, I get it, 12 million is 12 million, but the constant penny pinching just gets frustrating.  (Yes, I know, small market, blah blah blah)

I get it, I just think the return on a backup catcher is pretty small, especially if you're hoping Quero is ready for the role in June or July. At that point, a backup catcher *might* have 150 plate appearances.

But I totally get the sentiment that it's frustrating to always be dealing with marginal pickups instead of something exciting.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

4 minutes ago, TURBO said:

I don't see why the Brewers couldn't have matched that price.  You have him as your back up in 2024, and if need be (because of Quero) you trade him in 2025.

To me, that is a great price for what he offers, especially if we plan to hang onto Burnes this year (which will be ridiculous if it happens).

I mean, I realize we can probably get a journeyman vet for a lot less, but we know what we have in Caratini and he isn't a black hole in the lineup when he plays.

So much still up in the air for the 2024 season...

Yanier Diaz had a great rookie year for the 'Stros, but he's young, still relatively unproven, and is looking at his first season as a #1 catcher. William Contreras, on the other hand, is much more established. I think Caratini probably saw more potential playing time with Houston.

[TURBO]

5 minutes ago, Ron Robinsons Beard said:

Yanier Diaz had a great rookie year for the 'Stros, but he's young, still relatively unproven, and is looking at his first season as a #1 catcher. William Contreras, on the other hand, is much more established. I think Caratini probably saw more potential playing time with Houston.

Maybe, but he also saw dollar signs, that just can't be denied.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

Just now, TURBO said:

Maybe, but he also saw dollar signs, that just can't be denied.

No doubt. Just pointing out that those dollar signs aren't always the only factor involved in these decisions. Caratini was a solid addition, and a very nice player to have around the last couple seasons, especially last year. He could have very well been looking to not only cash in, but also see the field more on what will likely be another very good Houston squad. And from the Brewers' perspective, I can't imagine they plan on Contreras playing less than he did this season. So you have to weigh whether paying that kind of $$$ for 50 starts and approximately 200 ABs a year is worth the investment. We have no idea how interested the Brewers were in a reunion, or what they offered.

[monty57]

58 minutes ago, Brock Beauchamp said:

I think they go the veteran defensive catcher for close to the league minimum route. It makes the most sense given Quero's situation.

I think this is probably the way we go, but we'll have to wait it out. The fringe vet guys will want to see first if they can get a starting gig somewhere, and then they'll look to go where they can get some playing time. The back-up for the Brewers will be expected to get less PT than most.

That being said, I hope @Joseph Zarr is correct, and one of our non-Quero prospects can win the job. The extra money we would spend on the vet might not be worth the relative upgrade to what we have, especially if Quero is expected to be ready soon.

[folly412]

Also on board with a league minimum / Henry or Navarreto type guy.  Given our resources, backup catcher is not where we should spend money when the starter is the best position player on the roster and our #2 project (top 40 overall) could be up later in the year.

[Frisbee Slider]

8 hours ago, Brock Beauchamp said:

I think they go the veteran defensive catcher for close to the league minimum route.

Martin Maldonado is available now, since Astros signed Caratini.

Maldonado is 37 years old.

[tmwiese55]

Gotta think there is a vet of some kind out there who's good at D but not a complete blackhole like Maldonado.  At least I hope so.    IDK, Jacob Stallings really fell off last two years which made him really not much better of a hitter than Maldonado. But have to think he has a chance of bounce back to blah mediocrity and won't be expensive or take more than 1 year.   Knowing the Brewers he seems like one they'd look at.   Also, in a real Brewers move would be Manny Pina back after being hurt for two years. 

[BrewerFan]

32 minutes ago, Frisbee Slider said:

Martin Maldonado is available now, since Astros signed Caratini.

Maldonado is 37 years old.

I'll take it. We're talking about Caratini as though he was a really good offensive hitter on top of his defense, but he also hit .199 with a .642 OPS in '22 and that was better than his '21 numbers...which were the two years he got the most ABs.

If you can get Maldonado for 3.5M or so, I'm happy with that. He's been a terrible hitter the last 3 years, but I think there's a decent chance he can give you a ~.675 OPS in limited ABs as a backup and he's a very good defender.

Good stopgap for Quero. It'd be even better if we could find someone in-house. And then there's always the consideration that the Brewers somehow turn offensive catchers into at least capable defensive catchers.

[BrewerFan]

5 minutes ago, tmwiese55 said:

Gotta think there is a vet of some kind out there who's good at D but not a complete blackhole like Maldonado.  At least I hope so.    IDK, Jacob Stallings really fell off last two years which made him really not much better of a hitter than Maldonado. But have to think he has a chance of bounce back to blah mediocrity and won't be expensive or take more than 1 year.   Knowing the Brewers he seems like one they'd look at.   Also, in a real Brewers move would be Manny Pina back after being hurt for two years. 

If he's healthy and can hit these projections...that'd be a great signing(for ~2M a year);

[liveforoctober]

Happy for him. That contract will take care of his family forever. Best of luck and thank you for being a Brewer!

[Matt Breen]

The guy did well for him - $12m. Nice coin. I didn't expect him to get that much - but good for Caratini. 

 

[Brock Beauchamp]

14 hours ago, Frisbee Slider said:

Martin Maldonado is available now, since Astros signed Caratini.

Maldonado is 37 years old.

Yeah, he stood out in my mind as an option. Not an option I love, but an option.

[markedman5]

I’m happy for Vic but no way I’m paying 12 million over 2. Years for him.

He can’t hit and won’t play much here with Contreras catching as often as he does.