Mooney: Upgrading at Catcher Still a Priority

[Bertz]

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CHICAGO — Leading up to this season’s trade deadline, the Chicago Cubs pursued a deal for Logan O’Hoppe, a young catcher with the Los Angeles Angels. Jed Hoyer’s front office focused on the future without operating as traditional buyers or sellers, most notably acquiring Isaac Paredes from the Tampa Bay Rays to fill the hole at third base. O’Hoppe, who remains under club control through 2028, would have represented another forward-thinking move to address a glaring need. Upgrading at catcher, sources said, remains a priority.

 

[Tim]

Well, yeah. Make it so, Jed.

[Bertz]

I'll be curious to see if they revisit O'Hoppe specifically.  He had an awful 2nd half including an August that was, no joke, the worst month I think I've ever seen from a legitimate hitter:

.099/.163/.176 with a 45% strikeout rate and a -7 wRC+. (yes that's a negative number)

He was somewhat fine in September, with a strong 124 wRC+ but an elevated K rate at 31%.  You wouldn't think too much of a month of that strikeout rate outside of the context of his August, but right next to his August it certainly gives some additional pause.

So if you do re-up with Anaheim, you've gotta have a good explanation for that August.  Was he hurt?  Did he hit a wall fatigue wise (he had never caught 100 games in a season before)?  Was there some emotional letdown after almost getting traded?

[Transmogrified Tiger]

It is not a strongly held opinion, but I think my favorite option at this stage(no other holes filled, Bellinger's decision not yet made) is Jansen.  He's got a career 100 wRC+ and played at about a 2.5 fWAR/season pace overall, and he is a pretty 'neutral' addition(above average K rate, good BB rate, good HR power, split neutral, doesn't cost player resources or big $$) that keeps other options open.  Defensively he's been up and down and he consistently has struggled a bit with pop times, but he's been consistently better than 2024 Amaya in that regard so far from catastrophic.

[Rex Buckingham]

6 hours ago, Bertz said:

 

So if you do re-up with Anaheim, you've gotta have a good explanation for that August.  Was he hurt?  Did he hit a wall fatigue wise (he had never caught 100 games in a season before)?  Was there some emotional letdown after almost getting traded?

My theory is that it's harder than we think for even good players (not the great ones) to produce on really bad teams. The losing has to wear on these guys over the course of such a long season. 

[G.Krisch]

With the Twins looking into possibly being sold, they might not want to dedicate around $15 million in catchers for 2025, with $10 million of that for Vazquez. That contract is probably unmovable, so maybe the Cubs can try to pry Jeffers away? He's solid on both sides of the ball, and would pair with Amaya for a solid 50/50 split.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Welcome!

[Brock Beauchamp]

4 hours ago, G.Krisch said:

With the Twins looking into possibly being sold, they might not want to dedicate around $15 million in catchers for 2025, with $10 million of that for Vazquez. That contract is probably unmovable, so maybe the Cubs can try to pry Jeffers away? He's solid on both sides of the ball, and would pair with Amaya for a solid 50/50 split.

The Twins are listening on almost everybody. Here's the deal in Minnesota:

Their payroll in 2023 was $160m. They cut that payroll to $130m in 2024.

Just counting their guaranteed contracts and estimated arb cases, their 2025 payroll is already sitting around $135m. To have any roster flexibility this offseason, they're going to need to move some contracts. One of the easiest positions for them to do that is the catcher position.