Opinion: Frank Catalanotto or Marlon Anderson
The Rangers released Frank Catalanotto yesterday, according to MLB.com.
The 34–year-old Catalanotto, who was born in Long Island, hit .274 with a 26 extra base hits and a .342 OBP in 88 games with Texas last season.
He hit .260 in 2007, .300 in 2006 and .301 in 2005, while getting at least 330 at bats in each season.
He has regularly played first base, left field and right field during the last few seasons. He has not played second base since 2002.
…i realize Marlon Anderson is only making $1.15 million in his last year or a two-year contract, and i know he’s a nice guy and his teammates love and appreciate him, as does Jerry Manuel, but i would much, much rather have catalanotto on the bench than marlon…
…i’ve always been a big fans of his, and i recall reading a story about Carlos Delgado praising frank’s ability to read pitchers and educate the bench, giving him credit for what he brought to the Blue Jays in 2003 and 2004… additionally, the players on the Rangers were quite vocal in the press about missing catalanotto when he left texas in 2003, while celebrating his return in 2007… this, to me, is a great sign…
…from what i can gather, marlon is on a short-leash anyway… it would not surprise me to see him cut before June, and replaced by either Nick Evans or Jonathan Malo… but, that’s a long way away…
