Opinion: Catcher to Replace Brian Schneider

by Matthew Cerrone on November 20th, 2009 at 9:37 am

According to Adam Rubin, in a report for the Daily News, the Mets off-season shopping list is as follows:

• Catcher to replace Brian Schneider.
• Power upgrade in left field.
• Second baseman if Luis Castillo can be traded.
• Rotation help.
• Eighth-inning reliever.
• Second lefthander in the bullpen to pair with Pedro Feliciano.

Yes, I like the simple idea of getting 20 home runs out of Benjie Molina and Omar Santos, adding a type of power-balance to the lineup that most teams do not have.  However, if the Mets are going to have the free-swinging Jeff Francoeur in the lower half of their lineup, and the pitcher hitting ninth, the thought of putting Molina between them, a guy who is making less and less contact, while also walking less, with each passing season, it all makes me uneasy.  In the end, he is all about those 20 home runs… and that’s about it.  Plus, he’ll be 36 next summer… and, signing a 36–year-old catcher to a two-year, $14 million deal just doesn’t seem smart to me.  If he could be had for around half that, for just one year, he’d be worth it… but, I don’t think 15 or so additional home runs is worth that type of commitment.

No, I don’t yet know who I prefer.  Free-agent C Rod Barajas hit just .226, but with 19 HR and 71 RBI, in 125 games for the Blue Jays this season – he hit .267 against left-handed pitching, while Omir Santos hit .283 against righties.

Barajas will require far less money, and can probably be had on a one-year deal, and though he’ll only hit around .230, he is capable of cracking 15 or so home runs, and he’ll play significantly better defense than Molina.

The thing is, there is a buzz in baseball suggesting guys like D-Backs C Chris Snyder, Royals C John Buck and Pirates C Ryan Doumit, among others, might all be available in trade.  Plus, there is a good a chance a collection of these type of catchers end up on the free-agent market if they are non tendered.

So, the Mets should most certainly explore this end of the catcher’s market first, knowing guys like Molina and Barajas are not going to sign a new contract without checking with Omar Minaya for first… and, who knows, maybe this will end like in 2005, when the Mets flirted all winter with Molina and Ramon Hernandez, only to trade with the Marlins to get Paul LoDuca.

Update, 10:17 am:

For more on why the Mets should not sign Molina, check out Ted Berg’s post on his blog, Ted Quarters.

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