Hanigan has looked horrible both offensivelyand defensively this year. I am a big proponent of going with the hot hand. I'd stick with Leon until he plays himself out. Sometimes a guy gets it figured out and becomes a good hitter.Originally Posted by Spudboy
The King of TalkSox has Spoken.
I agree with this. He should be starting the vast majority of games until he turns back into a Mendoza pumpkin.
"Hating the Yankees like it's a religion since 94'" RIP Mike.
"It's also a simple and indisputable fact that WAR isn't the be-all end-all in valuations, especially in real life. Wanna know why? Because an ace in run-prevention for 120 innings means more often than not, a sub-standard pitcher covering for the rest of the IP that pitcher fails to provide. You can't see value in a vacuum when a player does not provide full-time production."
Leon's sample size is way too small to make any definitive judgement on. It's great what he's doing, and I'm all for riding the hot bat as long as possible, but I'm not expecting it to go on much longer. There's little evidence he will ever remain a good hitter, even among MLB catchers, so it's all about his defense compared to Hanigan, Vazquez and Swihart's.
It's tough call for me between Leon and Hanigan. Maybe we can extend Hanigan's rehab assignment, but honestly, even if Leon stays hot for another week or two, do we really want to bet on his bat continuing to be even slightly plus for a catcher?
Maybe we can find a taker for Hanigan and his contract. He has an option year remaining.
2016:$3.7M and 2017:$3.75M club option ($0.8M buyout)
I doubt many teams are looking to pay Hanigan that much to be their back-up. He probably cannot be relied upon to be anyone's FT catcher either, so we'd probably have to pay $500K to $1M to any team trading for him. I don't expect much in return either.
It's tough choice, but I'd go with Leon- not because of his recent offense, but because he has 3 arb years left and Hanigan has just one year of control left.
Keeping Leon though, means he has to stay on the 25 man roster or risk being snagged by another team. This means Swihart would have to be traded or take on a role as a LF'er (platoon?) and 3rd string catcher. I like the idea of a 3rd string catcher being available, because you can PH for our 1 & 2 catchers freely, but I still say Swihart's value at catcher for another team is worth more than his value to us, so he should be traded (not handed away for lesser value).
It would be a much easier call if Hanigan hadn't looked like a player had gone over a cliff offensively and defensively.
The King of TalkSox has Spoken.
A lot of his defensive issues are about him trying to catch Wright.
What are the defensive issue other than looking foolish catching a Knuckleball?
"Hating the Yankees like it's a religion since 94'" RIP Mike.
"It's also a simple and indisputable fact that WAR isn't the be-all end-all in valuations, especially in real life. Wanna know why? Because an ace in run-prevention for 120 innings means more often than not, a sub-standard pitcher covering for the rest of the IP that pitcher fails to provide. You can't see value in a vacuum when a player does not provide full-time production."
Not much. That's my point.
I don't hold a catcher responsible for not being able to catch a wicked knuckleball.
Hanigan has always been viewed as a plus defender who normally hits LH'd pitching well.
I don't think Hanigan has looked good at all, even when not catching the knuckleball.
The King of TalkSox has Spoken.
And who the fuck anointed you an expert on catching you old geezer?
"Hating the Yankees like it's a religion since 94'" RIP Mike.
"It's also a simple and indisputable fact that WAR isn't the be-all end-all in valuations, especially in real life. Wanna know why? Because an ace in run-prevention for 120 innings means more often than not, a sub-standard pitcher covering for the rest of the IP that pitcher fails to provide. You can't see value in a vacuum when a player does not provide full-time production."
LOL!! He just doesn't look like the same guy as last year. If he did, the decision would be easy. I would just delay any move until Leon turns back into a pumpkin.And who the fuck anointed you an expert on catching you old geezer?
The King of TalkSox has Spoken.
Agree. Nothing wrong with riding the hot hand.
If history tells us anything, the path to redeption for any bad baseball team is marked with a deep rotation of durable starters, a world class defense in both infield and outfield, a lineup that can generate runs in more than one way, a bullpen that won't steal defeat from the jaws of victory, and a top end catcher to hold the whole package together. These are the conditions by which victory is achieved, anything that does not accomplish these objectives is a waste of resources.
It's already lasted longer than I thought it would. He's not going away, and I would be surprised if he catche 3 out every 5 games. I hope so. We need someont to hit from of Betts. He's doing just fine, thank you!
I'm beginning to think Swihart is the one who would bring a good starting pitcher. Leon passes my eye test. He is built a little like Panda; a smaller and far more fit version. Swihart is the only highly promising young player that would not be missed that much. Imagine me saying that a month ago? I am still a big fan of Swihart, but I see no other option. Leon has been a gift from the Gods!
he is still a young man. I am just curious to know what he has done in such a short period of time. He has always been a very good catcher with a great arm. Just no hit! You have stick with him to find out if it is the real deal. It may be.
I'm a big believer in Swihart too, but I've been saying for a long time- his value to a team in need of a good catcher (about 70% of MLB teams these days) is worth more than his value to us. If that's not a major piece of a foundation for a trade, I don't know what is.
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