OnlyBucs

76746E687E1B0 wrote: He says he's not retiring --https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2019/11/ ... -2020.html


Cool ... maybe a bullpen guy then?

Yasmani Grandal set the market for FA catchers this off season.



Yasmani Grandal, White Sox agree to four-year, $73M deal



He obviously wasn't an option for the Pirates, but the other FA catchers have to feel pretty good about the number he got.

0B212A1A2D3B3B37580 wrote: MLB Trade Rumors released its Top 50 FA list and D'Arnaud and Castro were on it, but, though listed as a team of interest, they didn't predict Pittsburgh as a landing place for either.



I'm cool with Stallings/Diaz in 2020. I want to see us make a trade for a catcher with some upside at the AA level. We could offer one of Crick, Rodriguez or Feliz and/or AAA INF Kevin Kramer in trade. Toronto and Atlanta have multiple catchers on their Top 30 prospect lists. Kramer is blocked in our system.



Heck, I'd be happy to welcome back Reese McGuire, who is ranked below two other Blue Jay catching prospects.



For what it's worth, they thought we'd get RF Kole Calhoun, former Angel, on a 1 yr.-6M deal, and LHSP Drew Smyly on a 1-yr., 3M deal. I'd be happy to get Kalhoun at that price!
I would like to see them obtain McGuire and go with him and Stallings. Both are good defensively. McGuire hit well for Toronto in a SSS and Stallings was ok offensively in a platoon role. They could see which one emerged as the starter or continue a platoon. But McGuire currently looks entrenched as the Blue Jays #2 catcher for 2020. 


Agree that Toronto has McGuire in their plans. But they are looking for pitching and they are looking for help at 1B. Would it take as much as Will Craig and Rich Rodriguez for McGuire? I'd go that far. Toronto has enough money to go out and sign a FA backup catcher. Their starter, Danny Jansen, is very young.



If the Jays wanted Osuna instead of Craig, I'd do that too.


The irony of trading prospects to the Blue Jays to get McGuire back into the organization....

3F382E26283F78740D2A202C2421632E22204D0 wrote: MLB Trade Rumors released its Top 50 FA list and D'Arnaud and Castro were on it, but, though listed as a team of interest, they didn't predict Pittsburgh as a landing place for either.



I'm cool with Stallings/Diaz in 2020. I want to see us make a trade for a catcher with some upside at the AA level. We could offer one of Crick, Rodriguez or Feliz and/or AAA INF Kevin Kramer in trade. Toronto and Atlanta have multiple catchers on their Top 30 prospect lists. Kramer is blocked in our system.



Heck, I'd be happy to welcome back Reese McGuire, who is ranked below two other Blue Jay catching prospects.



For what it's worth, they thought we'd get RF Kole Calhoun, former Angel, on a 1 yr.-6M deal, and LHSP Drew Smyly on a 1-yr., 3M deal. I'd be happy to get Kalhoun at that price!
I would like to see them obtain McGuire and go with him and Stallings. Both are good defensively. McGuire hit well for Toronto in a SSS and Stallings was ok offensively in a platoon role. They could see which one emerged as the starter or continue a platoon. But McGuire currently looks entrenched as the Blue Jays #2 catcher for 2020. 


Agree that Toronto has McGuire in their plans. But they are looking for pitching and they are looking for help at 1B. Would it take as much as Will Craig and Rich Rodriguez for McGuire? I'd go that far. Toronto has enough money to go out and sign a FA backup catcher. Their starter, Danny Jansen, is very young.



If the Jays wanted Osuna instead of Craig, I'd do that too.


The irony of trading prospects to the Blue Jays to get McGuire back into the organization.... 
It sure is ironic. But it's possible, given that we have a new GM and he could hardly find a better way to show the fans that there's a new sheriff in town!

I have to wonder if the Bucs will attempt to sign Jason Castro since he played for the Twins last year while Derek Shelton was the bench coach. He could have a little influence in getting Castro to sign with the Pirates.

545859020B020A07001F05320 wrote: I have to wonder if the Bucs will attempt to sign Jason Castro since he played for the Twins last year while Derek Shelton was the bench coach. He could have a little influence in getting Castro to sign with the Pirates.




He would be a good choice for a couple years. Signing someone like him would show they think Diaz is better is a back up at least in the short term.



Will be interesting to see if the team will carry 3 catchers next season.

416766716777040 wrote: I have to wonder if the Bucs will attempt to sign Jason Castro since he played for the Twins last year while Derek Shelton was the bench coach. He could have a little influence in getting Castro to sign with the Pirates.




He would be a good choice for a couple years.  Signing someone like him would show they think Diaz is better is a back up at least in the short term.



Will be interesting to see if the team will carry 3 catchers next season.
I think if they do sign a catcher that Stallings will be the backup. I kind of wonder if Diaz will be back in 2020.

767A7B2029202825223D27100 wrote: I have to wonder if the Bucs will attempt to sign Jason Castro since he played for the Twins last year while Derek Shelton was the bench coach. He could have a little influence in getting Castro to sign with the Pirates.




He would be a good choice for a couple years.  Signing someone like him would show they think Diaz is better is a back up at least in the short term.



Will be interesting to see if the team will carry 3 catchers next season.
I think if they do sign a catcher that Stallings will be the backup. I kind of wonder if Diaz will be back in 2020.
Agreed. I think Diaz has successfully moved himself below Stallings on the depth chart. I don't know who it will be but I suspect a priority will be to obtain a veteran catcher who can help develop the young pitchers. Stallings seemed to have value in that area too. So I think he will be the #2 catcher next season. I don't believe they will squander the 26th man on the roster just to keep a 3rd catcher.

There were so many extenuating circumstances last year for Diaz that I don't think you can evaluate him very well based on that year's performance. You need to at least look at him in the spring and see how he's doing. I have thought, though, that he could use some coaching on fundamentals.

2022383E284D0 wrote: There were so many extenuating circumstances last year for Diaz that I don't think you can evaluate him very well based on that year's performance. You need to at least look at him in the spring and see how he's doing. I have thought, though, that he could use some coaching on fundamentals.
this Bucs Dugout article thinks Diaz will be non-tendered.



Without any inside information, I would like to see if the 2018 Diaz (or an improvement of him) is possible. If the Bucs think that was his career year then it would make sense to non-tender him.



Diaz is only one year younger than Stallings.



Another Bucs Dugout article has this info about Stallings:



Baseball Prospectus has Stallings 23rd among 106 catchers in framing runs (3.4), 9th in blocking runs (2.1), and 17th in throwing runs (0.4). It should be noted that these are counting stats so Stallings’ rise in limited action speaks for itself. Overall, his Fielding Runs Above Average adjusted, a metric used to analyze a defender on a play-by-play basis, is 15th among catchers.

The moral of the story is that Stallings is pretty good defensively. He has definitely held his own and has been a major upgrade from the previous Pirate catchers this season. Does that mean he should be the Pirates’ primary starter in 2020?

I mean probably not. He’s a marginally better hitting Chris Stewart.

At best, Stallings is a fringe starter but solid backup. The Pirates will need to make an outside move in 2020 unless they expect a complete 180 from Diaz next season. Which, why would they? We’ve seen the Pirates add catchers in the recent past with the additions of Cervelli in 2015 and Russell Martin in 2013. That needs to be a priority going into the offseason. A tandem of Stallings and Diaz next year would provide another season of bottom of the league production at the catcher position (although that probably speaks more to Diaz than it does Stallings). https://www.bucsdugout.com/2019/9/6/208 ... es-in-2020