Don't Look Now but Joseph Might be a Better a Catcher for the Orioles...

[Enjoy Terror]

I'm not convinced that Caleb is a better catcher than Matt, but I think Wieters is a better hitter. Personally I'm cool rolling with Caleb and selling on Wieters next year at the trade deadline. Wieters is worth a prospect from someone.

[davidhusker]

No we don't to answer the question.

There is a reason Wieters is a leader of the team and batted 5th most games. Caleb is an upgrade over Cleavenger and will have a nice role in that next year. My hope anyhow.

[SteveO]

A two year deal to establish value seems reasonable. Otoh, I'm not sure the word reasonable and Boras have ever been used in the same sentence before.

Yea I agree but they may be open to such a deal as even he whose name shall not be spoken would recognize that Matt with 1 1/2 yrs healthy and productive hitting the market is a far more valuable commodity than Matt hitting the market with say 2/3 of a season. I still think he will miss some time at the start of next season or may have to DH some etc.

[CA-ORIOLE]

Out of curiosity what are the rules regarding an injured player and arbitration? Can the O's not tender him or are they obligated regardless to pay him?.

They can non-tender him if they want to. I doubt they would unless the injury becomes a larger factor than it appears to be. I doubt there is any reason why the Orioles can't use his injury in the arbitration hearing.

[davidhusker]

I'm not convinced that Caleb is a better catcher than Matt, but I think Wieters is a better hitter. Personally I'm cool rolling with Caleb and selling on Wieters next year at the trade deadline. Wieters is worth a prospect from someone.

4 games doesnt equal 4 seasons of consistent play and pitch calling. I say it's fair to re-visit in october, but Joseph should be our backup next year.

[Enjoy Terror]

4 games doesnt equal 4 seasons of consistent play and pitch calling. I say it's fair to re-visit in october, but Joseph should be our backup next year.

It's not four games. Caleb is the best hitter on the team over the last 30 days, except maybe Delmon. He's batting .298/.340/.553 over that span, not including tonight's game.

Caleb always hit in the minors, it was his defense that held him back. In his interview he said he found a technique for his footwork while in Norfolk that helped.

The pitching in Baltimore has been pretty great with him behind the dish.

[gmelson26]

No we don't to answer the question.

There is a reason Wieters is a leader of the team and batted 5th most games. Caleb is an upgrade over Cleavenger and will have a nice role in that next year. My hope anyhow.

Wieters in 2013 hit .235/.287/.417 with 22 HR.

Joseph in 2014 hits .220/.281/.407 on pace for 26 HR (in same amount of at bats as Wieters in 2013).

I'm not saying Joseph's Mauer with power, but Wieters as it stands is a .249 hitter averaging about 21 HR a year. If we assume Joseph's defense equal to (possibly better than) Wieters, it's not outside the realm of possibility he could roughly replace Wieters given the current data and for much much cheaper.

[LookinUp]

Yes, we should plan to trade Wieters if a good deal is available. It's because his salary demands aren't in line with his production. When that happens, you try to get a good, cost controlled player (or more) in exchange for the difference in value between 1 year of Wieters and 1 year of a guy like Joseph.

[CA-ORIOLE]

It's no secret that the pitching staff under Caleb Johnson the past month or two has been superb..

Hey Wildcard. Can you slap this guy around?

[VeveJones007]

There's too much uncertainty with Matt's throwing arm going forward. How will his recovery be when he has to make snap throws?

I'm primarily concerned about the rest of this season. I think it's obvious that Joseph needs to be getting a large majority of the ABs over Hundley the rest of the way.

[CA-ORIOLE]

There's too much uncertainty with Matt's throwing arm going forward. How will his recovery be when he has to make snap throws?

He rarely made snap throws when he was healthy and certainly hasn't executed many over the years, so that's not much of a concern.

I'm primarily concerned about the rest of this season. I think it's obvious that Joseph needs to be getting a large majority of the ABs over Hundley the rest of the way.

You can sleep easy on this one also.

[Tony-OH]

Joseph may be a better catcher than Wieters. When you consider his team contract status and mileage he may be the answer long term.

But Wieters is Buck's guy. We have seen that Buck rides and dies with his guy's. He's a loyalty manager and Joseph isn't his guy at the catcher position.

I'm not so sure about that. Buck has shown a ton of support for Joseph since they called him up. I mean, how many managers keep running a guy out when he wasn't hittting early on? He basically made him the starting ctacher when he was batting under .150. Now that Joseph is hitting, you have to believe that he's a Buck guy now. Take nothing away from Weiters, but Joseph is the kind of guy Buck loves!

[VeveJones007]

He rarely made snap throws when he was healthy and certainly hasn't executed many over the years, so that's not much of a concern.

You can sleep easy on this one also.

The throwing motion of a catcher is much more "snap" in nature than a pitcher's throwing motion. That's what I meant. The elbow goes back and forward rather than the arm making more of a circular rotation at the shoulder as it does with pitching mechanics. An elbow injury will be different for a catcher than a pitcher and it's something to keep an eye on.

[TonySoprano]

I'm not so sure about that. Buck has shown a ton of support for Joseph since they called him up. I mean, how many managers keep running a guy out when he wasn't hittting early on? He basically made him the starting ctacher when he was batting under .150. Now that Joseph is hitting, you have to believe that he's a Buck guy now. Take nothing away from Weiters, but Joseph is the kind of guy Buck loves!

You are correct that they've shown a lot of support for Joseph over Hundley and Clevenger. However, I think Wieters is a different case. If anything, Wieters will get the nod due to his service on the team. Also, they may want to move Matt and his value drops significantly if he's giving way to Joseph.

[CA-ORIOLE]

The throwing motion of a catcher is much more "snap" in nature than a pitcher's throwing motion. That's what I meant. The elbow goes back and forward rather than making more of a circular rotation. An elbow injury will be different for a catcher than a pitcher and it's something to keep an eye on.

Yeah, "snap throws" implies something completely different than the normal "catch and throw". If he can't catch and throw, then he won't catch. That's pretty simple. Sounds like your concern is that he may be less effective at throwing. Who knows.