Could we sign Wieters back for something like 3/35? Should we?

[OFFNY]

o

The next best thing to making the Hall-of-Fame is making an individual team's Ring of Honor/Hall-of-Fame.

If Weiters wants to be a lock for the Orioles Hall-of-Fame someday, he'll want to try to stay here at least another year or two ........ I'm not sure that he cares about it, but I think that it's a nice thing to lay claim to.

[Legend_Of_Joey]

I don't know about relying on Pena as the starter. I like him a lot but I'd rather see the team get a cheaper FA vet. Pena backup and learning.

Never said it was ideal, but neither was the thought of the "Joseph/Sisco" platoon that was being floated around. I really don't see Sisco staying as a catcher. His defense isn't all that good, mainly because he is still new to the position. His bat is decent. He gets contact and shows some flashes of power.

I agree on getting a cheap FA vet for atleast a year. Anyone in particular that stands out?

[25 Nuggets]

Few understand the value of a good catcher. I don't think the metrics begin to capture it. How well does he implement the game plan that day, given what his SP has that day, and how well does he read the bats and make adjustments. How well does he know his pitchers and their psychology, and how well does he manage them. What kind of in game pitching coach is he? Is he a team leader? I wouldn't be surprised if Wieters is back next year.

I wouldn't mind Wieters back, but not at that contract and probably not at what his agent will ask for.

I don't know if I've ever seen catching as bad at hitting as right now. OPS by position, AL:

.784 RF

.782 3B

.776 DH

.767 1B

.767 2B (!)

.734 CF

.728 SS

.720 LF (?)

---

.680 C

Ouch. I mean, catcher isn't supposed to be a premier offensive position but to be behind shortstop by 42 OPS points is pretty bad.

Wieters is OPSing about average for an AL catcher this season, hovering around .680, with uncharacteristic defensive problems. Is that worth 12-13 mil? I don't think so.

[Redskins Rick]

Wieters has put up 0.1 WAR this year. So, yes we could, no we shouldn't.

I dislike WAR has a way of analyzing the catching position.

[Redskins Rick]

Never said it was ideal, but neither was the thought of the "Joseph/Sisco" platoon that was being floated around. I really don't see Sisco staying as a catcher. His defense isn't all that good, mainly because he is still new to the position. His bat is decent. He gets contact and shows some flashes of power.

I agree on getting a cheap FA vet for atleast a year. Anyone in particular that stands out?

He probably isnt going to play for Buck at catcher with poor defense.

[Crazysilver03]

Shows that WAR isn't the only stat to look at Wieters has 51 RBis this year and his back up has zero. He is near the top of American leagues catchers in RBIs. Runs wins games. .

Just because he is the best in a weak category doesn't mean he is worth the money.

[Redskins Rick]

Just because he is the best in a weak category doesn't mean he is worth the money.

you dont win many MLB games, with a poor defensive catcher behind the plate, either.

[Phantom]

Resigning a good catcher at the age of 30 is almost always a bad idea. Why would we sign a mediocre one?

[Redskins Rick]

Resigning a good catcher at the age of 30 is almost always a bad idea. Why would we sign a mediocre one?[/QUOTE]

Maybe, not everybody agrees with your assessment that he is a mediocre one?

[Phantom]

Maybe, not everybody agrees with your assessment that he is a mediocre one?

Are there any of those people outside the orioles fanbase?

Even if you think he's a really good catcher, surely you don't think signing a catcher who is 30 to a sizeable multi year deal is a good idea.

[Redskins Rick]

Are there any of those people outside the orioles fanbase?

Even if you think he's a really good catcher, surely you don't think signing a catcher who is 30 to a sizeable multi year deal is a good idea.

Yes, MLB had him ranked as the number 1 catching FA last Fall for this season.

[h=2]Matt Wieters is the best catcher available in free agency this offseason by no small margin.[/h]

But at what value, is a good deal, that isn't an easy answer.

[UpstateNYfan]

I see MW excelling at two things, tags at the plate and his arm, although Schoop is a beast at making tags at second (I don't recall ever seeing anyone better). I don't know what his $$$ value is. I do recall how many here noted that Joseph was a poor defensive catcher and for the most part he turned out better than expected. I realize the CJ has had an absolutely lousy year hitting. It seems to me that this is the first year in his career that he was strictly a true number 2 catcher with limited AB's. I think some need the regular AB's to be effective. My point here is Sisco as bad as CJ was?? MW seems like a nice enough guy, but I'm betting he will do better than 3/30 something, just for a PR move for some organization.

[Enjoy Terror]

Yes, MLB had him ranked as the number 1 catching FA last Fall for this season.

But who was #2? Because the only catchers that could conceivably have any claim to #1 other than Wieters were Ianetta, Piersynski, Flowers, Salty, or Avila. Only Ianetta is even starting right now. So this is a dubious distinction.

[TINSTAAPP]

I want the Orioles to just offer him a 1/$6.5 million contract. If that's not enough, just let him walk. This team has too many needs that they need to fill. They can't afford to spend $10+ million on him next year.

[eddie83]

I see many people are down on his ability to block balls in the dirt. He had that rough patch coming back off the foot injury but other than that I don't see where he has regressed so much.

As far as WAR for a catcher in 2013 baseball reference had him as a negative defender. I thought that was way off.

I would not get into a bidding war for him but if a short term reasonable deal can be reached I am all for it.