Marlins catch valuable backup
Veteran Ellis offers steady leadership
JUPITER — When the Dodgers traded away their backup catcher late last season, ace pitcher Clayton Kershaw took it as a stunning personal loss.
The three-time Cy Young Award winner referred to the deal that sent A.J. Ellis to the Phillies for Carlos Ruiz, another veteran catcher, as a “tremendous subtraction.”
The Marlins, in signing Ellis to a one-year, $2.5 million deal in the offseason to become their backup backstop, were aiming to add to what Kershaw regarded as the Dodgers’ loss.
“He prepares harder than us for all of our individual starts or our bullpen roles. He does that for 12 different guys every single series, and he takes a lot of pride in it,” Kershaw said the day of the trade.
Marlins manager Don Mattingly knows all about Ellis’ work ethic and benefit to a pitching staff, having been on the Dodgers staff during the first eight years of Ellis’ career in Los Angeles, the last four as manager. He didn’t hesitate to make contact when it became apparent Ellis would be available as a free agent and the Marlins would have an opening for a backup catcher with Jeff Mathis moving on to Arizona.
The presence of Mattingly and former Dodgers coaches Tim Wallach and Lorenzo Bundy has helped ease the transition for Ellis in his first spring training with a different team.
“That relationship is a huge reason why I’m a Marlin,” Ellis said. “I know what they’re thinking. They allow me to be myself and put my program together and allow me to work because there’s that trust there.”
Like Mathis the past four years in Miami, Ellis can be counted on as a solid defender and steadying veteran influence. He has the potential to be a marginal upgrade offensively.
Although he batted .194 with the Dodgers last season in a diminished role, Ellis spent a couple of seasons as their starting catcher, including 2012 when he batted .270 in 133 games and hit 13 home runs with 52 RBI.
Indications are Ellis will get more starts behind the plate, as regular catcher J.T. Realmuto is preparing for some action at first base.
But Mattingly makes it clear that he was brought here primarily because of his ability as a pitcher whisperer and to aid in Realmuto’s development as a catcher.
“We thought he fit our profile for what we were looking for out of the backup catcher,” Mattingly said. “Part of that was the relationship with J.T., helping J.T. advance to the next level.
“A.J. has a reputation – I’ve seen it first-hand – he’s a guy who studies. He understands our pitchers. He knows where to go to get people out because he does his homework. It’s one of the areas we feel like is an area for growth for us as a team.”
Ellis not only completes a catching corps identified by initials, it sets up an allA.J. battery every time he catches closer A.J. Ramos.
If that provides a basis for confusion, imagine how it feels for Ellis in the early weeks of spring training as he faces the task of learning a new pitching staff after so many years with the same team.
“I’m just paying a lot of attention to building a lot of relationships. Really just getting to know guys and more about who they are as people,” he said. “We’ll get into the baseball stuff as we progress through spring training.”