Veteran catcher Mathis is just what D-Backs needed
BOB MCMANAMAN
Of all the deficiencies the Diamondbacks are said to have had during the last few seasons, a perceived lack of leadership from within the clubhouse might have rang the loudest.
Leave it to a soft-spoken, light-hitting veteran catcher to change all of that.
In signing Jeff Mathis to a two-year, $4 million free-agent contract, the Diamondbacks believe they have a player whose leadership skills are strong enough to measure the hearts of two men.
“I think so,” manager Torey Lovullo said before Sunday’s Cactus League game against the Rockies at Salt River Fields. “There’s a calm and an easiness to his personality. There’s also an intensity and fierceness that he shows between the lines that only we get to know about and we see every day. That’s the combination I’m the most interested in.
“But then you throw in the ability to lead, the winning track record that follows him and his ability to catch. Let’s not forget that. This guy is a really good player. He gets credit for a lot of things outside of being a really good player and we’re looking forward to him showing that to the rest of that clubhouse.”
Mathis, now in his 13th major league season, has built a reputation for being a very good defensive catcher and a well-respected and admired teammate. He learned that during his seven seasons under Mike Scioscia with the Angels and carried it with him during a one-year stop in Toronto and the last four seasons in Miami with the Marlins.
When it was announced Arizona had signed him in December, several of Mathis’ Marlins teammates expressed their remorse about him leaving. Mathis, who turns 34 on March 31, had helped so many of them and was particularly a calming influence after the tragic boating death of ace Jose Fernandez in late September.
In addition to tweets from pitcher Tom Koehler and outfielder Christian Yelich, Mathis received numerous texts and phone calls from members of the Marlins, telling him how much they’re going to miss what he brought every day to the ballpark. It was heartwarming, the catcher said.
“Obviously, it means the world to me,” he said. “That’s one thing I try to do is establish relationships and trust and that’s super important in the clubhouse. But it’s also super important to me. Some of the things those guys said, though, really touched me.
“What we went through last year and toward the end of the year, that was something that was really tough on us all. But it meant the world to me to hear what some of those guys had to say.”
Mathis will have the same role here with the Diamondbacks, that of being the team’s primary catcher and a voice who can lead the troops in the field and stay on top of things in the locker room.
But it goes even deeper than that, he says. It’s about forming bonds and getting to know everybody. It’s about earning each other’s trust and having each other’s back. “All of that,” he said, “is something I firmly believe in.”
He learned it all from Scioscia, the longtime Angels skipper.
“He definitely taught me how to play the game and how to do what I’ve done as a catcher,” said Mathis, who was born in Marianna, Fla.
Danny Salazar breezed through his first outing for the Cleveland Indians this spring. No extra adrenaline from facing the Chicago Cubs. No interest in revisiting the World Series. Just another day at work. Salazar pitched two crisp innings, and Cleveland and Chicago played to a 1-1 tie in the Cactus League in Mesa on Sunday.
“I was just trying to work on my fastball,” said Salazar, who allowed one hit and struck out three. “Trying to work down on it and the first guy that I face, it was a walk. But after that, just trying to relax and try to get my tempo back.”
The Indians were hit hard by injuries last season, but still won the AL Central and made it all the way to the World Series. Then they won three of the first four games against Chicago, but the Cubs rallied for their first title since 1908, winning in the 10th inning of Game 7.
The rematch — in name only, really — looked nothing like their classic meeting last fall, with each side taking the opportunity to a look at several players in front of a sellout crowd of 15,388 on a typically sunny Arizona day. Cubs manager Joe Maddon called it just another spring game, and Salazar sounded a similar note.
“What happened already happened,” he said. “I think that’s the past. This is a new year and we have a new goal and right now we’re just trying to get ready for the season.”
Salazar missed the final part of last season because of tightness in his right forearm, but returned in the World Series and pitched three scoreless innings in relief. He went 11-6 with a 3.87 ERA in 25 starts last year before he got hurt, making the All-Star team for the first time.
“I think if you keep yourself healthy, you know there’s a lot of things that you can do,” he said.
Albert Almora Jr. walked and scored in the fourth for Chicago. Almora is expected to share time in center field with Jon Jay after Dexter Fowler signed with St. Louis as a free agent.
Jake Buchanan pitched two hitless innings for the Cubs, and Matt Szczur went 2 for 2 with an RBI single.