D-Backs
by advanced metrics.
And just as evident is the Diamondbacks’ willingness to sacrifice offense in order to improve defensively – a reasonable strategy for a team that had arguably the worst pitching staff in the majors last season.
While Castillo might have been an above-average hitter for his position – he logged a .772 OPS in 760 plate appearances with the Diamondbacks, the fifthbest mark in the majors among catchers during that span – his defense lagged behind.
Though Castillo seemed well-liked by Diamondbacks pitchers – right-hander Zack Greinke had nothing but good things to say about him – a reputation among scouts and front offices for being a poor game-caller has followed him around the majors. He also grades poorly in framing statistics, which take pitchlocation data and determine how catchers fare in influencing umpires’ strike zones.
Mathis is essentially Castillo’s polar opposite. He has failed to hit .200 in five of the past 10 seasons. He never has reached double-digits in home runs. His career OPS is nearly 50 percent worse than the average major league hitter.
But he is widely regarded as an elite defender, with a pristine reputation for managing pitching staffs and calling games and statistical evidence in his pitch-framing abilities.
Iannetta appears to be something in between – no longer at Castillo’s level offensively, not the defender that Mathis is. But the Diamondbacks sound hopeful they can work with Iannetta to at least get his pitch-framing numbers back to where they were in 2015, when he rated among the best in baseball.
The Diamondbacks know they’re likely to take a hit at the position offensively. But the way they see it, that can be offset with full, healthy seasons from A.J. Pollock and David Peralta and with continued growth from Jake Lamb, Brandon Drury and Yasmany Tomas.
There’s also the matter of offense rarely being a big problem, historically, for the Diamondbacks. Pitching, of course, is another story, and if the changes behind the plate can help the staff more than the offense will be hurt, then they’ll view that as a net positive.
The Diamondbacks also managed to save money with their catching maneuvers – something that, again, could wind up helping the pitching. Castillo was in line to earn roughly $6 million in arbitration. Mathis ($2 million) and Iannetta ($1.5 million) will make $3.5 million combined.
With the Diamondbacks still scouring the free-agent market for bullpen help, it wouldn’t be a surprise if that $2.5 million in savings went toward a veteran reliever.