Bridich has some catching up to do
When I interviewed new Rockies general manager Jeff Bridich for Sunday’s Page 1CC story, he talked about his love of playing catcher, which he did in high school and in college at Harvard.
“It’s a cerebral position. You are in charge, and I like that,” Bridich said. “That’s what I love about YadierMolina. He’s responsible for what goes on with the Cardinals.”
Bridich has not discussed any specifics regarding his first offseason as the big boss, but I’m quite certain he has paid close attention to the Rockies’ situation behind the plate. He knows what Wilin Rosario and Michael McKenry can and can’t do.
And, yes, he knows that Pirates catcher Russell Martin will soon be a free agent — a very costly free agent.
Above all, Bridich is acutely aware how important a quality catcher is to a winning baseball team.
Molina’s Cardinals opened the National League Championship Series on Saturday night against the Giants. The Cardinals are appearing in their fourth consecutive LCS. The only team to beat the Cardinals so far during that stretch? The Giants, in 2012, when theywent on to win theWorld Series. This year will mark the fifth consecutive season the Cardinals or Giants represent the National League in the Fall Classic.
An inescapable common denominator is that each club has a take-charge catcher. The Cardinals have Molina, and the Giants have Buster Posey.
Cardinals third baseman Matt Carpenter eloquently spelled that out lastweek to the San Francisco Chronicle’s John Shea.
“You can’t say enough about what(Molina) means to this team, froma defensive standpoint, leadership standpoint and obviously what he does at the plate,” Carpenter said. “He’s the backbone of this clubhouse. He’s hard to replace.
“I’m sure everybody in the room would feel their role is irreplaceable, but he might be the one guy that truly hits home with. You lose him, the whole dynamic of this team changes. His importance is huge. He’s our leader.”
Carpenter agreed that Posey fills the same role for San Francisco
“Absolutely,” he said. “I’ve said it a thousand times how similar these two teams are. That’s another example. Buster Posey makes that whole thing work, just like Yadi does for us.”
Plenty of Rockies fans have told me that their hot stove dream goes like this:
• Step one, the Rockies
sign Martin and make McKenry the primary backup.
• Step two, the Rockies trade Rosario to an American League team, where he can be a designated hitter and part-time catcher. Just what the Rockies would recoup is unclear.
This could all be a pipe dream, mostly because Martin is going to be a very hot commodity. Yes, he’s 31 and already has a lot of miles on him, but hewas terrific for the Pirates this season. He hit .290 with 11 home runs and 67 RBIs while handling Pittsburgh pitchers with aplomb. Among hitters with at least 450 plate appearances, Martin’s .402 on-base percentage ranked fourth in baseball behind teammate Andrew McCutchen, Victor Martinez and Jose Bautista.
TheDodgers (whereMartin began his career), Cubs, Red Sox, Rangers, Tigers and White Sox have been mentioned as possible suitors for Martin, who can ex- pect to become a very rich man.
The upcoming free-agent market for catchers is paper thin, so competition for Martin will be fierce. Last offseason, Brian McCann signed a five-year, $85 million contract with the Yankees and the Phillies re-signed Carlos Ruiz to a three-year, $26 million deal.
The Rockies were interested in both catchers, but they were priced out of the market. This offseason, Martin could get money similar to McCann’s. That makes Martin setting up shop at Coors Field a longshot.
Even so, don’t be surprised if Bridich attempts to make some kind of move at his favorite position.