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Angels interested in Kurt Suzuki


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Minasian’s first two significant moves, trades for shortstop José Iglesias and reliever Raisel Iglesias, were for players entering their free-agent years, enabling the team to retain future payroll flexibility. The Angels also need to address their bullpen and other positions, and catcher Kurt Suzuki is a free agent of interest after the Mets’ signing of McCann, sources say. One thing is clear: Even with the potential for expanded playoffs next season, there is no easy path for Minasian to get Mike Trout back to the postseason.

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Suzuki is the perfect choice, local guy, not a huge financial commitment, can be had on a one year deal, pitchers like pitching to him.  I might prefer Castro, just because he creates a much easier natural platoon partner with Stassi, but Suzuki would be perfectly acceptable.

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I really like Kurt Suzuki. Always have. A good defensive catcher and a good reputation in the clubhouse. Eppler had the right idea when he pursued veteran catchers to lead the pitching staff, like Lucroy and Castro. There's just only so much a catcher can do without the right pitching coach and pitchers. 

We've got the right pitching coach now. The right manager too. And our younger arms like Canning, Sandoval and Barria are developing. And we've got some big arms on the way in Detmers, Rodriguez and Kochanowicz. Now, they just need the veteran catchers and veteran pitchers to lead that staff. Suzuki can definitely be part of that equation.

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2 minutes ago, Stradling said:

Suzuki is the perfect choice, local guy, not a huge financial commitment, can be had on a one year deal, pitchers like pitching to him.  I might prefer Castro, just because he creates a much easier natural platoon partner with Stassi, but Suzuki would be perfectly acceptable.

I think for a catcher, the most important thing for Minasian will be how he perceives their defensive value, vs forming a LHB/RHB type platoon situation.  Suzuki played for the Braves from 2017-2018, so Minasian does have quite a bit of familiarity with what he brings.  Given Castro and Suzuki probably have a similar acquisition cost, I imagine whoever is considered the better overall defender will be his target.

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1 minute ago, Warfarin said:

I think for a catcher, the most important thing for Minasian will be how he perceives their defensive value, vs forming a LHB/RHB type platoon situation.  Suzuki played for the Braves from 2017-2018, so Minasian does have quite a bit of familiarity with what he brings.  Given Castro and Suzuki probably have a similar acquisition cost, I imagine whoever is considered the better overall defender will be his target.

Yea, I agree with that, however if they are somewhat close to defensive abilities I personally bring in Castro.

Hey guys, Castro was considered a good defensive catcher, right?  Or am I misremembering?

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3 minutes ago, Second Base said:

I really like Kurt Suzuki. Always have. A good defensive catcher and a good reputation in the clubhouse. Eppler had the right idea when he pursued veteran catchers to lead the pitching staff, like Lucroy and Castro. There's just only so much a catcher can do without the right pitching coach and pitchers. 

We've got the right pitching coach now. The right manager too. And our younger arms like Canning, Sandoval and Barria are developing. And we've got some big arms on the way in Detmers, Rodriguez and Kochanowicz. Now, they just need the veteran catchers and veteran pitchers to lead that staff. Suzuki can definitely be part of that equation.

Maddon has a quicker hook than Scioscia or Ausmus, so we need a catcher that likes to catch 5 different pitchers per game.

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1 minute ago, Stradling said:

Yea, I agree with that, however if they are somewhat close to defensive abilities I personally bring in Castro.

Hey guys, Castro was considered a good defensive catcher, right?  Or am I misremembering?

That's a fascinating question.  I think it's really difficult for us, as fans, to truly know the defensive value a catcher brings to the table.  We can see certain things fairly easily - ability to throw out runners at 2B, ability to frame, etc.  But it's much more difficult to perceive leadership and pitch calling/sequencing.  A lot of times, when we see a pitcher get lit up, we just assume the pitcher blew it, but perhaps the catcher just made a terrible pitch call that led to his pitcher getting blasted.

I'm guessing Minasian and other FO executives have proprietary info that helps them better evaluate defensive catching value that we, as fans, are not privy to.  Maybe something indicates that Suzuki is quite a bit superior, on the whole, to Castro.  Hard to say.

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On a somewhat related note, I think there's a 50/50 chance we end up drafting a catcher with our top overall pick.  Given we have literally no catching in the pipeline to speak of, and given how much we have been linked to catchers this offseason, I have to think that Minasian will want a catcher he can groom and develop as his top overall pick, even before a SP prospect.

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2 minutes ago, Warfarin said:

On a somewhat related note, I think there's a 50/50 chance we end up drafting a catcher with our top overall pick.  Given we have literally no catching in the pipeline to speak of, and given how much we have been linked to catchers this offseason, I have to think that Minasian will want a catcher he can groom and develop as his top overall pick, even before a SP prospect.

Yea, I know some teams have been drafting catchers high in the draft, I would still shy away from that when what we really need is top of the rotation arms and we will have a top 10 pick in the draft.  Catchers have some of the highest fail rates in the draft.  But someone did post here that some successful teams are starting to look at catching earlier in the draft.  

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7 minutes ago, Stradling said:

Yea, I know some teams have been drafting catchers high in the draft, I would still shy away from that when what we really need is top of the rotation arms and we will have a top 10 pick in the draft.  Catchers have some of the highest fail rates in the draft.  But someone did post here that some successful teams are starting to look at catching earlier in the draft.  

Notably, the Braves took Langeliers with the #9 pick of the 2019 draft.  Obviously it doesn't portend what we would do, but just based on everything Minasian is saying, and all the rumors of our interest in catchers, I have to imagine drafting a catcher is a super high priority.  If we secure an ace this offseason (Bauer, Snell, Gray, etc), I imagine a long-term solution at catcher vaults to priority #1 in the draft.

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2 minutes ago, Warfarin said:

Notably, the Braves took Langeliers with the #9 pick of the 2019 draft.  Obviously it doesn't portend what we would do, but just based on everything Minasian is saying, and all the rumors of our interest in catchers, I have to imagine drafting a catcher is a super high priority.  If we secure an ace this offseason (Bauer, Snell, Gray, etc), I imagine a long-term solution at catcher vaults to priority #1 in the draft.

That is 100% possible, but it wouldn’t be my choice.  I’d almost rather overpay to trade for the guy stuck behind Will Smith than to draft a catcher in the first round.  I wonder if drafting a catcher is one of those things where if you can’t find one in the first dozen or so picks, the drop off is so great you might as well wait until the later rounds.  

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At first I was like "what the fuck" but after some thought this actually would make a lot of sense. He's not going to hit but we don't need him to.

Also, the last statement is dumb. The AL West is entirely up for grabs and the Angels are already better than they were this past season. With a few moves we're easily the favorites to win the division.

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12 minutes ago, Stradling said:

That is 100% possible, but it wouldn’t be my choice.  I’d almost rather overpay to trade for the guy stuck behind Will Smith than to draft a catcher in the first round.  I wonder if drafting a catcher is one of those things where if you can’t find one in the first dozen or so picks, the drop off is so great you might as well wait until the later rounds.  

We'll see.  I'm sure it is multi-factorial - i.e., who do we acquire this offseason, who do the first 8 teams above us select, etc.  But I'm just saying I wouldn't be surprised to see him secure a catcher with the #9 pick, if there is one he is really high on, given how much he has talked about the role of catching in terms of run prevention, etc.

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Suzuki makes sense considering the Minasian connection with Atlanta, but is Suzuki really a good defensive catcher?

The defensive metrics out there say he is a bad defensive catcher. Last season, he was in the 4th percentile in framing and was worth -4 DRS. For his career, his DRS is -76, and he's only had 4 out of 14 seasons where he had a positive DRS ('08, '09, '10, and '17).

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2 hours ago, Second Base said:

I really like Kurt Suzuki. Always have. A good defensive catcher and a good reputation in the clubhouse. Eppler had the right idea when he pursued veteran catchers to lead the pitching staff, like Lucroy and Castro. There's just only so much a catcher can do without the right pitching coach and pitchers. 

We've got the right pitching coach now. The right manager too. And our younger arms like Canning, Sandoval and Barria are developing. And we've got some big arms on the way in Detmers, Rodriguez and Kochanowicz. Now, they just need the veteran catchers and veteran pitchers to lead that staff. Suzuki can definitely be part of that equation.

Slow pop time and weak arm, but if it saves money then I'm all for it. He's a decent bat for a catcher. 

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2 hours ago, Warfarin said:

On a somewhat related note, I think there's a 50/50 chance we end up drafting a catcher with our top overall pick.  Given we have literally no catching in the pipeline to speak of, and given how much we have been linked to catchers this offseason, I have to think that Minasian will want a catcher he can groom and develop as his top overall pick, even before a SP prospect.

Catchers have historically had the lowest success rate when it comes to making it to the majors and that includes success stories like Mathis and every other defense first no bat catcher to eek out a 4 year career.  

I really hope the Angels shoot for more with a top 10 pick.

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I think if you are looking at Suzuki as catcher, you have to look at him as a platoon partner or a backup catcher.  At 37 (and man time flies, I remember the young him on the A's that just seemed like yesterday), I just can't see him even close to being a full time catcher.  He's still putting up some good offensive numbers, so maybe they are looking at him as a give the catcher a break/late inning pinch hitter?

And you still have Stassi and Bemboom under contract.  Both of which have positive Dwar's for last season, and if Stassi actually figured out how to hit, it would be a big plus in the lineup.

Really, I'd rather the Angels spend the money on SP and multiple RP's than at the C position.  

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40 minutes ago, Inside Pitch said:

Catchers have historically had the lowest success rate when it comes to making it to the majors and that includes success stories like Mathis and every other defense first no bat catcher to eek out a 4 year career.  

I really hope the Angels shoot for more with a top 10 pick.

I would have to imagine it will have to do with what pitchers are available, the quality of the catchers available and Minasian's conviction in their future, etc.

We do see some teams draft catchers very highly - the Giants have spent 2 first rounders on catchers in the last 3 years, with Bart considered a stud.  The Braves, despite already having Contreras, drafted Langeliers with their #9 pick, etc.

I'm not saying it is for sure the route they should go, but just based on Minasian's pedigree, his desire for catching and our complete lack of it, it would not surprise me to see him draft a C at #9, if he feels he has found one who can be part of our future core.

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34 minutes ago, Ron Mexico said:

Why Not try and trade for one of the Young Catchers the Padres are holding on to? 

The Padres don't really have a deep catching pipeline.  They have Nola as their catcher now, but Mejia doesn't really look good as a catcher, and they have Campusano, but not much beyond that.

The teams to look to are probably the Braves and Dodgers, who have a ton of catching in their pipeline AND in the MLB.

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