Reds looking for catcher
John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer is reporting that the Reds are “actively seeking a catcher.” He speculates that the team is beginning to worry about the health of David Ross, who has missed three weeks of spring training due to back spasms. The signs point to Ross’s back spasms not doing anything to help his .203 batting average of a year ago. The team’s third catcher, Paul Bako, hit just .205 last year so it’s not getting any better in terms of production as they move down the line.
Fay thinks the Reds will shop Ryan Freel in order to snag a catcher, but mentions that he’s owed $7 million over the next two years, which may possibly hurt his trade value. The Reds have been using Freel all over the place this spring, showing that he still has the ability to fill the super utility role.
The problem that exists for the Reds is that normally catchers are hard to receive through trade. Team’s protect good catchers like they’re young, up and coming, pitching prospects due to the high probability of injury to the position. The Reds best bet is to get in touch with one of the Nationals, Padres, Rangers or Royals to see if they’re willing to move any of their extra catchers, though it’s going to be hard to pry a good catcher away from a team this late into spring, especially without offering any pitching.
Filed under: Cincinnati Reds