Kelly Shoppach

Until such time as the Rays find a better RH alternative to him. That might be mid season If Chirinos is an upgrade or if Shoppach can be dealt prior with a veteran type RH’ed catcher replacing him.

If not, get used to him being here.

I initially posted because I found R.J. Anderson’s article that included remarks about Shoppach interesting. It seemed to me to rebut some of the more hostile responses to Shoppach I remembered reading on this site. They came in two forms: outright “he sucks” comments and what I considered unproductive suggestions for trades including him.

I was not and am not particularly interested in why people don’t like him. That seems irrelevant to a discussion of his place on the team. What is relevant is whether he actually is an asset, and whether there are better alternatives available.

Based on his history, and even on his performance (at least in part) last year, it seemed to me that he has value. And given that I think Chirinos needs time at AAA and that I do not think either Lobaton or Ashley can provide any offense at all in TB, I do not see a readily available alternative.

I suppose if Friedman can acquire a better reliever than anyone currently on the staff, it might be a worthwhile gamble to deal Shoppach if necessary, but I still think that leaves the Rays short a backup catcher which may not be critical, but is still a concern, especially as Jaso’s major league experience is a bit short for full confidence. I think the only free agent catcher still unsigned is Bengie Molina who I do not consider an upgrade and who is probably retiring anyway. Perhaps there is someone available in a trade, but we cannot judge that until it happens or at least is rumored, and for now, it means that Shoppach seems the best available, and given his history, perhaps the best in any case.

I have no objection to people ranting their frustrations or pointing out his flaws. But when the next step is to suggest dropping him altogether or replacing him with Ashley or trading him for a nonentity prospect, I think it goes too far. If there is a catcher available that meets Kericr’s criteria it would make for an interesting conversation as to whether that is a good trade-off. But otherwise, we ought to recognize what Shoppach does provide as well as his flaws. The great organizations always spotlight and use a player’s assets rather than focusing on their weaknesses.

I still could see a match with the Pirates for a closer but expanding it to include Ryan Doumit and Shoppach. While Doumit has struggled the last two seasons(especially against lefties) he can still hit right handed pitchers well and can hit with power. His w/OBA and OBP is not that much different than Jaso and actually has a higher OPS and Slug Avg. against righties than Jaso. And if he can approach his numbers from 2008, he become a very valuable switch hitting catcher.

The Rays take on 2 million more for one season but that makes acquiring a guy like Hanrahan in a deal for less value as a result. His defense may be a bit below Shoppach but equal to Jaso. There is the possibility that Jaso struggles against RH’ers this season which leads to the advantage of having Doumit. And Doumit could still be moved at the deadline(if needed) or they could buy out his options for .5 million and get a draft pick for him by letting him walk. It doesn’t effect a timetable for Chirinos either.

If Doumit could return to form as against lefties(at least equal to what Shoppach can do) and also be an alternative against righties should Jaso struggle, he may be worth the extra 2 million. But more importantly, if the Rays could acquire Hanrahan(or Meek) at the same time, it might be a consideration. There would be another player or prospect from the Rays going over to make the deal work. It could be a solid(not top) arm going back, and possibly an out of option guy like Fuld(Pirates need a 4/5th OF’er) or an Elliot Johnson(utility IF’er). I still think the Rays might have to consider Beckham(Pirates need a future SS) if they view Lee as jumping ahead of him on the prospect chart

The platoon plan goes out the window if Jaso can’t hit righties though. His OBP is based on the walks he gets, not on his hitting and if he doesn’t become a better hitter(and show more power) when pitchers pump strike after strike to him(which they started doing late last season), the Rays may have to go with Shoppach more often than they may want to.

Doumit could be a duel solution, if Shoppach continues his regression and/or pitchers figure out Jaso and he regresses versus righties. Straight up, I might not do the deal but it would give Chirinos maybe one more full year of catching to get more experience and be an impact in 2012. If it brought back a guy like Hanrahan or Meek as well, I have to strongly consider it as the last piece of the puzzle for 2011.

But Doumit is not that far different even comparing a down year for him.
 Jaso hit .263, OBP .372, Slug .378 and w/OBA of 341.
Doumit hit .251, OBP .331 Slug .406 and w/OBA of .326
The sample is still small on Jaso and hitting lefties may not even happen for him this year. Doumit could improve to the mean just as much as he has regressed the last 2 seasons but he can still hit lefties very well, compared to Shoppach.
I did however say the Rays would have to add a decent player or two in the deal to get Hanrahan or Meek as well in such a deal but you must have missed that part.