Fryer outrighted to AAA

[Richie the Rally Goat]

With Eric Fryer outrighted to AAA, there are only 2 catchers on the 40 man roster. Presumably this means Ryan and Molitor plan a larger catching role for Pinto in 2015. What might the plan be for the third catcher on the 40 man?

[Kirby_waved_at_me]

Twins missed their chance to claim Ryan Lavarnaway off waivers, but he'll probably be DFA'd another 4 times before New Year's Day, so I'll go with that.

 

Or... J.P. Arencibia is a free agent? John Buck, who the Twins almost signed instead of Suzuki, is a free agent again, and was TERRIBLE last year.

 

Not much on the free agent market, but the team would just be looking for depth... If Fryer makes it to Rochester without incident (traded, somehow declares free agency, etc.), I think the Twins are fine as is. They can make a roster move if there's an injury when it comes up...

[Paul Pleiss]

I was planning to go on a long winded tirade about bring back A.J., but he just signed a deal with the Braves, so instead I'll just continue to wonder if Paul Molitor and Terry Ryan have any faith that Pinto can be a backup catcher.

[goulik]

With Eric Fryer outrighted to AAA, there are only 2 catchers on the 40 man roster. Presumably this means Ryan and Molitor plan a larger catching role for Pinto in 2015. What might the plan be for the third catcher on the 40 man?

I agree there should be a third catcher on the 40 man, just please, let's keep it at two on the 25 man roster the majority of this year...

[Seth Stohs]

I don't think Pinto is really a catcher option but I wouldn't mind him being a bench bat/DH/emergency catcher. I know some would call that three catchers but not really.

[JB_Iowa]

I don't think Pinto is really a catcher option but I wouldn't mind him being a bench bat/DH/emergency catcher. I know some would call that three catchers but not really.

 

Seth, who are your 3?

 

Kurt, Pinto and ??????

 

Hermann?

[Rosterman]

Right now, you have Hermann and Rohlfing. You can call up and guy and add him if need be. Will be some third-string catchers cut loose (hey, Rene Rivera was a gold nugget find, Corky Miller and Eli Whiteside are still out there, not to mention Jose Morales). Drew Butera could become available. There is no shortage of filler catchers, especially if you are looking for that backup for someone doing 130+ games. I jsut don't want to see Herrmannnnnnn kept around just because he COULD catch. I want to see Molitor beyond that third catcher need. If you aren't playing Pinto, send him to AAA and let him catch and get an adequate bench bat who can also catch (Ryan Doumit is still out there).

[JB_Iowa]

I should have asked my question to Seth differently (and I can't find an edit button) -- if Pinto isn't the backup, who is??

 

They need more from a backup than just an emergency catcher.

[Danchat]

I don't think Pinto is really a catcher option but I wouldn't mind him being a bench bat/DH/emergency catcher. I know some would call that three catchers but not really.

You wouldn't even keep him as a backup catcher? So we have just one catcher on the current roster, then. If we don't consider Pinto or Herrmann as a catcher, I suppose the current backup would have to be non-40 man candidates like Fryer and Rohlfing.

 

They need to give Pinto some more chances at catching. I don't think he was as bad as everyone says he was, and we need his bat in the lineup. I hope Molitor can come up with a way to get Pinto to work - or trade him and get something decent in return.

[Seth Stohs]

Lots of options mentioned above. I'd be good with bringing Fryer back on a minor league deal. How about Jose Molina?

[stringer bell]

An ideal backup would be a stronger defensive catcher, but OTOH Pinto could be the primary catcher if Suzuki reverts to pre-2014 form. I haven't given up on Pinto as a regular.

[Twinsoholic]

Stuart Turner might find himself on the 40-man roster with a good showing in spring training, and even if he is not added then, if he remains healthy and is playing well at AA or AAA this season, and if another catcher is needed as a fill-in on the big league club, then Turner can be added. Defense is his calling card, and he is hoping to refine, with some time, his hitting stroke.

[nicksaviking]

As long as the the 40-man isn't full of irreplaceable players, I don't see the difference if the 3rd catcher is on the roster now or if he has to be added when his services are actually needed.

 

Maybe it saves some assistant 5 minutes worth of paperwork?

[Jeremy Nygaard]

The Twins signed Carlos Paulino to a minor-league deal. He wasn't on the NRI list, but he's a very much better defensively than he is offensively. He hasn't played in the MLB. He could be a guy that could be considered as a true backup catcher. Suzuki can catch four to five games a week. Pinto can do the other two. Paulino could come in late for Pinto (to catch Perkins). 

[jorgenswest]

The Twins signed Carlos Paulino to a minor-league deal. He wasn't on the NRI list, but he's a very much better defensively than he is offensively. He hasn't played in the MLB. He could be a guy that could be considered as a true backup catcher. Suzuki can catch four to five games a week. Pinto can do the other two. Paulino could come in late for Pinto (to catch Perkins).

 

Paulino will likely be a back up at AAA or AA if anything. He has 40 AAA at bats in which he posted a .433 OPS. He is 25.

[Jeremy Nygaard]

Paulino will likely be a back up at AAA or AA if anything. He has 40 AAA at bats in which he posted a .433 OPS. He is 25.

 

I agree. Just another name to consider.

[Otto von Ballpark]

Fryer could still be considered the backup -- somebody usually falls off the roster or hits the 60-day DL before opening day, right?

[diehardtwinsfan]

yeah, don't have a problem only having 2 Cs on the 40 man, but there had better be a guy in the minors worthing DFAing someone else for.  I'm perfectly fine with that guy being Fryer in AAA.  Guys like Herrman and Fryer are pretty easy to come by. 

 

That said, I'd be really disappointed if the Twins don't even view Pinto as a backup.

[Kirby_waved_at_me]

Fryer officially accepted the assignment to AAA, so he's still the backup's backup should he be needed.

[Otto von Ballpark]

Fryer officially accepted the assignment to AAA, so he's still the backup's backup should he be needed.

Given that it's not even January yet, I think he could/should still be considered the backup.  He just doesn't need a 40-man roster spot right now.  The Twins have had a few guys on their opening day rosters the past few years who weren't placed on the 40-man until just before the season started.

 

Perhaps this means they're not too enamored of Fryer that they would risk losing him, but it is also quite likely they already knew he was willing to accept that AAA assignment here if they needed his 40-man spot over the winter (especially if they told him it's a paper move and he's still a leading candidate for the backup spot out of spring training).

[beckmt]

Fryer is fine with me.  Turner probably could already catch well enough for the majors, just not hit, but he also would be fine.

[ashbury]

Fryer being off the 40-man is fine for now, but it doesn't serve the purpose, if one of the catchers goes down during the season for several weeks but not to an extent a 60-day DL stint is needed.  Then another roster decision has to be made.  Obviously it could be that there is already an opening due to a DL placement at another position, but that's not a given.  And then you will have exposed two guys to waivers and DFA, Fryer and some other guy, instead of the other guy in the first place.  Adding all this up, it says to me that significant roster changes are still coming, that will make DFA'ing Fryer just noise in the system.

[70charger]

Lots of options mentioned above. I'd be good with bringing Fryer back on a minor league deal. How about Jose Molina?

Some José Molina facts from:http://m.espn.go.com/mlb/story?storyId=12081854

 

There were 37 players who scored four runs (or more) in a game at least once in 2014. Our man Jose Molina, on the other hand, scored four runs all year. In 80 games. And in 247 trips to the plate. Do you even have to ask how many other players in history got that much playing time and scored that few runs in a season? That would be none. Of course.

 

• Meanwhile, 393 different players -- yep, 393 -- had at least one game this year in which they got at least two extra-base hits in a game. Heck, Jonathan Lucroy, who also catches for a living, had 14 games like that. But not only did Molina have zero games that meet that description, he wound up with two extra-base hits all season (none of them against American League teams, by the way). It broke the modern record for fewest extra-base hits by a catcher, previously shared (at three) by a bunch of guys who did it more than half a century ago.

 

• Mike Trout piled up 42 total bases by April 16. Molina, on the other hand, piled up 42 all year, which enabled him to slug an insane .187 for the season -- a number topped by 23 pitchers and, sadly, was just one percentage point shy of the prestigious record for lowest slugging percentage in the live-ball era by a player who batted as much as Molina did. (Ray Oyler, of the 1968 Tigers, gets to hang on to that one, at .186. Lucky him.)

 

How about NOT José Molina?

[Kirby_waved_at_me]

I like the fact that Molina had more stolen bases (3) than extra base hits (2) last year. Pretty rare for a catcher!

 

And totally ridiculous, of course. Molina would probably make a great bench coach, but I would not want him taking away a single at bat from Josmil Pinto (or even from Eric Fryer for that matter).