Option 1.) Ryan Doumit
Overall, Doumit had a very disappointing 2013 season, and it comes pretty uncharacteristically when compared to the rest of his career. Fairly consistent, Doumit has a career line of .268/.329/.438 and should look to have a bounce-back campaign in 2014. Doumit, for the just over $3 million he receives per year, is very valuable and underrated to the Twins. A switch hitter, with middle of the lineup power, the 32 year old Doumit can also play up to 5 different positions on the field. He has a lot of experience catching, and has done so for the majority of his career. Last season Doumit caught 43 games for the Twins, and 57 games in both 2012 and 2011, for the Twins and Pirates respectively. In that 3 year span, Doumit has seen a boost in his offensive production when he is penciled in behind the plate as well. His .339 OBP and .451 slugging percentage at catcher are higher than at any other position, and his .285 batting average at catcher is up 14 points from his overall average during the last 3 years. Although Doumit has also experienced some concussion problems of his own and catching might not be an optimal choice for him, the Twins could definitely benefit from an increased amount of Ryan Doumit behind the plate in 2014.
Option 2.) Jarrod Saltalamacchia
The Twins were mentioned as showing interest in Salty as early as 8 hours after their announcement that Joe Mauer would be playing first base in 2014. Saltalamacchia is 28 years old and coming off his best season in the majors, hands down. Some of Salty's great 2013 season is easily forgotten due to his dismal showing in the postseason, but his regular season line of .273/.338/.466 was the best of his career in each category. He also belted 14 Homers in 121 games. Salty's power, along with the fact that he is a switch hitter, and reliable behing the plate are all intriguing factors when considering his value. Not intriguing is the career .246 batting average and .310 on-base percentage, or the fact that the 121 games played figure in 2013 was the highest of Salty's career, and only the second time he's played over 100 games in 7 years of Major League Baseball. I love his personality, and could really see him sporting a Twins jersey behind the plate, but I'm not sure his productivity would be worth the price he may cost in the coming weeks. The Red Sox have reportedly offered Saltalamacchia a 2 year deal worth less than $19 million, but other potential suitors will be getting in the mix for the catcher as well. I see his cost ending up at 3 years and $29 million, far beyond his actual worth.
Option 3.) A.J. Pierzynski
I don't like this option for one reason; A.J. Pierzynski is an asshole. Every other possible reason you could give for adding him this offseason makes perfect sense, no matter how much I've loved booing A.J. for the last handful of years. A.J. has past ties to the Twins, which is something management seems to look for when making their singing decisions, and he's a 36 year old veteran presence that could really add to the lineup. He will likely attract a 1 year deal between $7.5 and $10 million. A.J, for 16 seasons in the league, has been the perfect picture of consistency. He has a career batting average of .283 (the lowest end of season average he has recorded is .257 and the highest he has recorded is .312), he's played in as few as only 128 games, and as many as 140 games over the past 14 seasons. He hasn't been notoriously known as a power hitter, but has really added a power aspect to his game the last couple seasons, totaling 27 long-balls in 2012, and 17 last season. Defensively, A.J. has always been solid behind the plate, but has had questionable arm-strength. He has seemed to improve this area of his game as well, with a Caught-Stealing percentage of 26% in 2012, and 33% in 2013; both up from 20% in 2011, and both above the league average among catchers. Also, perhaps A.J's fiery sort of leadership could provide a needed spark in Minnesota that has been missing for some time. Maybe A.J. is one of those players that you hate to play against, but you want on your team... Or maybe he's just an asshole.
Option 4.) Josmil Pinto
Josmil Pinto is for real, and has a place in the Twins lineup in both 2014 and the future. The only issue is whether or not the 24 year old has a solid enough defensive game, and enough experience to step into the starting catcher role as early as next spring. This decision is ultimately up to the well trained and experienced coaches on the Minnesota staff. However, I feel that in at least a limited role, Pinto is ready to catch for the Minnesota Twins in 2014. He made as large an impact on the lineup as any call up last season and showed some real promise for a bright future. Pinto was no stranger to success in the Minors. The graph below shows how his production at the plate increased as his experience did while climbing the affiliate ladder.
By 2012, Pinto recorded a minor-league line of .295/.361/.473. By 2013, .309/.400/.482, and then impressively carried his productivity climb into the Majors with a .342/.398/.566 line in 21 games with Minnesota last season. Defensively he obviously has much work to do, but has an entire offseason to focus on. And even still, Pinto had a career Minor-League Caught Stealing percentage of 33%, and in his brief stint up in Minnesota last year threw out 45% of potential base stealers! Pinto's bat is impressive, will continue to improve over the next couple years, and needs to fit into the Twins' lineup somewhere.
Another possible situation could (and knowing the Twins, likely will) arise in which the likes of Eric Fryer, Chris Hermann, Ryan Doumit, and possibly Josmil Pinto all share significant time as the Twins' catcher in 2014.
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The best case solution that I see presenting itself here, is a starting catcher's role given to Josmil Pinto in Minnesota. Continue to refine his defensive skills this offseason, and if he isn't fully ready for the position all on his own, have Doumit split time behind the plate with him (see Ryan Doumit analysis above). But, make sure Pinto knows the position is his to be had, hopefully now and long into the future!
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