Earlier this month, the Pirates decided to part ways with Elias Diaz. 12 months ago, he looked like the catcher of the future, but after a disastrous season at the plate and behind the dish, new GM Ben Cherington decided the team was better off without him.
In the following weeks, Cherington talked about how he was looking for a good-gloved catcher who could help manage the staff. Sure, getting someone who could help on offense too would be a plus, but as he put it, “We can’t always get everything we want.”
Cherington put "we can't always get everything we want" into action by signing catcher Luke Maile to a major league deal this week. Maile checks the boxes of being a good defensive catcher and Cherington is familiar with him since they were both Blue Jays the past few seasons. Maile had a fine season in 2018 where he looked like one of the game's best backup catchers, but like Diaz, he was non-tendered after a terrible 2019 campaign.
It's not guaranteed the Pirates will use Jacob Stallings and Maile as their top two catchers next season. There is still plenty of offseason to go, so they could either sign or trade for a backstop. Maile is one option year remaining, meaning the Pirates could stash him in Triple-A as depth. They could even use the new 26th roster spot for a third catcher. Signing Maile gives them some flexibility with the position.
But for now, Stallings and Maile are the only two catchers on the 40-man roster. Unless another acquisition is made, we have to assume they will be the Pirates' opening day battery. If they are the top two catchers in late March, two things will be certain: They will be one of the worst hitting catching units in baseball, and they will be one of the best fielding catching units in baseball.
Let's start with the offense. Maile hit .151 last year. Yikes. Batting average isn't exactly a great stat to measure a hitter's output, but good hitters don't bat a buck-fifty.
If you are a cup half full type of person, Mailee is a year removed from a season where he had a serviceable .700 OPS, and his expected stats in 2019 were much better than his actual results. If you see the cup as half empty, his expected stats from last year were still pretty bad, and he outpaced his xStats in 2018. Over the last two years, his expected and actual results even out:
Maile's walk rate dropped from 10.8% to 6.2% last year, which is the reason why his xwOBA fell in 2019. Besides that, his expected batting average and slugging percentage were the same the last two years. They are not great expected stats, but it is a noticeable improvement over what he did last season.
I think saying the two years averaged out is a bit of any over simplification, though. It's a subtle difference, but in the film I watched on him, Maile did a better job maintaining his spine angle during his swing in 2018 compared to last year. He was able to keep his composure.
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