Originally posted by Kevin Seitzer
View Post
Padre catching is an area I'd like to see them upgrade at. Campusano looks to be the best bat, Alfaro the best arm and Nola not great at either. If I can't upgrade through trade or FA I'd start Campusano next year in a Traditional stance. Both Nola and Alfaro are Arb eligible so one of em will be gone but unless the Padres go out and get an established #1 catcher, probably Nola will stay as back up even though his defense is horrible. Alfaro, cannon and all, just strikes out too much and his glove is more suspect than Nola's
As to your 2nd hypothetical--As you can see from my Padre answer, there aren't many immediate upgrades at the position league wide. I'd think a handful might be demoted to spot start/back up as guys like Hedges (and I use him because of my familiarity with his play) but the position would gradually evolve to a offensive/strong throwing arm dominant position as you alluded to in a previous post. Once ABS is announced as an incoming feature, teams will start to change how they approach the position and though some will indeed lose their gigs, others will get those gigs.
Again, it's easy for me to say--sorry but we're going in a different direction as I have no personal connection with anyone in the game--That's might be different for you as you'd actually know some of the guys who'd lose their jobs.
Comment