Tyler Stephenson: Best Reds catcher since Bench

[foster15]

I’m not going to belabor this, we don’t agree. To me, use Stephenson to backup Votto at first base along with catching duties. Then gradually, as Joey recedes, give Tyler more and more time at that position. That’s the way you preserve Tyler’s health and availability.

If the Reds come up with another excellent hitting baseman, there’s always the DH spot for one of them.

Preserving a great catcher that would be maybe an average first baseman makes no freaken sense. You act like he's the 2nd coming of Willie McCovery or something, he's not. Again, he'd become more like Todd Frazier who nobody said "we need to protect his body". He's great because he's a catcher. He's not great as another position player. If Todd Frazier was a decent catcher, we would've been talking about him as the best since Johnny Bench. But he was a 3rd baseman, worth more than a 1st baseman all things being equal, and he's looked at as very good for a short time, not great.

Your logic makes absolutely no sense. We have to protect our great catcher. So we need to slowly turn him into a possibly slightly above average 1st baseman.

[CySeymour]

Also, "a bit more valuable playing catcher than 1st base?" Are you serious? Would Johnny Bench or Gary Carter only been a bit less valuable playing 1st base? Got news for you, Johnny Bench would've been close to Tony Perez in value had he played 1st base. That's a big difference going from greatest catcher of all time to barely being on right side of bubble to hall of fame.

Stephenson is not anywhere near Bench and Carter defensively, so I'm not sure that argument holds up. Both were game changers behind the plate.

[Kc61]

Just would note that Stephenson is not in the lineup today against a lefty. He left last night’s game after being hit in the mask with a foul.

While generally IMO a plus hitting catcher should have another position ready to go, I am concerned that with Stephenson the issue is more pressing.

[Old school 1983]

Wilson Contreas is a FA this off-season. Sounds like a good target. Stephenson could play first. Back up C. Might need a solution sooner than that though. There are so many concussions a person can have.

[Ron Madden]

News on TySteve

Charlie Goldsmith
@CharlieG__

The Reds and Tyler Stephenson are looking into getting a different mask to protect him from concussions.

They’re not looking into moving him away from catcher.

“I don’t think it’s going to impact anything,” Stephenson said.
“I’m not worried about it.”

[RedlegJake]

I'm only advocating some split duties for TS bc of his concussion history. I agree that his real value is behind the plate where he is good enough to be special. At first he's okay but nothing special. As a resting spot it makes some sense but now that the DH is available there is another way to give him rest while keeping him in the lineup. Face it, there are only a couple Salvy Perez types who ironman catching anymore. What I don't agree with is making other positions a routine. When he needs a break DH him or play him at first but keep behind the dish 100 - 120 games a year. When he appears fatigued give him a break. Sit him altogether a few times when he's facing guys he has a tough time with (every player has their personal demon pitchers).

[Ron Madden]

May 15: C Tyler Stephenson cleared to play (concussion protocol)

Reds catcher Tyler Stephenson received positive news Sunday when follow-up medical tests showed no signs of a concussion from being hit on the mask by a hard foul ball during Saturday’s 3-1 loss to the Pirates.

“He’s cleared. He’ll be available to pinch-hit today or anything else we need him for,” Reds manager David Bell said.

In the bottom of the third inning Saturday, Ke’Bryan Hayes fouled off a 2-2 pitch from Luis Castillo hard off of Stephenson’s mask, knocking him down into a sitting position. After a few moments, he was taken out of the game, and backup Aramis Garcia finished the game behind the plate.

The Reds exercised added caution because Stephenson already suffered a concussion this season and has had three dating back to high school. An April 19 home plate collision with the Padres’ Luke Voit put Stephenson on the seven-day concussion list and forced him to miss 10 games.

“I think that’s kind of been the first test, obviously, since I came back,” Stephenson said. “It was a good one, to say the least. It was positive, once I got into the clubhouse to kind of wind it down, especially with how I feel this morning. All positive news and stuff, we’re good.”

Stephenson, the Reds and his equipment supplier are in contact about his using different masks and head protection to try and prevent more concussions.

“His mask did its job. Maybe there’s an even better one out there,” Bell said. -- Mark Sheldon

[plantmanky]

The main concern here is the concussions. He's already had 3, and I would hope people are smart enough to know that's not a number you want to get much higher before a move is made to get him out from behind the plate.

When you use your head to tag baserunners, concussions are going to be an issue.

[dubc47834]

Since Bench the Reds have had some decent catchers - Joe Oliver, Eddie Taubensee, Jason LaRue, Benito Santiago, Bo Diaz, Tucker Barnhart, Mez, Ramon Hernandez, Ryan Hanigan. They drafted a couple of decent ones as well Grandal and Dan Wilson.

Stevenson has the opportunity to be as good or better than all of them, however, before we give him this crown, I think he needs to put 3 or so solid years together as a catcher. My guess is he ends up as the Reds 1b in a couple of years to take advantage of his offense and keep him healthy longer. In fact, he may end up the heir to Votto not Bench.

You forgot Brian Dorsett!

[Kingspoint]

Tyler Stephenson is not Johnny Bench....not even close.

That is really cool to read about Garcia. Those are the intangibles that even the fullest analytical assessment can’t detect.

Catching is really difficult. There’s a reason they don’t just throw Farmer back there. It’s takes years to learn and lotsnof repetition and homework to perfect. I could care less that Garcia is barely hitting his weight. Reading that makes me want to keep him around.

Not only that, but that he caught Greene's best game, Ashcraft's debut, and the comments from Mahle suggest that he's lights out a better Catcher than Stephenson. Stephenson is injured only because he was playing Catcher. His bat is an outstanding bat and needs to be in the lineup every single day, while his focus should be on his bat, not on the opposing players and our pitching staff. I would immediately make the change and tab Garcia as the Starting Catcher, moving Stephenson to any spot that he can reasonably play until he eventually takes over for the retired Votto, if that's necessary. It's a win-win for the organization and Stephenson, who will end up earning an extra $100M over the length of his career by making the move now. His numbers every year will be 35% better by volume, will be better as an overall OPS, his homerun totals will increase, and he'll get paid for it, first by the REDS, and then by another team if the REDS can't afford it.

Garcia, in the meantime, can focus in on what he does best....improving the performance of the entire pitching staff. That's worth more than if he was a hitter with an OPS of .900. If he's this good as a part-time Catcher, he'll be much, much better as a full-time Catcher. His bat won't hurt the team as much, either, since he'll miss 40 games a year just on rest as a Catcher.

This is a no-brainer.

I see people whining about the franchise not having enough talent. The talent is staring them in the face, but they just can't see it. We have an opportunity right now to have a great Catcher take over the Catching positiont while also having an opportunity of putting a .900+ OPS bat onto another position in the field every day in Stephenson. Stephenson would be a complete fool not to go for this idea, and if he didn't, as a G.M., I'd tell him that it's happening whether he likes it or not. It won't take long for him to realize that the franchise is right and he is wrong.

- - - Updated - - -

Stephenson has been injured multiple times already this year playing Catcher.

He needs to stop playing Catcher. The team is wasting a great bat by not moving him to another position. He'd be better off DH'ing than Catching.

[JFLegal]

Tyler Stephenson is not Johnny Bench....not even close.

strawman HOF post. zero people said tyler stephenson is as good as johnny bench. what i said is stephenson is the reds' best catcher since bench. and he is. if i'm wrong, who has been a better all-around catcher for the reds than tyler stephenson since bench? joe oliver? nope. benito santiago? i mean, if we're counting one-year rentals, you could try and make that argument ... but i'd still take stephenson. devin mesoraco? nah. one big flash-in-the-pan season and that was it. also wasn't much of a leader (while tysteve is a great leader, which is important for catchers). tucker barnhart? nope. stephenson is a clear upgrade. and this is only his second full season in MLB! wait until we see him develop even further in a few years.

speaking of a few years, let's make sure we bump this thread in a few years.

[RedTeamGo!]

Tyler Stephenson is not Johnny Bench....not even close.




Not only that, but that he caught Greene's best game, Ashcraft's debut, and the comments from Mahle suggest that he's lights out a better Catcher than Stephenson. Stephenson is injured only because he was playing Catcher. His bat is an outstanding bat and needs to be in the lineup every single day, while his focus should be on his bat, not on the opposing players and our pitching staff. I would immediately make the change and tab Garcia as the Starting Catcher, moving Stephenson to any spot that he can reasonably play until he eventually takes over for the retired Votto, if that's necessary. It's a win-win for the organization and Stephenson, who will end up earning an extra $100M over the length of his career by making the move now. His numbers every year will be 35% better by volume, will be better as an overall OPS, his homerun totals will increase, and he'll get paid for it, first by the REDS, and then by another team if the REDS can't afford it.

Garcia, in the meantime, can focus in on what he does best....improving the performance of the entire pitching staff. That's worth more than if he was a hitter with an OPS of .900. If he's this good as a part-time Catcher, he'll be much, much better as a full-time Catcher. His bat won't hurt the team as much, either, since he'll miss 40 games a year just on rest as a Catcher.

This is a no-brainer.

I see people whining about the franchise not having enough talent. The talent is staring them in the face, but they just can't see it. We have an opportunity right now to have a great Catcher take over the Catching positiont while also having an opportunity of putting a .900+ OPS bat onto another position in the field every day in Stephenson. Stephenson would be a complete fool not to go for this idea, and if he didn't, as a G.M., I'd tell him that it's happening whether he likes it or not. It won't take long for him to realize that the franchise is right and he is wrong.

- - - Updated - - -

Stephenson has been injured multiple times already this year playing Catcher.

He needs to stop playing Catcher. The team is wasting a great bat by not moving him to another position. He'd be better off DH'ing than Catching.

Garcia is chaff. He’s the worst hitter in Major League Baseball. Not an exaggeration. Having an automatic out in your lineup absolutely hurts the team.

[westofyou]

Garcia is chaff. He’s the worst hitter in Major League Baseball. Not an exaggeration. Having an automatic out in your lineup absolutely hurts the team.

.375 OPs after 70 odd PAs, if it was a year I’d except it from a BU catcher. But it’s mid June

[adkindo]

Garcia is chaff. He’s the worst hitter in Major League Baseball. Not an exaggeration. Having an automatic out in your lineup absolutely hurts the team.

yeah, it seems like there had to be a better option at #2 catcher on the market....

[westofyou]

Hallowed ground bat wise for Garcia

Since 1969 worst OPS 70 PA's or more (Red only)

Season	Player		        BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+	Age	G	PA
2003	Brandon Larson		.101	.212	.146	.358	-2	27	32	104
2022	Aramis Garcia		.147	.169	.200	.369	-2	29	31	78
2015	Brennan Boesch		.146	.191	.202	.394	8	30	51	94
1985	Dann Bilardello		.167	.206	.196	.402	11	26	42	108
2017	Stuart Turner		.134	.182	.244	.426	10	25	37	89
1978	Don Werner		.150	.242	.186	.428	22	25	50	132
2002	Brady Clark		.152	.233	.197	.430	13	29	51	74
1972	Ted Uhlaender		.159	.246	.186	.432	28	32	73	128
1971	Pat Corrales		.181	.230	.202	.432	26	30	40	102
2017	Arismendy Alcántara	.171	.187	.248	.435	12	25	70	108