Who Can Reds Bring In As Back Up Catcher?

[Boston Red]

Not getting some of the negative backlash here.

Are you new here?

[Ron Madden]

This doesn't seem that bad
[QUOTE]

Maile has 306 games of big league experience under his belt. He’s a career .207/.268/.314 hitter but has a solid reputation as a defender.

Defensive Runs Saved gave him average marks in just over 500 innings of work last season, but that metric has pegged him 21 runs better than average over the course of his career.

Statcast has given him mixed reviews as a pitch framer in recent years. It’s credited him with an above-average throwing arm, though, with a
1.96-second average pop time (time to throw to second base on a steal attempt) that ranked 28th among 72 catchers with 10+ throws.
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[QUOTE]
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2022/...uke-maile.html

[JustaFan]

one evaluation scenerio is Is Maile a better option than the three backup catchers the Reds continuued to bring in following a plethoria of injuries?

[MikeS21]

I don't get the Maile hate either. In skimming through some of the other available back-up catchers out there, I don't see anyone putting up much numbers to get excited about.

And yes, Maile has a meager lifetime OBS of only .582. But when you compare that production to the parade of non-Stephenson catchers who the Reds ran out there last season, I'll take that .582 OBS every day of the week. That's more than a hundred points better OBS than the production the Reds got from the backup catchers last year (.468 OBS).

Maile is experienced enough as a catcher to work with the young pitchers who will be back next year. He's been on a winning team

[Bourgeois Zee]

Maile is a fungible asset. He's fine.

The Reds should have aimed higher.

That's why the hate.

It's not Maile-- it's that he represents the asiration to mediocrity.

[JCM11]

Signing Maile isn't an earth shattering move, but he's a 3+ WAR improvement over the backup catchers the Reds had last year. This was an easy and cheap way to improve the team, but the next improvements will be more costly.

The Reds were never going to spend 5+ million on a catcher this off season as long as they view Ty Steve as the starter. Maile is perfectly capable of starting 70 games and not being a total embarrassment like last years backups were.

[westofyou]

We are in a catcher lull across the game the league-wide .663 OPS at catcher last season was the lowest since 1989 (.635), the Reds have a guy in his mid 20's who wants to catch, despite his injuries. It's actually the one spot on the field that this team can claim to have a positive vibe (despite the semi-valid hand wringing over his injury chances) Signing a meh BU who is a placeholder is a par for the course when you expect a team with a catcher estimated to squat 100+ a year. No surprise for me... and sure he's ugly, have you seen the BU catchers out there? It's a Dog Fight

[HokieRed]

We are in a catcher lull across the game the league-wide .663 OPS at catcher last season was the lowest since 1989 (.635), the Reds have a guy in his mid 20's who wants to catch, despite his injuries. It's actually the one spot on the field that this team can claim to have a positive vibe (despite the semi-valid hand wringing over his injury chances) Signing a meh BU who is a placeholder is a par for the course when you expect a team with a catcher estimated to squat 100+ a year. No surprise for me... and sure he's ugly, have you seen the BU catchers out there? It's a Dog Fight

Right. Run through the FA list on MLB trade rumors. It's really thin. I'm actually surprised we got somebody as good as Maile. If Tucker's actually campaigning for a primary catcher's job, I think he's got a chance. He really shouldn't have but, with the current options, he may well end up with one.

[MoneyInTheBank]

Maile is a fungible asset. He's fine.

The Reds should have aimed higher.

That's why the hate.

It's not Maile-- it's that he represents the asiration to mediocrity.

I don't know. I think it's more to do with the (deserved) lack of confidence in this front office. We don't know and may never know how high they aimed. If they aim higher, miss and sign someone worse than Maile in February then Krall sat on his hands all offseason. It's a bird in the hand. They signed a perfectly acceptable backup catcher to a 1 year deal in November when there are no plans to compete. I have trouble assigning any sweeping conclusions based on this move.

[klw]

I don't hate the signing but would have like either Casali or Romine more based on the idea in my head that they would be better defenders/ mentors for the pitchers. I don't know that is a correct idea but is based on the positive reports on Romine's work with the staff while he was with the Reds last season and Casali's history with the Reds and Giants. I assume the Reds will be adding at least one more experienced guy on a MiLB deal. I hope they can bring Romine back that way if he does not secure a MLB deal elsewhere. (I assume Casali will get a MLB deal)

[Ron Madden]

Bobby Nightengale
@nightengalejr

Luke Maile says the Reds reached out to him immediately after he was released by Cleveland and were one of the first to send him an offer.

He said his family was ecstatic - "and that's probably an understatement."

[Roy Tucker]

We are in a catcher lull across the game the league-wide .663 OPS at catcher last season was the lowest since 1989 (.635), the Reds have a guy in his mid 20's who wants to catch, despite his injuries. It's actually the one spot on the field that this team can claim to have a positive vibe (despite the semi-valid hand wringing over his injury chances) Signing a meh BU who is a placeholder is a par for the course when you expect a team with a catcher estimated to squat 100+ a year. No surprise for me... and sure he's ugly, have you seen the BU catchers out there? It's a Dog Fight

My piss-poor Reds attitude bled over into my initial reaction to this signing. After reading this and looking at his stats, it’s really not a bad signing. I’ll try to be more realistic.

[Ron Madden]

Childhood fan Maile signs with Reds

Maile was also attracted to the Reds because he will get to work with some of the club’s younger pitchers -- namely starters like Hunter Greene, Nick Lodolo and Graham Ashcraft.

A .207 career hitter with a .582 OPS, Maile batted .221 with a .632 OPS and three home runs in 78 games last season for the Guardians.

He has a reputation for stronger defensive skills.

“The last two years, as a backup, he's been league-average offensively as a catcher,” Reds general manager Nick Krall said.

“Catcher OPS has been around [an] .660 OPS, and he's been right there around the same.

Being able to get a guy who works well with the staff that can be a solid backup is a really good thing for us.”
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https://www.mlb.com/reds/news/reds-s...-one-year-deal

[mth123]

My issue with this signing is that Maile is a true back-up catcher like Bill Plummer, Mike O'Berry or Don Werner. This team, with a primary catcher who has some injury history and during a time where the DH spot is going to provide quite a bit of his overall PT, needed more than a pure back-up. They needed more of a tandem guy. This situation isn't Johnny Bench and Bill Plummer. It should be more like Johnny Edwards and Don Pavletich or even Joe Oliver and Jeff Reed. Maile shouldn't be a guy who starts 60 to 70 games each year, but that's how the reds will be using hin.

I appreciate the squinting people are doing to try and see something positive out of this, but it's not enough for what this team needs.

[malcontent]

This has got me wondering whether any of their recent high draft picks will even make it as a back-up catcher.

Or if they'll be lucky to get a cup of coffee like Okey.