We’ll begin to break down the 2012 Twins’ roster one piece at a time, starting with the most important piece of the puzzle for the team this year – catcher.
Catcher:
Depth Chart:
Joe Mauer
Ryan Doumit
Drew Butera
JR Towles
Rene Rivera
Looking Back:
In 2010, Joe Mauer signed a $184 million contract to become the face of the franchise and fixture behind home plate for the Twins for years to come. The hometown superstar had just come off a 2009 campaign that saw him put up incredible numbers .327/.402/.469/.373 (AVG/OBP/SLG/wOBA) making him well worth the money the Twins plunked down.
2011 saw Mauer diagnosed with nearly every malady one could imagine. He missed the first chunk of the season due to ‘bilateral leg weakness’ and missed additional time during the year for pneumonia and a plethora of other dings and scratches. These long absences had some Twins fans grumbling that Mauer wasn’t worth the money and that the organization made a mistake in signing him to such a long term deal.
I disagree.
In fact, I’d argue the opposite. All of Mauer’s missed time in 2011 proved that he was worth every penny of that $184 million. Why? Well, look at his 2011 split: .287/.360/.368 meanwhile, the American League average for catchers last year was: .238/.305/.391. In just 82 games, Mauer was able to put up numbers that surpassed the league average for catcher. In a season where he was behind the plate only 42 times and only took an at bat in 82 of 162 games – he still managed to post numbers higher than the league average.
So, no – Mauer is not the problem with the Twins, he’s the solution. The problem lies in the depth behind him.
Drew Butera played in 93 games last season, making a total of 254 plate appearances. He managed to run his bat into a few balls (he even hit 2 home runs…) but only put up an abysmal split of .167/.210/.239. In a word; atrocious. His defense behind the plate is better than most, which I’m sure is the reason that Gardy has been so loyal to him despite his Swiss cheese bat. Personally, I like Drew – I’ve seen him in enough interviews to get the feeling he’s an all around nice guy, I’m sure he’s a perfectly fine individual. But, as the Twins backup catcher – I cannot stand him.
Good defense aside, even being a nice guy can’t save you from those horrible offensive numbers.
Also appearing behind the plate for the Twins in 2011 were Rene Rivera (45 games, .144/.211/.202) and Steve Holm (6 games, .118/.167/.176) – when you put up numbers that make Drew Butera look like an offensive powerhouse – you clearly have no place on a major league roster.
Obviously, the problems at catcher for the Twins in 2011 did not start at the top with Mauer, but rather the bottom. There simply was no depth behind the All-Star. Essentially, the Twins didn’t have a ‘Plan B’ if Mauer went down. He did – it showed, and the result was a massive offensive void that no one could fill.
Looking Forward:
The Twins addressed the issues regarding depth by adding the very capable bat of Ryan Doumit as well as taking a flyer on potential backup J.R. Towles. Even with Doumit on the roster, I think the Twins will still end up carrying 3 catchers for a multitude of reasons.
Fist and foremost, they want to keep Mauer healthy all year. While he claims to be healthy and feeling great this year, he has had a history of slowly falling apart as the season wears on. Look for the Twins to put Mauer at first and DH and decent amount this season. They cannot afford to take his bat out of the lineup too often and they will certainly find ways to keep him hitting without the taxing toll that catching takes on his body.
Second, Doumit has shown durability issue of his own. The former Pirate has spent his fair share of time on the DL for various injuries and ailments. Much like Mauer, the Twins are going to be relying on Doumit’s bat for a lot of run production this year.
Finally, Doumit and Mauer will likely be playing alongside each other everyday. If one is the DH and one is catching, Gardy would be very limited in making any switches or covering for either Doumit or Mauer if they were to get nicked up during a game.
The need of a third catcher is obvious – but the real debate begins when we try to figure out who that will be. By all accounts, J.R. Towles seems to be leading the pack so far. He’s been hitting very well this spring and has shown signs of offensive power – something that the reserves last year clearly lacked. Towles does have a history of being a AAAA hitter, however (great in the minors, disappears once he’s in the show) so there has to at least be a little concern over his ability to keep this up.
In the end, I think we’ll end up seeing the catching depth chart look a little like this:
Mauer
Doumit
Butera
While I don’t believe that Butera deserves a place on the roster, I think the Twins front office and coaching staff simply like his defense too much to knock him down below Towles. While Towles doesn’t have a bad defensive game, he doesn’t have the familiarity with the staff that Butera does. In the end, I see that experience playing into Butera’s favor. The only way I see Towles trumping Butera is if he consistently outhits Butera and posts significantly better numbers this spring.
Even if Butera is the third catcher, I think the Twins will be much better off in 2012 than in 2011. Doumit is the back up bat the team desperately needed last season, and they have also learned that Mauer is an asset that needs to be protected. A change in approach in how the Twins use Mauer in conjunction with a better bat in Doumit signals a great turn around at catcher in 2012.
Later on this week I’ll break down the next major position of discussion
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