When Giants catcher Buster Posey was hurt last week — and presumably lost for the season — the defending World Champions were faced with the rather tall order of replacing perhaps the key cog in their lineup. Posey delivered the goods when he was promoted last season, capping off a World Series victory with the NL rookie of the year.
Posey, at 24, figures to be San Francisco’s catcher for the next decade or so, and replacing him on a temporary basis — for now, anyway — is Eli Whiteside, who played nine games with the Orioles in 2005 and has been the Giants’ back-up since 2009. Whiteside is 31 years old and a .230 career hitter with a little bit of pop. The bottom line on Whiteside is that he’s played fewer than 150 big league games in his career. That number explains why the Giants have already contacted the Nationals about Ivan Rodriguez.
Rodriguez, at 39, is a future Hall of Famer in the final year of his contract with Washington. He’s a backup catcher himself these days, though he makes the most of the playing time he does get. No one is in better shape that Rodriguez, a fitness fanatic who looks and plays much younger than 39. No, he’s not the hitter he was 10 years ago, but he’s still a dangerous bat.
Rodriguez has said multiple times that he’d like to finish his career with the Nats, and that’s a great sentiment, though he surely knows that catcher is a position of strength for the ballclub with Jesus Flores and Derek Norris waiting in the wings. The opportunity to be part of a pennant race out west may be a strong enough motivation to embrace a four-month move to Northern California.
Pudge has played in five postseasons, including a pair of World Series, and that kind of experience is difficult to grab off someone’s waiver list. Nats GM Mike Rizzo isn’t running a discount outlet, and I suspect the price for Pudge won’t be cheap. Realistically, however, what should he ask for?
Most of the Giants’ top-10 prospects are in the lower minors, and suffice to say, are likely untouchable. However, there’s a guy on the current 25-man roster who’s versatile, young and already knows how to use Metro: Manny Burriss.
Burriss is a local product that you may already know about. He played his high school ball at Wilson and his college ball at Kent State. He’s a middle infielder by trade, but has done a credible job in the outfield as well. At 26, he’s yet to play a full season in the majors. He’s a switch hitter, puts the ball in play, and can steal a base. His local ties are a marketing plus, but make no mistake, Burriss can play.
It’s no better than even money that Pudge gets traded at all. But if the Giants are serious about an effective, experienced, short-term fill-in for Posey in the race for the postseason, who’s a better candidate?
Examiner columnist Phil Wood is a baseball historian and contributor to MASN’s Nats Xtra. Contact him at [email protected].
