Viera, Fla. — As Casey Stengel so aptly put it nearly 50 years ago, “You have to have a catcher because if you don’t you’re likely to have a lot of passed balls.”
It was only 3 years ago that the Nationals’ catching situation was so dire that they signed two free agents to shoulder the load, giving Paul Lo Duca $5 million and Johnny Estrada $1.25 million. Unfortunately, both had just stepped over the crest of the butte: Lo Duca batted a weak .230 (no homers, 12 RBI) in 46 games and was released July 31. Estrada managed only a .170 average (no homers, 4 RBI) in 23 games, and was let go the same day. The bulk of the catching duties were handled by Rule 5 draftee Jesus Flores and bargain basement free agent Wil Nieves.
At the 2009 Winter Meetings in Indianapolis, the Nats made headlines when they signed free agent catcher Ivan Rodriguez to a 2-year contract. At the time is was presumed that Pudge would share the catching duties with Flores, but Jesus’ recovery from a stress fracture in his right shoulder was slow to heal and Rodriguez ended up catching 102 games in 2010. He got some company in late July when the Nats sent reliever Matt Capps to Minnesota for high-ceiling catching prospect Wilson Ramos, stuck behind Joe Mauer with the Twins. All the while, waiting in the wings is Derek Norris, their 4th round pick in the 2007 draft, climbing the steps of the farm system, and showing the kind of offensive skills that make scouts take notice.
Now, Flores is healthy, and with Rodriguez, Ramos and Norris on hand, Nats’ skipper Jim Riggleman is having problems finding enough game opportunities for a quartet of receivers. “Pudge wants to catch so much, at least every other day, and you still have to get games for Ramos, and sneak one in there for Norris now and then,” he said. “Flores, so far, has gotten the short end of that, so I’ll probably have to give Pudge a couple of days off, and start Flores on Sunday.”
What about the rap that Flores’ arm isn’t yet back to pre-injury status? “Whether he’s back to what he was, I don’t know,” Riggleman said, “but he’s throwing all right.” Obstructing Flores’ route back to the big league club has been the play of Ramos, who has been on base frequently. It doesn’t help that Flores hasn’t played in the big leagues since September 2009.
Despite Flores’ uncertainty, depth behind the plate is no longer an issue in Washington. The Nationals are past the point of relying on retreads like Lo Duca and Estrada. Sure, Rodriguez will likely be with someone else next year — or as early as the trading deadline this year. But the mystery of who’s going to prevent those balls from rolling to the backstop has been solved, likely for seasons to come.
Examiner columnist Phil Wood is a baseball historian and a contributor to MASN’s Nats Xtra. Contact him at [email protected].
