Dodgers: Sorting Out the Team’s Catching Situation

The Dodgers have as much catching depth as anyone in baseball, maybe the most. You would not have thought this before the 2017 season, but as it stands, they have a bit of a logjam in the major leagues.

Yasmani Grandal and the Dodgers avoided arbitration, agreeing to a $7.9 million deal for 2018. That means the Dodgers have three major-league ready catchers with Yasmani, Austin Barnes, and Kyle Farmer on the 40-man roster. Grandal is the most experienced in the organization, with Barnes so far accruing a little over one full season of service time, and Kyle Farmer having only 20 at-bats. Then you have two talented prospects in Keibert Ruiz and Will Smith, who will make their marks in a few years.

Grandal hit .247/.308/.459 with 22 home runs across 482 plate appearances, while Barnes hit .289/.408/.486 with six home runs in 262 plate appearances. After opening 2017 as the Dodgers’ starting catcher, the power balance shifted to Austin Barnes towards the end of the season with Barnes ultimately securing the starting spot in the playoffs. However, barring injury or trade, Grandal will again be expected to start the majority of games in 2018. The fact that Barnes won the starting job in the postseason, though, speaks volumes.

The wildcard in this situation is Kyle Farmer, who infamously hit a walk-off double against San Francisco in his first ever plate appearance. He went 6-20 in limited time in the big leagues and was trusted with four at-bats in the playoffs. At 27 years of age, he’s polished and ready for a more significant role on a major league team.

Farmer could be used as a trade chip in the grand scheme of things. The same can be said about Yasmani Grandal, who will be a free agent after 2018. Barnes proved more than capable of handling catching duties, making Grandal and his $7.7 million more expendable (maybe in a trade for Christian Yelich?). The Dodgers hold team control over Barnes through 2022, which engulfs his prime – even bigger food for thought in how the Dodgers’ catching situation for the future will pan out.

But the question is how catching duties should be divided? Part of that answer depends on what you value.

Dodger fans have a love-hate (probably more hate) with Yasmani Grandal. He is the best defensive catcher of the three and has the best power potential. He was second in pitch-framing in all of baseball, first in catcher’s ERA, an above-average 32.3 % caught stealing rate, and helped the Dodgers catching position to an NL-best 17 defensive runs saved, according to Baseball Reference.

So Grandal is defensively elite, which is a preference at catcher. However, he’s not dependable at the plate. He’s super streaky, with a less than desirable strikeout and walk rate. And he has dealt with his fair share of injuries, never playing over129 games in a season.

Austin Barnes may have the most all-around potential of the three. He does not have the ideal frame you’d want from a catcher (5’10, 190lb) so it would be fair to question how he will hold up throughout a whole season. You can see him get fatigued as the playoffs dragged on last October. He is the best hitter of the three (including best batter’s eye), though, the best athlete, arguably the most versatile, and is the best base-runner. Not to mention, he is borderline elite-behind the plate as well. The difference between his and Grandal’s defense pales in comparison to Barnes’ offensive advantage.

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Kyle Farmer, as mentioned earlier, is a bit of a wildcard. He’s only had limited playing time, so we cannot fully judge him, yet. But from what we saw, Farmer has the potential to be above-average at the plate along with having ability behind the plate. He’s a career .297 hitter with a .350 OBP in the minors, and in 2017, hit .317/.375/.476 for Tulsa and OKC.

Farmer’s 6’0, 204lb frame is ideal for a catcher, and his build gives hope for some power potential. Probably not as much as Grandal, but maybe more than Barnes. If Farmer were on any other team, he’d have at least the backup role. Unfortunately for him, the Dodgers might be the most catching-rich organization in baseball, so he finds himself stuck third on the depth chart.

Like Barnes, Kyle Farmer is extremely versatile. He can be used to give Justin Turner a break at third or Logan Forsythe at second. He has experience playing at all five infield positions (including catcher of course). And how the Dodgers like to operate, his best value may be coming off the bench as a defensive substitution and pinch-hitter, while getting sporadic starts. And if an injury were to happen, his role would immediately increase.

I’m a believer that Grandal should be traded sooner rather than later. Austin Barnes should be the full-time catcher, with Kyle Farmer backing him up. Grandal is almost guaranteed to not return as a free agent and why lose him for nothing? He isn’t essential because of the depth the Dodgers have behind the plate. If Barnes didn’t impress last season or Farmer wasn’t around, then that’d be a different story. But as it stands right now, Los Angeles can afford to move Yasmani Grandal. Getting a return on him would be a tremendous boost to a team that’s already stacked behind the dish.

Next: Who's In, Who's Out in Left Field?

If Grandal stays, a 50%/45%/5% (55 for Grandal, 40 for Barnes, and 5 for Farmer) split of catching duties would be realistic. The other two can make starts all over the infield. Whatever the case, it’s a great problem to have.