Comments on: Winter Meetings Coverage: Gerald Laird trade

By: Micah

Micah — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 12:40:13 +0000

Laird has yet to log 500 PA’s in a season.

The argument that Laird is a league average player rests entirely upon giving him a win+ for doing something he has never done before (catching 135+ games) and making some significant “thumb in the air” inferences about his defensive ability.

The Tigers have addressed two of the most valuable positions on the field by locking in below average at shortstop and crossing their fingers that they’ll get average from behind the plate (though that is really Laird’s ceiling/upside). It’s great that they did it cheaply but really that should be faint praise.

By: NickP

NickP — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 04:01:41 +0000

500 PA is light for most players. probably about right for a catcher. My question is does a catcher get the full 12.5 run position adjustment if he’s only projected for 500 PA. Shouldn’t you prorate that?

By: Terry

Terry — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 23:02:54 +0000

So basically it would be considered unusual for a catcher to be paid at a “market” rate?

By: JWay

JWay — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 23:01:34 +0000

The fact that their careers are generally shorter doesn’t help their case either. Which helps the Tigers in this case cause they aren’t weighed down long term by any means with this deal.

By: David

David — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 22:36:19 +0000

Jason Kendall, Jorge Posada, Ivan Rodriguez, and Jason Varitek all made $9 million or more in at least one of the past two seasons. it’s a bit misleading to look at catcher salaries, though, because once a catcher has solidified his reputation and has played in the majors long enough to get this kind of salary, his body is probably starting to go downhill from the physical stresses of catching every day.

try ranking all catchers with >300 PA by wOBA. the top 5 list is… Chris Iannetta ($400k), Brian McCann ($950k), Joe Mauer ($6.5 million), Geovany Soto ($400k), Kelly Shoppach ($400k). if you crank it up to 500 PA you replace Iannetta and Shoppach with Russell Martin ($500k) and Bengie Molina ($6.25 million). so either way you look at it, most of the top catchers in the major leagues are still early in their careers. the other obstacle catchers face, of course, is that they are generally terrible hitters, and catcher defense is even harder to measure than other positions.

By: Terry

Terry — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 20:21:02 +0000

How many catchers are getting paid $10-12M/yr?

By: JWay

JWay — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 20:10:13 +0000

Yeah, I donKt think its meant to be, he should get 10 million or everyone freak out, but if he did make his expected numbers, with where the market is at you could be ok with paying him that much.

By: David

David — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 19:59:13 +0000

“Thanks for clearing that up a bit. Still, I find it weird that 8-10 million dollars is a deserved amount of money for a slightly above league average backstop.”

I don’t know if it’s deserved, but look at Ramon Hernandez’s contract… he’s worse defensively than Laird, and not any better with the bat. of course next season the Orioles will pay Wieters the league minimum salary for performance that is decidedly above league average, or so I hope :-)

By: NadavT

NadavT — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 19:31:20 +0000

Keep in mind that the 8-10 million dollar figure is based on what teams generally pay per win for free agents. It’s not a question of what people here think a player deserves, but rather it’s based on historical patterns in the market. So if Gerald Laird were a free agent playing the market, it’s likely that he’d end up with a one-year deal worth about 8-10 million, assuming that perception of his value was fairly close to his actual value. The fact that Laird’s contract status means that he’s earning less than that for the next few years makes him a player of value.

By: Isaac

Isaac — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 19:21:26 +0000

Thanks for clearing that up a bit. Still, I find it weird that 8-10 million dollars is a deserved amount of money for a slightly above league average backstop.