Yankees Catcher

As Spring Training approaches (pitchers and catchers report in mid-February) LeRoy will begin its preseason analysis of the Boston Red Sox, New York Mets, and the hated New York Yankees.  We will continue with the catchers and go on with the New York Yankees.

Jorge Posada has been the Yankees everyday catcher since 1998.  After a few too many years behind the plate, the aging Posada will finally be moved to the designated hitter's role.  He probably hasn't crouched for the last time, but the move has caused the Yankees to make a change behind the plate for the first time in a long time.

1.  Russell Martin:  Martin was signed by the Yankees this offseason to replace Posada as the team's catcher.  He is a high-risk-high-reward player, with apparently diminishing skills and a fairly long and recent injury history.  Martin is hoping to return to his old form in the Bronx, but the odds appear stacked against him.  A two-time All-Star and former Silver Slugger Award Winner, Martin was nowhere near his old form last season in Los Angeles.  He only managed to play in 97 games, stole only five bases, and only batted .248.  Martin will only be 28 so if he can stay healthy he won't need many extra days off, though he is not strong defensively and will likely sit against team's with good running games.

2.  Francisco Cervelli:  Cervelli enters his third season as a reserve backstop for the Yankees and his second full-season in the Majors.  He's a much stronger defensive option than both Martin and Posada before him.  Expect to see Cervelli a bit less this season with a much younger catcher (Martin) in the everyday role.  He'll still start on day games after night games and get a few spot starts here and there, but his role isn't as important this season.  But, with Martin's injury history, Cervelli will be on speed-dial all season.  Cervelli has served as a personal catcher for RHP A. J. Burnett in the past, and there's no reason to expect that that role will change.

3.  Jorge Posada:  Posada will serve as the team's DH.  He'll still see some time behind the plate, especially during interleague play.  Publicly, the Yankees have lamented this move of one of their franchise players.  Privately, they're rejoicing that Posada is no longer behind the plate.  His game-calling skills have been called into questions by many pitchers (most recently Burnett), he was never a good thrower, and his fundamentals were the worst of any regular catcher in the bigs.  He'll be 39 and his offensive skills are in sharp decline.  Last season he only managed to bat .248 with 18 homers.  Those numbers may not decline as sharply this season without the rigors of catching, but they won't get any better either.

The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees will likely sign a veteran Major League catcher or two to compete for their catching positions.  These players will likely get a look in Spring Training from the Yankees but with three catchers figuring to be on the 25-man roster they don't figure to have much of a chance to make the team.  One player that Scranton/Wilkes-Barre has signed already is:

Gustavo Molina:  Molina is a Minor League veteran who has played a handful of games in the Major Leagues.  He doesn't figure much into the team's plans and could figure lower than usual for a catcher of his caliber given the depth the Yankees will have with Posada as the DH.  Basically, he's here only for depth and depth alone.

The Yankees are taking a bit of a chance with their catching this season.  Martin is an oft-injured, low defense type of player whose bat has gone to sleep.  But this isn't a long-term solution by any means.  If they can mix and match sufficiently with Martin's potential offense, Cervelli's defense, and a few spot starts from Posada for sentimentality's sake, they may be alright.  On the other hand, Martin may not experience the bath in the fountain of the Youthful Bandbox (Yankee Stadium) that everyone is expecting.  Or, he could suffer another debilitating injury.  The point is, their catching core is far from solidified.

The ranking for the three local teams behind the plate:

1.  New York Mets:  Not a sure bet with Josh Thole and Ronny Paulino but I feel better about them than the rest.
2.  New York Yankees:  The combination of Martin, Cervelli, and Posada will not be great but it shouldn't be horrible either.
3.  Boston Red Sox:  Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Jason Varitek?