Pirates’ Booty: Pittsburgh Open to Trading Ryan Doumit

The air is crisp, the leaves are falling, and Scott Boras is on the prowl.

It can mean only one thing.

It’s November in Pittsburgh and it’s time for the front-office to rid the ballclub of any remaining veteran talent.

Unfortunately, general manager Neal Huntington doesn’t have much veteran talent left after jettisoning Freddy Sanchez, Adam LaRoche, Nate McLouth, Nyjer Morgan, John Grabow, Ian Snell, and Jack Wilson over the summer.

With limited veterans left to ship out of town, it only makes sense that recent reports indicate the Pirates “would not hesitate” to move 28-year-old catcher, Ryan Doumit.

Pittsburgh would be selling low on the switch-hitter who is coming off an injury-plagued season in which he only appeared in 75 games.

Doumit posted a .250/.299/.414 line while suffering from a myriad of injuries including a broken wrist, a mild concussion, and various back ailments.

The oft-injured Doumit is, however, just one year removed from a .318/.357/.501 campaign in which he hit 15 home runs and 34 doubles, all while playing primarily behind the plate.

In addition to his work behind the plate, Doumit also has experience in right field and at first base. His UZR—the current stat du jour—is below average at first base, but grades out well above average in right field.

Doumit reportedly drew plenty of interest at the General Manager meetings last week and would make sense for a number of clubs looking to fill holes.

His price tag makes him even more intriguing as he’s only owed $3.55 million in 2010 and $5.1 million in 2011. He has two club options priced at $7.25 million and $8.25 million for 2012 and 2013, respectively.

He has some legitimate power potential and despite his propensity for injuries, could find himself atop the wish list of many clubs this offseason.

Here’s a quick look at six teams that could conceivably be in the mix for Doumit.

Tampa Bay Rays

The Rays are in dire need of a legitimate starting catcher following the regression of Dioner Navarro last season.

Navarro, an All-Star in 2008, put up a dreadful .218/.261/.322 line with eight homers and 32 RBI during a disappointing 2009 campaign.

The only other catcher currently listed on the club’s depth chart is backup Shawn Riggans who, with a career line of .202/.266/.356, is questionable even as a backup at the big league level.

The club struggled so badly to find consistency behind the plate last season that Tampa Bay traded for 38-year-old Gregg Zaun in August to shore up the situation.

Zaun had an impressive run with the team, hitting .287/.323/.489 with four home runs and 14 RBIs in 30 games.

The club chose not to exercise his $2 million option, but have not ruled out bringing the veteran backstop back to Tampa on a cheaper deal.

Doumit would be a significant improvement over Riggans and Zaun and—offensively—even over the 2008-version of Navarro. The Rays, no doubt, have enough talent in the minors to satisfy the prospect-hungry Pirates’ asking price.

New York Mets

Omir Santos—he of the 291 career at-bats—is the veteran catcher on the Mets' roster.

If that doesn’t tell you why Doumit fits, nothing will.

Santos put up solid but unspectacular numbers in 2009, hitting .260/.296/.391 with seven home runs and 40 RBIs.

Those would seem like decent enough numbers for a young backstop, except that Santos is going to be 29 next season and put up roughly similar numbers (.258/.304/.348) during his nine seasons in the minors. He appears to have peaked.

The projected starter is 23-year-old Josh Thole who lit the world—or at least New York—on fire during a brief stint with the club last September.

In 17 games, Thole put up a robust .321/.356/.396 line and seemingly gave himself a leg up in the competition for the starting job next season.

Thole may be the real deal as his minor league line of .291/.379/.375 indicates that he can hit and get on base, albeit with almost no power.

Why does Doumit make sense if Thole is legit?

Thole has split his time in the minors between first base and catcher and isn’t ready for a full-season behind the plate at the big league level.

Doumit would allow him to transition into that role and both could split time behind the plate and at other positions—first base for both of them and also left field for Doumit—in an effort to help shore up other holes in the lineup and defense.

Kansas City Royals

Right now the Royals top options at catcher are John Buck—a legitimate non-tender candidate—and Brayan Pena who in five big league seasons has less than 300 total at-bats.

The club chose not to exercise a $3.3 million option on last year’s starter, Miguel Olivo, despite the fact that he led the club with 23 home runs.

Olivo had ten passed balls last season, or more than double the four combined between Pena and Buck.
His presence—or would it be lack thereof—behind the plate played a large role in the Royals leading all of baseball in both wild pitches and passed balls last season.

As such, the club is looking to make a move toward a defensive-minded catcher.

The club also hopes to bring in a catcher with some offense to help improve on the club’s dismal 2009 numbers.

The Royals ranked near the bottom in nearly every offensive category last season and could use a real shot in the arm next year.

The Royals have made it clear they intend to focus more on the trade market than free agents this winter and are willing to move some big names if it helps the club going forward and Doumit seems to be exactly what they’re looking for.

Houston Astros

There is a really good chance that J.R. Towles is the starting catcher in Houston next year.

That’s right, J.R. Towles—he of the career .188/.280/.329 line in the big leagues—could be the Opening Day option for the Astros and, let’s be honest here, that’s just not right.

The only real competition for Towles on the depth chart is 30-year-old Humberto Quintero.

The seven year veteran has a better career line of .232/.275/.325, with nine career home runs and 49 RBIs, but it’s only better in the sense that getting the flu and puking all weekend long is better than getting beat in the face with a tackhammer.

The Astros desperately need someone like Doumit who can step in and keep Quintero and Towles on the bench as much as possible.

The Pirates could conceivably be wary of trading Doumit within the division, but being that the only contending either squad figures to do for the next half decade is the annual battle for the top draft pick, I can’t imagine it should be too big of an issue for Huntington and his cronies should a reasonable offer come along.

Seattle Mariners

When Kenji Johjima decided to take his ball and head home to Japan, it did two things to the Mariners franchise.

First, and foremost, it saved the club $16 million over the next two seasons.

Secondly, it left the club with a glaring hole in the depth chart.

The club traded former “catcher of the future” Jeff Clement to—surprise, surprise—Pittsburgh earlier in the season as part of the Jack Wilson/Ian Snell trade. As such the organizational depth at the position is next to zilch.

Current options Rob Johnson and Adam Moore hit a combined .215/.270/.358 in the big leagues last year.

It should be noted that both Johnson and Moore are still relatively young—26 and 25, respectively—and could turn into legit big league catchers.

Moore has more upside after posting a .301/.369/.483 line with 55 home runs over four years in the minor leagues. He may not, however, be ready for full-time duty in the big leagues.

Doumit makes plenty of sense to split time at catcher and potentially help the club at either first base or left field if neither position is adequately filled in the offseason with a full-time candidate.

San Francisco Giants

Based solely on the facts, Doumit and the Giants seem like a perfect match.

Doumit has power. The Giants need power.

Doumit is a catcher. The Giants need a catcher.

Doumit can play the corners. The Giants need someone to play the corners.

On paper, the Giants are an obvious fit.

The club is looking for a short-term solution at catcher while super-prospect Buster Posey makes his way to the big leagues.

Doumit is the man for the job.

He could then split his time at first base or in the outfield, two other positions of need for the Giants.

Standing in the way of the deal, however, is the potential that the Giants may be gun-shy when it comes to the Pirates after acquiring a seemingly gimp Freddy Sanchez for the stretch run last year in exchange for one of the club’s top pitching prospects, Tim Alderson.

The club would, however, be wise to make the move and bring in Doumit rather than overpay to bring back Bengie Molina, who reportedly is looking for a multi-year deal anyway.

Doumit’s positional flexibility and power potential are two factors that make him a must-have for the Giants.