Is It Time for Kurt Suzuki to Get Locked Up by the A's?

After the 2004 draft, the A's organization was raving about catcher draftee Landon Powell. While Kurt Suzuki was only taken in the second round, he was something of an afterthought to Powell.

Fortunately for Suzuki, Powell just couldn't stay healthy in the minors, and Suzuki passed him on the depth chart.

In 2007, Suzuki was called up to the big show, and it didn't take long for the A's to trade incumbent catcher Jason Kendall and leave Suzuki to learn on the fly.

Throwing Suzuki into the fire appears to have done wonders. There's no denying the Oakland A's struck gold with Kurt Suzuki. The kid is a defensive wizard, and his pitchers continually rave about his game-calling and ability to block balls in the dirt. Suzuki is also an extremely durable catcher, playing over 145 games the past two seasons.

Suzuki's offense is nothing to sneeze at either, as he's been arguably the most consistent bat in the A's lineup the last two years. His .272 career batting average and 15 home runs last year are solid. If newly acquired Kevin Kouzmanoff were with the A's last year, he would have tied Suzuki for the team lead in RBI.

Is now the time to lock Suzuki up for a few years? I believe so.

Suzuki has shown no signs of slipping. In fact, I believe he's been an All-Star snub the last two years. Consistent offensive production behind the plate isn't always easy to come by; just look at Jason Kendall. Suzuki also fits into the current A's team model of a strong defensive team.

So give Suzuki a four- or five-year contract. He's the kind of player you should want to have around as long as you can. The A's do have other promising catchers in their minor league system, but let's worry about whether or not they'll pan out later.

If Josh Donaldson or highly touted Max Stassi burns out in the minors, you'll be glad you stuck with Kurt Suzuki long-term. Maybe if we're lucky the A's will have a new stadium and more revenue by the end of that term to retain Suzuki even longer.

What if Donaldson or Stassi or other catching prospects are ready to advance to the big show before Suzuki's contract is up? A contract of $5 or $6 million a year for a catcher like Suzuki, prominent on defense and offense, would be quite the trading chip.

Either way, you want to lock Suzuki up with a long-term contract now. This contract looks especially good if you sign him to that contract and give the A's fans a future free agent who doesn't move on to other teams because the A's could actually afford to keep him around.

I'm tempted to actually buy one of those Suzuki jersey t-shirts this year. It'd be nice if Suzuki was around long enough for the shirt to become a well-loved, holey shirt in my dresser drawer.