Yankees Have Trade Chips for Co-Catchers

In his defense of keeping Jorge Posada from playing in the World Baseball Classic, Brian Cashman said that Posada was not healthy.

That statement has gotten some people in the media and the blogosphere wondering if Posada can shoulder the load of 135 games this season. If he’s not healthy by spring training, what is the guarantee that he will be healthy by day one?

Because there is no answer to that Steven Goldman from the Pinstriped Bible says the Yankees need to sign a co-catcher. Someone to defer some of the catching duties, someone like Miguel Montero.

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“Now, you might be saying, “But Stevie, catching is such a scarce commodity that most reserve catchers can’t hit!” True, but (A) no one says the Yankees have to settle for the weakest of the lot, (B) with Posada possibly reduced to part-time status, we’re not talking about a reserve, we’re talking about a co-starter, and (C) even if not, there is no reason to ignore the strategic advantage that depth at the position confers; your team achieves offensive consistency at catcher 162 games a year, while the other guy vents at least a quarter of his schedule on, well, Jose Molina.

In fairness, achieving such depth might not always be possible. Yet, for the Yankees, given their awareness of Posada’s indeterminate state, need to make replacing Molina a priority or risk losing any close pennant race. They’ve already blocked the Red Sox off of Mark Teixeira this winter. Now it might be wise to block them off of Miguel Montero of the Diamondbacks. Right now, the D’backs seem to be holding out for a big return on the 25-year-old, and the Yankees are starting to run out of fungible Jeff Marquez types. The good news is that if Montero is too big a target, there are many catchers loose in the jungle, almost any of whom is likely to outhit Molina in a part-time role.”

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It’s a good thought and the Yankees may have the pieces to get a deal done. We already know they have an abundance of relievers and may need to deal some. They also have a few extra corner outfielders they could deal and they also have  a few near major league ready starting pitchers that they could deal if they thought the right package came along.

A low cost, major league reliever and outfielder as well as a pitching prospect like Ian Kennedy, could net a decent catcher. But then again Austin Romine and Jesus Montero are a pair of very good catching prospects. Neither have played at even the higher single-A level though so they are still a couple years away.

Can the Yankees wait that long? Or should they deal for a catcher now? Pudge Rodriguez is still available too.