Washington Nationals: Who Is Catching Opening Day?
The Washington Nationals recently acquired Derek Norris in exchange for a low level pitching prospect. His acquisition only adds to the questions surrounding the Nationals catching.
With all the Andrew McCutchen and Chris Sale news swirling around the nation’s capital, the addition of Derek Norris may have slipped under some Washington Nationals fans radar.
Although Norris had his worst season as a pro in 2016, posting a batting average of just .186 in 125 games with the Padres, he is still a everyday option for the Nats.
Norris adds another layer to the difficult task of replacing Wilson Ramos behind the plate and the Nats do have a few other options.
Jose Lobaton
Let’s start with the longest tenured catcher left in DC, that, of course, is Jose Lobaton.
Lobi played in just over 30 games for the Nats this year, but, when he wasn’t injured, he provided a reliable back up option behind “The Buffalo”. He finished the year with a Fangraphs defensive WAR of 2.4 and proved he can handle the game defensively.
His offense was a different story, besides providing one of the most important home runs of the season in Game 2 of the NLDS, his bat didn’t do much else in 2016. His batting average for 2016 was .232, but against righties it was .262.
It looks like Lobi will once again be a backup option for the Nats in 2017, but that elevated average against righties could get him some more playing time.
Pedro Severino
The Nationals Catching Outlook becomes really interesting when you bring up the name Pedro Severino.
He is the Nats ninth-best prospect in their entire system on MLB.com and he has a small amount of impressive time in the MLB.
Defensively, Severino is all ready to be an everyday catcher in the bigs. According to his MLB.com prospect page, his arm rates at a 65 on the 20-80 scouting scale and that is well above average.
His bat is coming along as well. With the Nats in 2016, he hit .321 in 16 games and showed off his sneaky speed on the base path . Although that is a small sample, Severino shows that he has a lot of upside and could soon be the Nats every day catcher.
Derek Norris
The newest returning National, Derek Norris, would have been a much bigger acquisition if he didn’t strikeout on 30 percent of his trips to the plate last year.
His batting average also dropped nearly 70 points from 2015 to 2016. After the bad news, If you look past his abysmal 2016, you’d find that Norris is a former All-Star and historically he crushes left handed pitching.
If 2016 was just a off year, and he reverts back to his former self, Norris will truly help the Nats fill the void left behind by Ramos.
What The Future Holds in DC Behind The Plate
The Nats have a lot of options at catcher, but what can Mike Rizzo and eventually Dusty Baker do to perfect these options and once again share some champagne in 2017?
More from District on Deck
- Latest DraftKings Sportsbook Promo Code in Maryland: Bet $5, Win $200 Guaranteed
- Nationals Claim Jeter Downs Off Waivers
- Washington Nationals Minor League Spotlight: Robert Hassell III
- Washington Nationals Tuesday Q&A
- 3 Free Agents the Nationals Should Gamble On
To start, I would not put it past-offseason magician Mike Rizzo to bring in another catching option.
It could be Ramos on a short incentive filled deal, it could be Wieters traveling down the parkway, it could be another sneaky trade, or Rizzo could keep the catching picture the same in DC. If he does keep it the same, Dusty has a lot of work to do this year. But, the pieces do fit, believe it or not.
In a perfect world, Norris goes back to hitting the way he did before 2016. Then it’s over and we have Severino/Lobaton fighting for a backup spot.
In a slightly more realistic view, he doesn’t go back to his All-Star performance and he will platoon with one of those two and play against all the lefties.
If Severino keeps his hot bat throughout the spring, expect him to be the one up against the righties. If he doesn’t, expect Lobi to take on the right-handed pitching.
Unfortunately, one of those two will likely not be on the 25-man roster and, in all honesty, the Nats could choose to give Severino a little more seasoning in Triple-A to start the year.
Personally, I would love to see Ramos back behind the plate, but I believe it will be a platoon of Norris and Lobaton to start the year.
Next: Free Agent Target: Tyson Ross
Whatever decisions are made, the Nats actually have a pretty solid catching core and, although all of Nationals Park will likely miss chanting “Willsssoon!” every game, it looks like it could end up being okay.