Washington Nationals: Five catchers that should be targeted

The Washington Nationals made their first big splash in the trade market on Monday, acquiring Kelvin Herrera. Now they should address their need at catcher.

After acquiring Kansas City Royals closer Kelvin Herrera on Monday night, the Washington Nationals have signaled their intent this season. Now it’s time for Mike Rizzo to divert attention to other needs.

In recent weeks, the offense has gone completely missing for the Nationals. They’ve been shut out four times in their last nine games, and averaging just 3 runs in that span. So it’s pretty clear that they need a bat moving forward.

The most glaring need on that front right now is a catcher, a black hole on offense all season. Their catchers are hitting just .193 in 2018, the fourth lowest in baseball, and second worst in the National League.

Matt Wieters has been nothing short of a disappointment since signing with the team in spring of 2017. In 146 games for the team, he’s hitting a mere .226 with OPS+ of 86. That means a fair way below the average major league hitter, who would have an OPS+ of 100.

Pedro Severino had a strong showing when he was initially recalled, but has fallen back to his norm. He possesses a .184 average on the year, and while he won’t keep being that bad, he’s always profiled as a defense-first catcher. One that’s ideally suited to be a really good major league backup.

So, what can Mike Rizzo and Nationals do about this?

Thankfully, with the way certain team’s seasons have played out, there are quite a few above-average catchers available. We take a look at who could be considered a realistic target for the Nationals in the coming weeks, as the trade deadline gradually gets closer.

Francisco Cervelli – Pittsburgh Pirates

The Washington Nationals and Pittsburgh Pirates are no stranger to each other when it comes to deadline deals. Back in 2016, the Nats acquired Mark Melancon to be their closer down the stretch.

Now it could be Francisco Cervelli‘s turn to be the main piece in a deal between the clubs.

Cervelli is arguably having a career year in 2018, hitting .256, with an impressive .876 OPS and nine home runs. The long balls are noteworthy as the most he had hit in a season before this year was seven in 2015.

Cervelli also has the second highest WAR in baseball among catchers, behind J.T. Realmuto. His 2.3 figure is the same as Trea Turner and Kris Bryant, to give you an idea of how good that is.

With only a year and a half left on his deal, he’s going to require a reasonable prospect in return. The Pirates also like to go for major league ready talent as we saw when they acquired Felipe Vazquez.

So perhaps a package of Raudy Read, whose bat seems big league ready, and Jefry Rodriguez who has shown flashes in two major league starts. Brian Goodwin could also make some sense, but the Pirates already have an outfield logjam to deal with.

While the name doesn’t necessarily grab the headlines, he would be an immediate upgrade on Pedro Severino and Spencer Kieboom. Even when Matt Wieters returns, the two could split time behind the plate, so he’s certainly one to keep an eye on as we move into July.

Wilson Ramos – Tampa Bay Rays

This would certainly be one of the more popular options the Washington Nationals could acquire this July. Wilson Ramos would be a perfect fit back in D.C., and one that we’ve discussed previously.

We saw him in the series against the Rays earlier this month. Back then, he received a well-deserved standing ovation for his time with the Nats.

The Buffalo could also end up being the Tampa Bay Rays All-Star representative at Nationals Park. He definitely deserves it, with a .290 batting average and nine home runs, which both rank top five for catchers.

All this while playing on a poor Rays club that seems intent on dealing its assets. We saw that when they traded away Alex Colome and Denard Span for fairly minor prospects.

Ramos has just a year left on his contract, and it would be incredibly surprising to not see him dealt. So the Nats would be extremely wise to make the call and see what the cost will be to reunite with their former catcher.

In our previous piece, we speculated that a high-upside, but still raw, player such as Telmito Agustin could be enough to tempt the Rays given the price on Colome and Span.

But when debating mid-to-lower tier prospects, it’s difficult to predict as it depends on the selling clubs preference. They may also want two lower end prospects instead of a slightly higher end to essentially have two swings at getting a potential major-leaguer.

But Ramos could well be one of the most cost effective rentals the Nats could go for. We saw in his previous spell with the team how much of a force he can be in the lineup and we’d love to have him back.

A.J. Ellis – San Diego Padres

This would easily be the cheapest of all the catchers on this list for the Washington Nationals. A.J. Ellis signed a one-year deal with the San Diego Padres in the winter and is having a fine bounce-back season in 2018.

A pristine .325 batting average and 15/11 strikeout-to-walk ratio show that he’s contributing with the bat when he plays. But on a rebuilding squad, the Padres would rather give playing time to the likes of Raffy Lopez and Austin Hedges.

Although he would likely play second fiddle to Pedro Severino, and then Matt Wieters, the veteran presence would be invaluable. Now in his 11th season, he’s a well-respected name around the league.

If Mike Rizzo were to opt to go this route, then he would want to see some offensive improvement from Severino or Wieters. As relying on Ellis to keep hitting over .300 seems like a stretch in the long run.

Obviously, the main benefit of this is that the Nats would have to give up barely anything prospect wise. Perhaps Tres Barrera who’s had a nice start in High-A but doesn’t project too highly moving forward.

A catcher like A.J. Ellis is certainly worth checking in on during July, but if they acquired him, it could well be as part of a bigger package. Brad Hand and Kirby Yates are both names that could strengthen the bullpen, so including Ellis with them makes it more enticing.

J.T. Realmuto – Miami Marlins

Here’s the almost daily reminder that the Washington Nationals should still be strongly considering J.T. Realmuto. The Miami Marlins catcher has been a sensation this year and would be a difference maker in the Nats lineup.

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He’s having an All-Star type campaign, and should almost certainly be the Marlins representative in the summer classic. But could he be making a more permanent stop in D.C.?

The lineup could certainly use the jolt that he would inevitably provide. With a .297 average, nine homers and 27 RBI despite missing the first few weeks, he’s an offensive force.

Can the Nationals acquire realistically acquire him though, that’s the big question.

The smart money says no, as Mike Rizzo has been extremely reluctant to part with phenoms Victor Robles and Juan Soto to get it done. And given both of their performance in the minors and majors, that’s been a wise choice.

So assuming Rizzo doesn’t budge, would the Marlins compromise and center a package around Carter Kieboom? At the start of the season, that wasn’t going to happen. But now, Kieboom is tearing up High-A and is considered a top 30 prospect by a few outlets, including Bleacher Report.

Even then the Nats would still need a substantial package with the likes of Luis Garcia, Wil Crowe and Daniel Johnson all likely to be needed. Is that worth it? Well, it would sure drain the farm system, so it’s probably not worth it.

But if the front office is sure that he’s the missing piece, they should do it. And Realmuto does at least have the definite game-changing ability that nobody else on this list has.

Next: Rizzo wants offensive improvement

The Washington Nationals don’t have too many holes in their roster right now, but catcher is the obvious one. So with a trade to fix a position of need, they really could be set for a deep October run.