Washington Nationals: Five catchers that should be targeted
By Blake Finney
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.