The biggest story of the 2005 season for the Diamondbacks is debatable.
Was it the breakout year of Chad Tracy? The G-Force? Russ Ortiz
falling flat on his face? Maybe the bullpen meltdown? One thing is
for sure, after all the hype of last off season's signings, on opening day the
biggest story, the most controversial story, was that Bob Melvin elected to
start the season with Chris Snyder and Koyie Hill as his only two catchers.
It was a bold move by Melvin, a manager hired to manage a bunch of kids, but
who ended up with a veteran laden team that spent much of the 2005 season in
contention for the NL West. Arguably the most important position on the
field, Melvin decided to start the year with two virtual rookies behind the
dish.
It did not go as Melvin had planned.
Hill and Snyder remained together in a platoon role for the first two months
of the season, but the results were less than spectacular. Snyder hit .224
in March/April, and .222 in May, while Hill struggled even more, hitting just
.182 in March/April and though he hit .262 in May his playing time dropped as
Melvin looked at his options and decided that since neither were hitting well
he'd go with the better defensive option, Snyder, the majority of the time.
On May 28th Melvin finally made a move, demoting Hill to Triple-A Tucson and
calling up veteran backstop Kelly Stinnett.
The position just never became an offensively productive one for the
Diamondbacks. At seasons end, it was Stinnett who carried the best
offensive numbers, hitting an anemic .248 with six homers and just 12 RBI in 129
at bats, while Snyder got the majority of the playing time, hitting just .202
with six homers in 326 at bats. Hill, who would be called up for patches
in July, August, September and for the last day of the season in October, never
got on track, though he also never really got another chance. He hit just
.218 without a homer in just 78 at bats on the season.
While Stinnett was never intended to be more than a veteran backup, the
question now becomes are either Snyder or Hill the catcher of the future for the
D'Backs. It would be unfair to try and make determinations about either of
the player's careers based on just one season (and not a full season at that),
but the fact of the matter is that the Diamondbacks have an opportunity to go
after free agent catcher Ramon Hernandez this offseason. If they do, they
will essentially be writing off Snyder and Hill, and that could be a huge
mistake.
For starters, one has to take into account age. Major League catchers
are rarely productive past the age of 35. Stinnett, who will be entering
his 13th Major League season next year, could be back in a backup role, but if
the D'Backs are forced to turn to him for extended time, they could be in a
world of trouble. His numbers last year and likely to be as good as it
gets, and they would almost certainly get worse if he was asked to be a full
time backstop.
Snyder would be the youngest of the four catchers, as he'll be 25 at the
start of the '06 season. He's generally considered one of the best young
defensive catchers in the game, and has drawn praise from Diamondbacks pitchers
for the way he calls a game. He showed a good power stroke in the minors,
and Diamondbacks front office personnel have stated openly that they believe he
can be a 20-25 home run guy in the next couple of years.
Hill is a slightly different situation. Also young, he'll turn 27
before the start of the '06 season, he's behind Snyder defensively, but hasn't
been catching as long either, having moved behind the dish full time from third
base just four years ago. He's a switch hitter with less pure power than
Snyder, but has made better contact in his career. Still learning behind
the dish, the general consensus is that with the two youngsters, it simply
depends on what you're looking for. Snyder's defense and power, or Hill's
versatility (if he reached his potential he could hit as high in the order as
#2, and still be comfortable hitting seventh or eighth, while Snyder seems
destined to spend his career in #6 hole) and switch hitting. Of course,
all of that is based on these players reaching their potential.
Which is why Ramon Hernandez is one of the three most prized free agents on
this year's market. A stellar defensive catcher with a canon arm and an
understanding of how to call a game learned in the pitching heavy Oakland A's
organization, he is also arguably the second best offensive catcher (behind Mike Piazza) in the game right now. He'll turn 30 years old during the 2006
season, and had played 136 games or more every season since he became a full
time pro until 2004. That year a collision at the plate limited his time
to just 111 games, and a rash of injuries in '05 dropped his service time to
just 99 games. While he's not considered a health risk, there is always
hesitation to sign a catcher to a long term deal (Hernandez is asking for at
least three, and preferably four years at somewhere between $8-10 million)
because he wear and tear the position demands can take its toll quickly and
without warning.
For the Diamondbacks the question is a simple one. Take a chance that
one of the two (or three if you count up and coming minor leaguer Miguel Montero) catchers will develop into a dependable MLB catcher, or sink a ton of
money into a free agent who's value is increased exponentially by a weak market,
particularly at his position. The answer isn't clear. Traditionally
catchers are asked to provide defense first and offense second, and since the
Diamondbacks have a pretty potent lineup already, an argument could be made that
if the Hill/Snyder tandem could combine to put up a .245 average, 15 homers, and
50 RBI with good defense, the Diamondbacks would be okay, because the offense
can come from other places.
But can Jeff Moorad and Josh Byrnes pass up the chance to grab one of the few
catchers capable of hitting .280 with 25 homers and good defense? Last
season Hernandez, in just 99 games, had the same number of home runs, and 12
more RBI, than Snyder, Hill, and Stinnett combined. It will likely be the
toughest decision the D'Backs front office has to make this season.
Ultimately the decision may be made for them. The Mets are going to
aggressively pursue Hernandez, and their recent free agent signings have shown
that they are not willing to overpay for a player they want, particularly if
that player is of Latin decent. The Diamondbacks might give Hernandez $24
million over three years, but if that price tag moves toward the $40 million
over four year range, the D'Backs will quietly back away from the negotiating
table, and hope that Snyder and/or Hill can make them look smart for doing so.
That will likely be the prudent decision, and not because Snyder and Hill
have such bright futures. Though he is still a minimum of two years away,
Miguel Montero elevated himself into the upper echelon of D'Backs prospects this
season when he hit .349 with 24 homers and 82 RBI in four months at Hi-A
Lancaster. He struggled with injuries and inconsistent playing time after
a promotion to Double-A last year, but performed well in the Arizona Fall League
before heading to his native Venezuela where he is currently tearing up the
Venezuelan League by hitting nearly .400. Grabbing Hernandez for three
years would allow Montero the time to develop, four years would bury him in the
minors for too long, better to stay with the pair of potentially solid
youngsters they have now, and wait for Montero's defense and breaking pitch
recognition to catch up with his incredibly quick bat.