As we roll towards spring training, we start looking at what the 2025 season might bring at each position.
What do you want to see from Gabriel Moreno in 2025?
Spencer: A mostly healthy year. Some expanded offense would be nice, but as it stands now, we have ADC as his main backup for that. An offensive catcher is a luxury when you already have a good receiver behind the plate, and I personally would rather have a catcher who makes each of his pitchers better than one who has an average bat if pressed.
Preston: I want Moreno to reprise his 2023 season defensively while being a slightly above-average bat. I want him to make 60% of the starts behind the dish, and be healthy enough to take on an everyday role down the stretch and in the postseason. I mean I’d like him to suddenly combine Mike Piazza’s bat with Tony Pena’s defense, but that ain’t happening.
James: First and foremost, I want to see him stay healthy. The team really needs Moreno to be good for 100-110 games at full or near-full health, not 85-90 of those with another 20 or so playing at 60%. It would also be nice if, as he grows into being a full-time player, he added a bit more pop to his bat. But frankly, that would be icing on the cake. As long as he maintains his excellent defensive work and he continues to provide the sort of offense that has become somewhat trademark for him, I’ll be happy. With the departure of Walker, I sort of wonder if Moreno might just be the player to step up as the new clubhouse leader.
Makakilo: Embellish his well-earned reputation for gunning down would-be base stealers! In addition, an imperative is staying healthy through the long season. Gabriel Moreno has a balance of great defense and above average batting.
1AZfan1: Yup, I think I agree with everyone with ‘stay healthy’. If he can increase his PA from 350 to closer to 450, I think the team will be in a great spot.
Ben: I’ll echo everyone else on maintaining his health. He’s such an aggressive player, but I worry that approach and the general wear and tear that catchers take might shorten either his career or effectiveness. I would also love to see him take a step forward in leadership for both the team and whomever the team decides will be his understudy. He’s now heading into his third full season in the majors and should be starting to make the turn from promising youngster to clubhouse leader/tone setter.
Should the team sign a veteran to pair with him?
Spencer: Unlike many here, I am of the mindset that ADC is currently great trade capital rather than a pivotal piece of the puzzle moving forward, so I would lean yes, assuming a trade. But after signing Burnes, I don’t think we have any glaring needs requiring a piece of ADC’s caliber (I am not opposed to a late inning reliever, but I don’t think that’s a glaring hole; let Puk have the role with JMart, Ginkel and maybe Drey eventually as backups), so I’d rather see a veteran AAA acquisition to pair with Herrera and other MiLB catchers in the system who would serve as depth in case of an injury.
Preston: We’ve been down that road and seen how it goes. Anyway, there’s not really a good option available. James McCann? Yasmani Grandal? Martin Maldonado? I’d rather roll with what we’ve got, which is a lot of AAAA depth, but it doesn’t cost much. Rene Pinto is the latest, joining Jose Herrera, Adrian Del Castillo, and Aramis Garcia. (They also picked up Drake Osborn from the Mets in the minor league portion of the Rule 5 draft, but he’s not even a AAA player at this point.) None of those four names are as good as Moreno defensively, and only ADC has a chance to be as good or better offensively.
I agree with Spencer that it’s best to trade ADC, unless he agrees to a position change. With both corner infield spots being potential areas of need going forward, I think that’s the best place for him moving forward. So far, though, he has wanted to stay behind the plate.
James: If there was a Jeff Mathis type available, I wouldn’t be opposed. I’m not sure any of the current options really fit that bill though. The team needs a solid back-up option that can pair with him (and the pitching staff) longer-term. I think they can probably find that in-house. I don’t know that it will necessarily be ADC, but I suspect Mike Hazen and his team will give ADC every chance to win or lose the job. If the team is interested in bringing in a veteran partner, Yasmani Grandal likely floats to the top of the list. Even in a down season last year, he was close to league average with the bat and he is a highly capable defender. Still, I think they take what limited resources they have remaining and invest them elsewhere, while looking at internal options to pair with Moreno.
Makakilo: I’d rather go with internal options. My view is it takes time for catchers to reach an effective pairing with each pitcher. Jose Herrera and Adrian Del Castillo have a head start with Diamondbacks’ pitchers!
1AZfan1: I agree with Preston’s point: how much better will the options available be than what we’ve already got?
Ben: No, there aren’t any difference makers that are available at this point in the offseason and signing someone as a deferral makes no sense in my opinion.
Would Adrian Del Castillo be better off playing regularly in Reno?
Spencer: No. He’s proven he deserves to compete with Herrera for an Opening Day bench spot. He should easily win it. I’m still not convinced he’s an everyday player (think late 2024 Pavin Smith in production/trepidation), but I’m open to him proving he could be. If/When he falters like Blaze eventually did, he should be optioned to regain his mojo, but until that happens, ride the bat as best you can!
Preston: ADC has absolutely nothing left to prove in Reno, offensively. He has a case as the best bat in the minor leagues last year. So whether or not he should be playing regularly in Reno basically comes down to whether or not the Diamondbacks think he can develop into a good enough defender. If they think he already is a good enough defender, then there are plenty of at-bats to go around unless they add a DH, and he can catch fairly often. If they think he’ll never get there, he needs to be traded or have a position change.
James: I guess that would depend on how Arizona views his future. Frankly, there is not much left for him to do in Reno except to get reps behind the plate. However, there is a good case to be made for him getting better reps behind the plate in Phoenix instead, learning the MLB pitching staff and getting used to the way pitching works outside of the PCL.I think between the DH and back-up catcher roles, there are enough at-bats for ADC to stay sharp and focused at the plate. As Spencer mentioned above, if he has an Alexander-like falling off, that’s when I would send him back to Reno. I would likely still only keep him there until he got himself right again. Of course all this assumes he is still the potent bat he was last year. If he gets exposed early on as a human windmill at the plate, then he obviously needs to head back down (up?) to Reno, where he can work on his hitting while Herrera (or someone similar) fills in as back-up to Moreno and provides at least passible defense.
Makakilo: His excellent batting is a big reason he could contribute in the Majors. Two concerns:
- Can he better prevent runners from stealing bases? Can he find a way in the offseason and spring training?
- He needs to continue to work with the Diamondbacks pitchers so they (pitcher-catcher pairings) can get the best results possible.
1AZfan1: After claiming René Pinto, the team now has 4 catchers on the 40-man, and 2 of those without options. From a roster construction standpoint, it would make sense to have Pinto and Herrera battle for the Opening Day bench spot and the loser gets DFA’d. Then you still have ADC available as depth when injury strikes. If ADC is the backup catcher on Opening Day, we’d have to DFA Herrera and Pinto. One or both could pass through waivers and possibly be outrighted to Reno, but there’s a chance that we’d be left scrambling to grab someone else’s castoff to stash in Reno until the inevitable injury strikes either of our MLB backstops. It would be better, I think, to have our first catcher up be someone who was with the team through Spring Training at the least and has familiarity with our pitchers and organization. I know that doesn’t seem fair to ADC, as I agree with pretty much everyone else that he has nothing left to prove in Reno, but the best thing for the 2025 Diamondbacks is to have ADC available as injury insurance instead of Aramis Garcia or whoever was left off their team’s flight out of the Cactus League.
Ben: I see very little value in keeping ADC in Reno unless there were specific skills or positional differences they’d like to experiment with there rather than at the MLB-level. He didn’t have enough reps to qualify for most of the statcast percentiles, but they are truly all over the place with excellent barrel% and sweet spot metrics, but dismal results for expected batting average. The eye test has convinced me that he’s ready to be a regular, but he’ll have to prove it once teams have taken a look at his film and start to adjust.
I understand AZ’s concerns viz stashing ADC in Reno for the inevitable catching injury, but for me it doesn’t outweigh the very real value he could offer the big league club. I’m also less convinced that many of the other teams would really jump at the chance for either Herrera or Pinto given the latter passed through a number of teams before landing with the D-Backs.
What impact do catcher have on the pitchers they work with?
Spencer: Herein lies the crux of the catching position, no? Whatever impact they have is largely intangible for now, and catching metrics we do have tend to be more volatile than you’d like. I think the impact is large, but that is pulling entirely from my gut reaction to this question. I’ve seen the tail end of Montero’s time with us, the cluster that occurred between his trade to Chicago and Moreno’s trade from Toronto and what we’ve had since.
I also recently saw a report about Austin Hedges’ use of Pitch Com. For any unfamiliar, Austin Hedges is a 10-year MLB veteran who continually gets signed by the Cleveland Guardians and angers parts of the fanbase because he is a career -1.6 bWAR (but 7.8 fWAR! – I believe this is due to fWAR including catching framing) player. This report said that he recorded his own voice for a button on Pitch Com that would have his pitcher hear Hedges say “F@#* Yeah!” in their ear when a particular pitch was suggested. I believe this confidence boosting and levity in what can sometimes be a situation taken too seriously, positively impacts results. Cleveland is also known as one of the best farm systems at developing pitchers. I do not think these are coincidental.
Preston: I think the average catcher doesn’t have a lot of effect on the average pitcher, particularly since mound visits have been restricted. However, a really bad catcher can make a pitcher worse, and a really good catcher can make a pitcher better. This is not just because of framing, although that’s certainly a factor. It also includes blocking ability, throwing ability, and now that the pitch clock is a factor, I think rhythm is another key factor. A great catcher in today’s game should know the pitchers well enough to know when they want to speed up or slow down their deliveries, and also needs to be aware of the time left on the clock.
James: Baseball is a game of habits. The more familiar a pitcher and catcher are with each other, the more habits they will form that lead to the pitcher’s success. When a catcher is inside the pitcher’s head, the game takes on a steady rhythm that the pitcher can ride, getting extra outs beyond their expected expiration.Instead of getting only 15 outs, maybe they get 21. A pitcher isn’t going to perform well if they cannot settle in and get comfortable on the mound. Having unwavering confidence in their battery mate is a massive part of that process.
Makakilo: Recent data seems to show an influence. Looking at the last two seasons, the Diamondbacks starting pitchers’ results (OPS) generally were better when Moreno catches instead of Herrera or ADC. Two exceptions were Gallen and Diaz, who had better results with Herrera. If Moreno was not available to catch, the ADC might be the best choice for Montgomery and Rodriguez. Details in the following table (data from Baseball Reference).
1AZfan1: I can think of several ways that a catcher can have a huge effect on the pitcher he’s working with. It would certainly make sense that a catcher that can steal strikes via framing would help a pitcher a good deal. Also, with veteran pitchers, having a catcher who knows what a pitcher wants to throw without being shook off a dozen times would seem to be a good thing. With younger pitchers, having a catcher that the young guy can rely on to call a game that will keep them out of trouble would seem to be best. Finally, there always seems to be a moment late in a game where a pitcher needs to trust his catcher that he can bury a breaking ball in the dirt and that the catcher will not let it get past him. If the pitcher can’t trust his catcher to keep the ball in front of him, maybe he doesn’t get the breaking ball as low as he needs to, or he refuses to throw a breaking ball altogether and has to go to something else.
Ben: I have to imagine a fair bit given the disparity between some of the upper echelons of backstops and the rest of the league. I was a catcher myself until high school and it was certainly the case that you became a de facto therapist for your pitcher in-game while trying to instill confidence in your ability to call a game via pitch selection. We’ve also been inundated with stories about starting pitchers having a “designated catcher” with whom they have a rapport and feel comfortable pitching to on their given days.
Who is the best catcher in the majors going into 2025?
Spencer: I would probably have to say Will Smith. With a nod to William Contreras. And Adley Rutschman, Gabriel Moreno and Sean Murphy lurking. Murphy could well be over the hill, but just as likely could have a resurgent year. Adley has so much potential and just hasn’t really managed to reliably put it all together yet. Gabi is one step forward away from joining the top ranks I think. But Contreras and Smith both have age, history and current value on their side. I’m jealous of LAD and MIL, but far less so than I have been in the past, thankfully.
Preston: I’m shocked Spencer didn’t name him, so I’m going to go with Patrick Bailey. Yes, his hitting won’t earn him playing time, but he is arguably the best receiver in the game right now. As far as those he’s named, Smith is great with the bat but average as a defender. Contreras has improved substantially as a defender, and if he shows this year that it wasn’t just a one year thing, he’d be the best all-around catcher. Between the two of them, it’s doubtful Gabi gets his due for quite a while, and Bailey certainly won’t.
Mention must also be made of Salvador Perez, who isn’t the defender he once was, but has a good chance to become just the eighth catcher ever (minimum 60% of games at catcher) to hit 300 home runs. While he’s certainly not the best catcher in the major leagues right now, he has had the greatest career of any in the major leagues right now, and if any of the current crop wind up being nine time All Stars I’ll eat my hat.
James: Anyone answering the question of best catcher in the league who answers William Contreras, Will Smith, or Adley Rutschman is correct. There are clear reasons for selecting any of the three, allowing any of those three to be a correct answer. In two more years, I expect Moreno to be part of that discussion, as by then I also expect Contreras to start aging out of the role, putting him into ranking territory currently occupied by the likes of J.T. Realmuto – a former best backstop in the game who is still very good, but not as ascendent as he once was.
Makakilo: For 8 catchers, I compared their 2024 data. My comparison of catcher defensive skills was subjective, but based on leaderboard numbers from Baseball Savant. My ranking looked at defensive skills and Win Probability Added (WPA).
My ranking of the four best catchers follows:
- Cal Raleigh
- Gabriel Moreno
- Patrick Bailey
- JT Realmuto
For details see the following table.
1AZfan1: William Contreras is my pick. He is far and away the best hitter (outside of maybe his brother, interestingly) and his defense has been above average for the last two seasons. I was going to shout out Cal Raleigh because he doesn’t get enough love as a top-tier backstop, but Makakilo beat me to it. Patrick Bailey is great defensively, but he’s way too much of a liability on offense to be considered among the league’s best catchers overall. I mean, if Gabi hit worse than Emmanuel Rivera, would we think of him as highly as we do?
Ben: Offensively, you’d be hard-pressed to not put Rutcschman given his 12.1 boWAR over the last three years (2022-24) clearly paces the rest of the field, but he falls back to the middle of the pack defensively. I think you could also make a convincing argument that Will Smith does the best in balancing the offensive and defensive sides of being a catcher, but the argument is not open and shut like it might be for other positional rankings. I’m clearly biased, but I would absolutely put Gabi into a clear top-10 or even top-5 because of his defensive prowess and ability to nab would-be base stealers in today’s game.
Any plans for the New Year?
Spencer: I do microresolutions every year rather than one or two year long ones. So every month I try to do something different to keep my interest and maybe create a new habit here or there. In January I am drinking 60oz+ of water while I sit at my desk every day. Other months will include doing yoga daily, journaling daily, walking my dog in metro parks 3x/week, etc.
And to cap the year off, I will be visiting a friend in Germany for Christmas in 2025. We have done our best to visit every time one of us moves to a new place and he is now in Germany, so I have to go! I’ve gotten to see much of New York (state and NYC), Oklahoma and Hawaii (Oahu) because of him. I missed out on the opportunity to visit him in South Korea because I took a new job, but I don’t plan to miss out on Germany.
Preston: Tenure.
James: I’ll spend a few moments being jealous of Preston and his tenure. Then, I’ll put my head down and get back to work on my own academic pursuits. Hopefully, I can find enough time, money, and energy to make significant headway on my Beowulf work this year. Who knows, I might even get far enough to start sending out queries.
Makakilo: Within the umbrella of enjoy life are:
- See the Diamondback play in the World Series (again)!
- Write about the Diamondbacks with passion, optimism, and insight.
- Enjoy the journey as an improving pickleball player.
1AZfan1: Moving to San Diego this spring. That should lead to knocking Petco Park off our ballpark bucket list. Big congrats to Preston! And to Spencer, it’s a shame you missed out on South Korea! My wife was born there and I’ve enjoyed the couple times I’ve been there. Enjoy Germany!
Ben: Like Spencer, I tend to eschew big resolutions that I know I won’t be able to keep for the entire year rather than ones that are more doable and goal-focused. I’m now three months into a new job and I want to ensure I keep my motivation while maintaining a semblance of balance between sections of my life. I also love the idea of focusing on smaller adventures over weekends rather than large ones that may require additional time or money. My wife and I are on the house hunting process and we are hopeful that will come to resolution sometime this year as well! And congratulations to Preston!