Prospect Insider - M's acquire catcher

M's acquire catcher

By Jason A. Churchill

By 11-27-2011

The Seattle Mariners have acquired catcher John Jaso from the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for right-hander Josh Lueke and either a player to be named later or cash, reports Marc Topkin via Twitter.

This move eliminates the possibility that Adam Moore begins the 2012 season as the backup to Miguel Olivo, barring injury or trade.

Jaso, who will not be arbitration eligible until next season, is a cheap addition, bats left-handed and has good plate skills. He's 28 and does not have much wear and tear on his body, always a good thing for a catcher.

In 2010, Jaso posted a .372 on-base mark, and he has more power than his raw slugging percentages suggest. His '11 number were partly impacted by a dip in BABIP, down nearly 40 points from 2010.

Jaso is a terrific alternative to Ryan Doumit, who costs $3 million guaranteed and can't catch. Jaso can catch enough to be a backup, and is known to call a good game. He has average arm strength and blocking skills.

Olivo can now be spared the overuse, which will keep him as effective as humanly possible.

Lueke had better stuff at the end of the year than he did at the start, including 92-96 mph velocity, but his command was below-average all year and the M's have a slew of young relievers, including Tom Wilhelmsen and Stephen Pryor.

The player to be named isn't likely to be a top prospect, and unless it is this a solid, solid move by GM Jack Zduriencik and the Mariners.

Moore is probably trade bait during spring training, or gets sent back to Triple-A Tacoma to start the year.

m\'s-acquire-catcher

Comments
The following 21 comment(s) for this article are shown below:

1. By: tpcman on 11-27-2011 18:38:52
Nice to see us have a tom Lampkin type backup. Also rids of the Leuke issues.

2. By: aerichner on 11-27-2011 18:49:43
loving it - solid acquisition!

3. By: cdiggins@whidbey.com on 11-27-2011 21:32:08
Looks like a good move for Jack Z

And why would Moore be trade bait? He couldn't be any lower in value than he is now. They would not get anything of value for him. Nothing better than Lueke. They have invested so much in him. They should retain him and see if he can become what they hoped for. And if he does then next year he and Jaso can share duties.

4. By: Edman on 11-27-2011 22:16:38
This is a solid deal by Jack. He's young enough and cost effective.

cdiggins, I don't think Jason was being literal. It certainly allows the M's to include Moore in another deal, if a team is looking for a catching prospect. I can't imagine that Seattle would eagerly look to trade Moore, because they traded for Jaso. It's also reasonable that they would like Moore to start the year in Tacoma and evaluate where he is. If he shows that he might be able to replace Olivo next year, it give them options.

Don't take Jason's comments literally. He was just pointing out options, as far as I can tell.

5. By: Jason A. Churchill on 11-27-2011 22:45:10
cdiggins,

Well, Lueke got the club John Jaso, so be careful what you type.

Moore isn't likely to be traded anytime soon, but if a club gets an extended look during the spring months, its very possible.

And you don't NOT trade a player because his value couldn't be lower. That just isn't the way it works at all. In fact, that's how Rob Johnson ended up in San Diego, and, pretty much how Jaso has ended up in Seattle.

Again, though, it doesn't mean Moore is traded. But it does mean, like I said above, barring injury or a trade of Jaso or Olivo between now and the start of the season, Moore won't start the year as the M's backup.

6. By: rotoenquire on 11-28-2011 00:20:50
Could this also open the door to a Y. Alonso deal? The Reds have some good pieces that are MLB ready. And there has been some chatter about trading League...

7. By: Edman on 11-28-2011 10:20:57
If anything, it would be more that this deal would lead to Tampa Bay trading for Alonzo, than Seattle.

How does trading a reliever to get a back-up catcher relate to acquiring Alonzo? If they trade League ti acquire Alonzo, they would be without two relievers, Wouldn't they want to keep Lueke, if they were to trade League?

Had they traded Smoak, that might make some sense to make such a conclusion, since that's where Alonzo will likely play most of his career.

You'll have to explain, because I don't see it having any ties to a deal for Alonzo.

8. By: VikingArthur on 11-28-2011 10:56:21
I love this move!! Not sure why everyone is convinced Jaso is a backup to Olivo, I think that Jaso is a better player in all aspects. Lueke, while talented, is a big armed question mark like so many young bullpen arms. To get, IMHO, a legit starting catcher for a wild card bullpen arm is outstanding.

9. By: rodney on 11-28-2011 11:31:27
Based purely on Jaso’s numbers, I love this trade. Maybe I'm cynical, ok I am cynical, but like others, I wonder what the Rays know that we don’t. The timing of this trade just a few days after the new CBA is announced, which includes blood testing for HGH, is curious…

10. By: Mackie on 11-28-2011 12:05:02
I like this move too!

I would suggest that saying Jaso is a better player than Olivo in all apsects is stretching things just a bit, although I think he is quite possibly a more sound player overall. I really like it that Jaso has some good plate discipline and should get on base a lot more often than Olivo can. Olivo may have more pop in his bat, but Jaso's OBP from last year was about 50 points higher than Olivo's from both the left and the right side. This should only be seen as a good thing.

All in all, I think this move is pretty astute, whether or not Jaso is the primary starting catcher in 2012. Sacrificing a young reliever with upside for a missing piece is OK with me. If nothing else, Jaso should be able to help the offense by contributing to the amount of times our catchers get on base... and that has been a sore spot.

Heaven knows the Mariners need more baserunners. A few more moves like this would be fine with me. And now to compliment good moves like this one, I hope they are also going to make some good moves in finding people who can drive in runners. 8-)

11. By: nater on 11-28-2011 12:06:41
According to Geoff Baker, the PTBNL is a non-premium prospect. Also, JZ says Moore and Jaso both have minor league options so they will compete for the backup spot.

12. By: PositivePaul on 11-28-2011 12:15:57
Rrrreeeaaalllly like this move even though I'm a fan of both Adam Moore and Josh Leuke. Jaso has some solid upside - could be a serviceable starter. Trading a relief pitcher to get some depth at a position that's a wasteland in MLB? DAYAM! They don't call him "Trader Jack" for nothing!

13. By: valencia on 11-28-2011 12:39:18
Jaso (.287/.322 wOBA L/R) makes the perfect platoon partner for Olivo (.336/.285 wOBA L/R). Plus it should motivate Adam Moore to work harder this off-season to win a Catcher spot, instead of having it fall into his lap. Good move.

14. By: Madison Mariner on 11-28-2011 15:44:13
Agreed with the notion that this is a good move--Lueke has upside but it's not a disaster to trade him for a serviceable starting catcher, which is about what Jaso is.

I think the idea in acquiring him is, as others have said, to have as many guys competing as you possibly can for 2 catching jobs. Obviously, Olivo will have one of them, if for no other reason than he's a veteran who can't be optioned to AAA anymore if he struggles. That leaves Moore and Jaso(and anyone else brought in on a minor league contract with an NRI, such as Josh Bard) to compete for the backup job, and as mentioned in comment #11, both still have options, so the loser of that battle goes to AAA to start the season. And the emphasis should be "to start the season", since I think there's every chance that Olivo could be traded at the trading deadline in July to a contending team in need of a veteran backup--this has the bonus effect of both freeing up payroll(ridding the M's of Olivo's remaining 2012 salary and the option for 2013 as well) and getting the other of Jaso/Moore back onto the 25-man roster.

Hopefully, Jaso and Moore can hold down catching duties for the foreseeable future until the M's can draft and develop a better alternative, because I don't see many free agent catchers becoming available, and all the best young catchers(Wieters, Posey, Santana) will probably not be available via trade.

15. By: rocketdawg31 on 11-28-2011 19:13:06

We got another sorely-needed option at catcher (that was major-league ready)... for a guy with some intriguing potential, but also the most replaceable skill-set in all of baseball.

Sorry, but I can't view this deal as anything less than a solid, solid get.

I'm higher on Stephen Pryor and Chance Ruffin's upsides than I ever was on Lueke, anyway.

Hope Josh Lueke does well in Tampa, however- until he faces us.

16. By: rotoenquire on 11-28-2011 20:00:25
With the other rumors out there.. Hanigan maybe headed to the Angels. The thought would be to allow Mesoraco a chance to win a job this year with the Reds. However the Reds want to trade for a cheap option at CL. League has been talked about as a trade candidate. League, Moore, Saunders for Y. Alonso and Mesoraco. Alonso is not viewed as a OF but still a 1B/DH option. Mesoraco needs one more year in the minors to be honest. I am still of the belief the M's will not be spenders until next year(based on JackZ and Wedge interviews). One more year of weeding out the prospects. Getting rid of the ones Jack can do without and stocking up on young talent. Then next year we make a splash in F/A and make a run that will last YEARS!

17. By: rjfrik on 11-28-2011 20:24:16
Seriously?

League, Moore and Saunders for Alonso and Mesoraco?

I'm 100% sure that even a computer GM on MLB2k would say no to that trade. If you are going to speculate trades at least be a little more realistic.

18. By: mjkleko on 11-28-2011 22:01:03
@16-17 Jeeze no kiddin', that potential trade is ridiculous. It may be the holidays, but GM's aren't in the business of giving.

Any Yonder trade involving League would probably need the addition of a frontline starter prospect, such as Paxton or Walker (neither of which I'd be thrilled to part with), and perhaps a B-level prospect in the upper minors such as Saunders. My gut feeling at least.

19. By: aerichner on 11-28-2011 22:08:07
He (rotoenquire) was explaining to Edman what he meant when he said: " Could this also open the door to a Y. Alonso deal?"

The question didnt make sense at the time, the answer makes even less sense :)

Glad about the Jaso move - Giddy about what else the FO is brewing up.

20. By: rotoenquire on 11-29-2011 19:46:55
Alonso has value, BUT not near what you are all thinking.. Mesoraco has FAR more value. reds have said they would rather over pay in a trade than over pay on salary.. take out Moore and Saunders and add Vargas. The reason for Saunders is the Reds are in need of another OF and Saunders still has some value. Moore would still give the Reds a young catcher to work on. Even with the JackZ saying they will try and get Fielder.. Ain't happening...Now that is real wishful thinking. I see the Cubs as the favorite there..

21. By: rightwingrick on 12-01-2011 09:27:09
Full agreement on every point regarding Jaso. I think the M's are pleased by Moore's progress, but want to get some of the rust off in AAA and see his bat continue to progress.

Also agree that Pryor is moving up the M's prospect list, as is Brian Moran, a lefty. Those two plus Erasmo Ramirez are the most likely to be the "names the average fan never heard of" who "come out of nowhere" to compete for a pitching roster spot in the spring.

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