FanPost

What do we do about our catching situation?

From what I can find at Cot's baseball contracts, all of our guys should be FA's next year (I could be wrong about Bard though) http://mlbcontracts.blogspot.com/2005/01/san-diego-padres.html

So what do we do about our situation?

Barrett (.231/.238/.288/41 OPS+) has been extremely disappointing since coming over (and if you ever read Ducksnorts, there's a conspiracy theory linking Michael Barrrett starts to Padres losses). He's shown almost non-existent power, neglible on-base skills, and although he's got a gun, it's relatively inconsistent.

Bard (.264/.348/.377/96 OPS+)has quitely put together a strong season, showing great plate discipline (35 BB), but diminishing power (22 xBH). His defense is largely underrated (he blocks balls very well), but he doesn't have much of a gun. I'm easily comfortable with Bard getting 60 to 70 percent of the reamining starts.

Pete LaForest (.421/.522/.632/210 OPS+)has been a monster in his brief time with the Padres, but his minor league numbers suggest an eventual return to Earth (.230/.347/.544/.891 OPS). Regardless, LaForest seems to have pretty decent plate discipline, and we all know about his offensive prowess with him being a lumberjack and all. He's still mostly a question mark on defense (although he did block some really tough pitches from Clay last nite), but at any point, he can change a game with one swing of the bat. Oh, he can also play first and third. Should he stay on the roster for the rest of the year? I give it a hearty thumbs up.

Todd Greene's career averages leave a little to be desired (.252/.286/.444/82 OPS+) but he has a reptuation as a strong defender. Although he's currently on the shelf, I've heard reports that he loves the organization and would be willing to come back next year.

So what do we do for the rest of this year and next year? I personally think LaForest needs to stay on the roster even after Barrett comes off (and I think he should also get more playing time than Barret, though that will never happen) and I think we should re-up Laforest and Bard for next year. There isn't much in the way of available FA catchers this off-season (see below list).

Jorge Posada (36)
Ivan Rodriguez (36) - $13MM club option for '08
Paul Lo Duca (36)
Michael Barrett (31)
Jason Kendall (34)
Ramon Castro (32)
Jose Molina (33)
Yorvit Torrealba (30)
Brad Ausmus (39)

The only person I could see us having interest in is Brad Ausmus who's a great defender (one of the best defensive catchers ever) but is a total offensive liability. I also am not sure if we have much in the system in terms of potential propsects.

What do you think?

This FanPost was written by a member of the Gaslamp Ball community and does not necessarily reflect the views of the Gaslamp Ball staff or SB Nation.