Cards are moving Willson Contreras to 1B/DH next year. What’s the argument against the Astros doing the same thing with Yainer Diaz. Diaz fills a need at 1B and Carantini/Salazar can cover catching duties.
November 7, 2024
Cards are moving Willson Contreras to 1B/DH next year. What’s the argument against the Astros doing the same thing with Yainer Diaz. Diaz fills a need at 1B and Carantini/Salazar can cover catching duties.
20 comments
I don’t know how the stats look, but I felt as though caratini was the better first baseman between the two.
A catcher who can hit is very, very valuable. First base is an easier position to fill with offensive talent, in theory.
We have 4 years of control with Yainer, and it is MUCH harder to get a well rounded catcher vs getting a 1B who can hit. Case in point, everyone who stops being able to play their more athletic position moves to 1B. Yainer never really looked like he was comfortable at first either. If you come up as a top catching prospect and get moved for team needs it can play mental issues on you.
Carantini has 1 year left so it’s fine to move him however that doesn’t give us any longer term 1B replacement.
We have 5 years of control with Salazar however he needs to develop a lot more to be a full time starting catcher. As it sits we would probably want Yainer behind the plate full time.
Yainer is 6 years younger and doesn’t need the relief
A catcher who can hit is way more valuable than a 1B who hits at a similar level. Also, Contreras is 32 years old. He’s got more wear and tear on those knees.
They planned for this. They drafted Janek in the first round who is a defensive catching specialist.
Here’s the thing about keeping Yainer at catcher that no one likes to hear. He plays it but he provides 0 value defensively at the spot.
So even if he looks bad at first you are for some reason prioritizing 1B defense over catcher defense.
You lose no value by moving Yainer to first. It’s bad at first or bad at catcher. His value is in his bat. Will be more cost effective to find WAR in a defensive catcher than to drop way more $ on a slugger 1B.
IF we had a viable 1B the other things said in this thread would apply but we got very little out of that spot this year. So in my mind it comes down to cost and if there is even a viable defense catcher available.
Which is better imo because we also know catcher defense correlates with pitcher ERA. 1B defense does not add or take away nearly as many runs as catcher
Have ya seen Diaz play first base? Oof
How about trying Yordan at 1st.
He is a good catcher and a great hitter. Will get the Mauer treatment
Noooo…1st base is for Pete Alonso!!!
I’m open to the idea of Diaz at 1B. Mainly because we’re likely to need a 3B replacement too. It’s gonna be hard enough to fill just one of those spots.
Contreras is 6 years older than Diaz. They are worried about his health as a full time catcher.
Where’s Big Jon in this conversation at 1st base?
We have a log jam at DH, Diaz’s defense sucks but its even worse at 1B.
The backup catcher that filled in for Contreras hit .301 this year.
Caratini and Salazar will not do that.
They have an abundance of good hitting at the position. We do not.
Contreras/Herrera/Pages is miles better than Diaz/Caratini/Salazar
Diaz is better than Contreras, but Herrera is far and away better than Caratin, not to mention only 24 years old. And Pages was able to contribute in over 200 ABs last year. Salazar was hot for 25 ABs.
Also Contreras is getting older now. Yainer is only 26.
There’s tons of arguments against Yainer at 1B
Isn’t Contreras like late 30s
I would be okay with this. Caratini is solid behind the dish.
This is the worst take thus far this offseason (until someone suggests extending LMJ, that is). Can we leave it at that and end this thread already?
Diaz looked like a little leaguer at first. He may be able to improve with some more reps, but yikes. Also, his stats when DH’ing vs playing were not so great.
20 comments
I don’t know how the stats look, but I felt as though caratini was the better first baseman between the two.
A catcher who can hit is very, very valuable. First base is an easier position to fill with offensive talent, in theory.
We have 4 years of control with Yainer, and it is MUCH harder to get a well rounded catcher vs getting a 1B who can hit. Case in point, everyone who stops being able to play their more athletic position moves to 1B. Yainer never really looked like he was comfortable at first either. If you come up as a top catching prospect and get moved for team needs it can play mental issues on you.
Carantini has 1 year left so it’s fine to move him however that doesn’t give us any longer term 1B replacement.
We have 5 years of control with Salazar however he needs to develop a lot more to be a full time starting catcher. As it sits we would probably want Yainer behind the plate full time.
Yainer is 6 years younger and doesn’t need the relief
A catcher who can hit is way more valuable than a 1B who hits at a similar level. Also, Contreras is 32 years old. He’s got more wear and tear on those knees.
They planned for this. They drafted Janek in the first round who is a defensive catching specialist.
Here’s the thing about keeping Yainer at catcher that no one likes to hear. He plays it but he provides 0 value defensively at the spot.
So even if he looks bad at first you are for some reason prioritizing 1B defense over catcher defense.
You lose no value by moving Yainer to first. It’s bad at first or bad at catcher. His value is in his bat. Will be more cost effective to find WAR in a defensive catcher than to drop way more $ on a slugger 1B.
IF we had a viable 1B the other things said in this thread would apply but we got very little out of that spot this year. So in my mind it comes down to cost and if there is even a viable defense catcher available.
Which is better imo because we also know catcher defense correlates with pitcher ERA. 1B defense does not add or take away nearly as many runs as catcher
Have ya seen Diaz play first base? Oof
How about trying Yordan at 1st.
He is a good catcher and a great hitter. Will get the Mauer treatment
Noooo…1st base is for Pete Alonso!!!
I’m open to the idea of Diaz at 1B. Mainly because we’re likely to need a 3B replacement too. It’s gonna be hard enough to fill just one of those spots.
Contreras is 6 years older than Diaz. They are worried about his health as a full time catcher.
Where’s Big Jon in this conversation at 1st base?
We have a log jam at DH, Diaz’s defense sucks but its even worse at 1B.
The backup catcher that filled in for Contreras hit .301 this year.
Caratini and Salazar will not do that.
They have an abundance of good hitting at the position. We do not.
Contreras/Herrera/Pages is miles better than Diaz/Caratini/Salazar
Diaz is better than Contreras, but Herrera is far and away better than Caratin, not to mention only 24 years old. And Pages was able to contribute in over 200 ABs last year. Salazar was hot for 25 ABs.
Also Contreras is getting older now. Yainer is only 26.
There’s tons of arguments against Yainer at 1B
Isn’t Contreras like late 30s
I would be okay with this. Caratini is solid behind the dish.
This is the worst take thus far this offseason (until someone suggests extending LMJ, that is). Can we leave it at that and end this thread already?
Diaz looked like a little leaguer at first. He may be able to improve with some more reps, but yikes. Also, his stats when DH’ing vs playing were not so great.