FanPost

The Best Offseason Move the Braves Should Make

There is no question that the Braves have two major needs this offseason. Actually, they probably have a lot more needs than that, but the two main needs that they have publicly stated they need to address are starting pitching and the catcher position. Specifically, John Coppolella has gone as far as saying that he wants to acquire at least two starting pitchers ahead of next season. This offseason, however has been well documented as a poor time to seek starting pitching help as there are just not that many options on the market.

Rich Hill, Ivan Nova, and Jeremy Hellickson are probably the top three starting pitchers available on the open market and they all have their warts to say the least. Rich Hill is thirty-six years old and has been wandering around in obscurity for the majority of his career; Ivan Nova has been a mediocre starter for most of his career until his mid-season trade to the Pirates where pitching coach/miracle worker, Ray Searage, apparently turned him into a useful starting pitcher; and Jeremy Hellickson had a career year but really hasn’t been much of anything the past few years. The Braves probably won’t be in the market for Hellickson as he will likely receive a qualifying offer and reports are that the Braves do not want to relinquish any draft picks in order to sign Free Agents. They may go after Rich Hill, but as good as he has been this year they will have to compete with some of the biggest spenders in the league for his services. Signing Nova would make sense if they could get him for the right price, but that is only one pitcher and the Braves are said to be looking for two and an upgrade at catcher.

What if I told you that the Braves could fill both their catcher need and upgrade the rotation with just one player? No, not by bringing back Christian Bethancourt who the Padres are said to be considering utilizing in a pitcher/catcher/outfielder hybrid role. This upgrade could be done simply by signing the long time Houston Astro, Jason Castro. Castro may not be a sexy signing for a lot of people, but in my estimation he is not only the best catching option on the market, he would be the best value as well. According to Baseball Prospectus’s catcher framing numbers, Jason Castro was the third best catcher in all of baseball at stealing strikes for his pitchers. Castro accumulated 17 Framing Runs above average over the season which was second only to Buster Posey of the Giants and Yasmani Grandal of the Dodgers. According to BP’s DRA model, Castro prevented about the same amount of runs this year as David Price. He prevented more runs than Carlos Carrasco, Stephen Strasburg, Yu Darvish, and fellow Free Agent Rich Hill. He prevented a whopping 13 runs more than Atlanta "Ace" Julio Teheran. In fact, including catchers, Castro ranked 17th in Baseball in total run prevention.

The reason that this would be such a big move for the Braves is who Castro would be replacing. Castro would be replacing the innings that were filled by A.J. Pierzynski and Anthony Recker who together accounted for -12 Framing Runs. That would make for a difference of 29 runs from framing alone! While Jason Castro is well regarded for his defensive prowess and much maligned for his offense, he would still be worth roughly 14 additional runs over Pierzynski. This makes him a dramatic upgrade over the probably retired Pierzynski. Pairing Castro with Flowers, an excellent framer in his own right, would give the Braves one of if not the best catcher tandems at stealing strike for their pitchers.

This move would have a positive trickle-down effect on the rest of the team as well. Not only does framing have the direct impact of giving the pitcher more strikes but that in turn allows the pitcher to pitch ahead in the count more often. It also gives the man on the mound more confidence to work the corners and not feel like they have to pitch in the middle of the zone to throw strikes. Batters are also forced to swing at pitchers' pitches when the pitcher is getting calls off the plate. This creates more swings and misses as well as weak contact that aids the defense to make plays. There are so many young pitchers for the Braves that have good stuff but command issues and this will do wonders for their confidence.

The amazing thing about this signing is the price tag. A player with this kind of impact on the open market who plays a premium defensive position is usually going to sign for several years at nearly 20 million per year. However, due to Castro’s poor offensive reputation and the value of defense on the market, the Braves could probably sign Castro to a two year deal worth less than 20 million total. This would be incredible value for a team that desperately needs to make smart, strategic moves to move toward contention. This is by no means the flashiest move the Braves could make this offseason, but it would definitely be one of the best moves they can make.

This FanPost does not express the views or opinions of Battery Power.