Scott Paulus
Manny Pina July 2017 at Miller Park in Milwaukee. Scott Paulus/Brewers
The Brewers are still a few weeks away from the end of the World Series and any ability to start to act upon their offseason plans, but the speculation is well underway. We’re already seeing stories on potential free agent starting pitchers, potential plans at second base and ranges of possible Opening Day payrolls for 2018.
This winter we likely won’t hear a lot of speculation about the Brewers’ plans for the catcher position, which is a pretty remarkable testament to what Manny Pina has done in a year’s time. Pina wasn’t even guaranteed a spot on the roster as a backup heading into spring training this year, but played his way into regular duty and a likely spot as the Opening Day catcher next March.
Despite being one of baseball’s best rookies, however, Pina wasn’t exactly your typical rookie: He turned 30 in June. Among the 16 catchers to appear in 100 games behind the plate this season, only four were older:
- Yadier Molina, St. Louis (35 years, 95 days as of Monday)
- Matt Wieters, Washington (31 years, 148 days)
- Jonathan Lucroy, Colorado (31 years, 125 days)
- Martin Maldonado, Los Angeles of Anaheim (31 years, 61 days)
Pina likely won a spot atop the Brewers’ catching corps with his performance early in the year in 2017 but his late performance does raise some questions about how he’ll do going forward: He batted just .233 with a .292 on-base percentage and .350 slugging in 40 games from August 1 through the end of the season. Counting the minors and stints in winter ball (including 28 games for Lara in Venezuela last winter) Pina has now played in 992 career games behind the plate. It’d be understandable if he were wearing down a bit.
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The Brewers leaned heavily on Stephen Vogt during Pina’s absences in 2017 and have the option to do so again in 2018, but his game had some easily demonstrable flaws this season. Despite a hot start, Vogt posted just a .281 OBP with the Brewers, and his .285 mark overall (including his time in Oakland) was his lowest since his MLB debut season in 2012. His throwing arm was also exploited significantly down the stretch as 31 baserunners took off against him in 38 games behind the plate and he caught just four of them. Vogt turns 33 on November 1, so he’s also likely on the downward slope of his career.
Through April it looked like Jett Bandy could be an option to be the Brewers’ long-term catcher, but it didn’t work out that way over the long term: He was hitting .327 with a .377 OBP and .633 slugging after his first 15 games but hit just .158/.252/.233 after that. He rejoined the team as a September callup but started just one game, the October 1 season ending contest after the Brewers had been eliminated from postseason contention.
While Jett Bandy’s 2017 season stalled down the stretch, Andrew Susac’s never really got started. Susac has struggled to stay healthy since joining the Brewers in 2016, appearing in a combined 79 games over two years in the majors and minors. When healthy he played in 51 games for Colorado Springs in 2017 but his bat didn’t perk up at altitude, as he hit just .205/.307/.404. He and Bandy are both only 27 years of age, but both face an uphill battle if they’re going to stick as Brewers catchers next spring.
Barring something unforeseen, Manny Pina is almost certainly the Brewers’ catcher of the present. The future, however, remains cloudier than one might expect.
