A tweak in how catchers are valued reveals a lot about the Reds offseason

."WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections Farmers onlyFeaturesPlayoffsHistory/Hall of FamePeer into the FutureStat-Colored GlassesFanGraphs suggests the Cincinnati Reds have a big pitch framing problemNew http://www.bluejaysfanproshop.com/authentic-curtis-granderson-jersey ,12commentsA tweak in how catchers are valued reveals a lot about the Reds offseason.EDTShareTweetShareShareFanGraphs suggests the Cincinnati Reds have a big pitch framing problemAaron Doster-USA TODAY SportsThe rumors persisted for much of the latter-half of winter, that the Cincinnati Reds - fresh off multiple major additions to their outfield and pitching staff - were in hot pursuit of star catcher J.T. Realmuto. The Miami Marlins are run as a combination ATM/vacuum, and Realmuto was the last star on their roster who had yet to be traded, and the Reds maintained contact with the fish until Realmuto was ultimately flipped to the Philadelphia Phillies for fireballing prospect Sixto Sanchez, among others.Front and center in the rumored Reds offer was catcher Tucker Barnhart, who at 28 years old is still under team control for 3 more years at a modest total of $11 million, and who has an option for year 4 at only $7.5 million. From Reds country with a 2017 Gold Glove to his credit already, Tucker is a plenty fine big leaguer, of course, which had many folks wondering why the Reds were so enamored with trying to upgrade their catching situation by chasing Realmuto. Heck, even some of the advanced metrics seemed to endorse Tucker as a viable top-tier catcher, as Baseball Reference valued him at an impressive 3.4 bWAR in that 2017 season.One thing stood out on Tucker’s ledger, though: pitch framing, or rather his lack of proficiency in that regard. Baseball Prospectus had already found a method of valuing that newfangled aspect of defensive catching, and their rankings of the top 117 catchers in all MLB during the 2018 season had Barnhart almost all the way at the bottom at #113. And while his 2016 and 2017 numbers were better - he ranked around 30th among all catchers, and near the bottom in most with enough chances to be considered ‘regulars’ - it’s clear that B-Pro was not exactly enamored with that part of the regular Cincinnati catcher’s game.On Wednesday Aaron Loup Jersey , FanGraphs added their own metric to grade catchers on their pitch framing, and it, too, is incredibly down on Tucker’s most recent forays into that art. Of the 38 catchers who logged at least 500 innings behind the plate in 2018, Tucker’s framing rated as the third worst. Of the 50 MLB catchers who have logged at least 1000 innings behind the plate since the start of the 2016 season, Tucker again ranked third worst, with only Salvador Perez and Robinson Chirinos below him. As a result, it has effectively tanked how valuable Barnhart has been for the Reds in the eye of FanGraphs, as his entire career to date is now valued at a grand total of 1.5 fWAR. His low framing marks during the 2018 season helped render him only ‘worth’ -0.3 fWAR, which was the third lowest in all MLB of the 27 catchers who had at least 300 PA offensively.In that light, it’s significantly more reasonable to see why the Reds might’ve been searching for an upgrade behind the plate, especially once an entirely new manager and pitching coach were brought on-board, ones who might well have pitch framing as a much higher emphasis than the previous regime.Of course, there’s also a lot going on with these numbers that might not solely be on Tucker’s shoulders. We’ve witnessed some of the most putrid collective pitching, top to bottom, that an MLB franchise could possibly roll out over the last three years Matt Adams Jersey , with a revolving door of rookies and journeymen the ones throwing the pitches Tucker was tasked with framing. Precisely how much of his poor ratings can be attributed to his inability vs. the inability of pitchers to come anywhere close to hitting their spots is a very, very tight rope to walk, and it will certainly be interesting to see how 2019 plays out with the more established likes of Sonny Gray, Tanner Roark, and Alex Wood logging some 500+ innings on the mound. You also must wonder whether this was something Tucker, otherwise considered an excellent defensive catcher with his blocking and throwing skills, has ever really had as a primary focus. You’d think that if this came as a revelation to him, he’d be able to work to improve that skill, especially under the tutelage of pitching coaches who appear to be considering it a much larger area of need.FanGraphs’ David Appelman gives a pretty detailed discourse on exactly how this metric has been integrated into recent years worth of data and valuations, and I highly suggest you give it a read if this is something that has piqued your interest to date. Of particular note to Reds fans of yore is how much more valuable it shows that former draftee Yasmani Grandal has been over the years, as he’s now up over 27 career fWAR by this updated valuation. Safe to say that if you’re a believer in pitch framing’s value, that puts a final kibosh on all the old Red Reporter debates over whether Grandal or Devin Mesoraco would turn out to have the better overall career...What that means for the Reds catching situation going forward, I do not know. What I do know is that it’s a metric from a prolific source that suggests that the way in which the Reds have been going about their catching in recent years looks pretty bad, and highlights a very, very particular area in which it needs improving. Perhaps that can come from within with greater emphasis on the area, but perhaps it’s just a skill that’s either there or is not. And if it isn’t there Kevin Long Jersey , well, it’s apparently a damn valuable commodity that needs to be found somewhere else. Dr. K‘s orders—10 in a row! Caleb Smith goes five strong innings."WhiteFanposts Sections News & RumorsAnalysisPodcastsProspects & DraftGame CoverageFull ArchiveMasthead Social Marlins Players on TwitterFish Stripes on InstagramMarlins Media Members Fish Stripes Best of 2018 Marlins StoriesScheduleRosterStatsCommunity Guidelines StubHub 鉁昅iami Marlins Game CoverageMarlins stay en fuego with 7-1 win over NationalsNew,20commentsDr. K‘s orders—10 in a row! Caleb Smith goes five strong innings.EDTShareTweetShareShareMarlins stay en fuego with 7-1 win over NationalsSam Navarro-USA TODAY SportsWEST PALM BEACH, Fla.—The Marlins visited the Washington Nationals on a gloomy Monday afternoon at FITTEAM Ballpark. A crowd of 3,084 witnessed a matchup between prized free agent PatrickCorbin and second-year starter CalebSmith. But it was the lesser-known left-hander who had far more success, highlighting a 7-1 Marlins win, their 10th in a row.@TheRealAconA throwing error and back-to-back doubles gave the Marlins an early 2-0 lead in the top of the first.That’s all the support that Miami’s pitching staff would need.Smith made his second appearance of the spring for the Fish (his first start). He looked impressive from the get-go, striking out veteran outfielder AdamEaton to get his first punchout of the day. The 27-year-old delivered a fine outing (5 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 7 K on an efficient 64 pitches), hence the nickname “Dr. K.”Let me tell ya: watching his spin rate up close is on another level. I can’t recall a lefty striking out so many guys with such ordinary low 90s fastball velocity. Not overpowering, but location helps the art of pitching. Through nine total innings in the Grapefruit League, Smith owns a 1.00 ERA and 13 strikeouts.Did we mention he was also trending on Twitter during the game for #PitchersWhoRake? Smith connected on two singles to complement his work on the mound—ShoheiOhtani better watch out!Sam Navarro-USA TODAY SportsIn the clubhouse afterwards, Smith spoke to Fish Stripes about finding his groove again after last summer’s severe lat injury:(Love the fact that his mom was the one to mention it to him)Bright spots in the 2018 Marlins lineup http://www.nationalsfanproshop.com/authentic-matt-adams-jersey , 3B Brian Anderson and OF/1B Peter O’Brien look to build on their success this season. Today, they combined to go 4-for-7 with two doubles and five runs batted in.O’Brien had been on the roster bubble after slumping to begin Spring Training, but he continues to strengthen his case by getting hot at the right time. The bilingual Hialeah native explained his approach to all the competition in major league camp:El veterano SergioRomo pitched a perfect sixth inning, followed by Jarlin “The Marlin” Garc铆a, who got an inning’s worth of work in the seventh, allowing just a hit. In the eighth, Garc铆a was relieved by BrianMoran (1.0 IP, 2 BB, 2 K) who also pitched a scoreless inning. MikeKickham slammed the door on the Nationals by striking out two, putting their fans out of misery.Outfielder AustinDean (2-3, RBI single) was another solid performer from the victory.With the win today, this team took sole possession of second place in Marlins history with 10 consecutive spring wins. The 1997 Marlins have the record with 11 in a row (Feb. 28-Mar. 8, 1997)...We all know what went on to happen that season, right?!Marlins vs. Nationals box score (MLB.com)