The Detroit Tigers could have a backup catching problem
Written by Greg Piatt, Friday March 18 2011
One of the things that kept Tiger Manager Jim Leyland up all winter was whether to carry a third catcher on the team’s roster.
Detroit is expected to divide the catching duties between Alex Avila and Victor Martinez this season. That's been their plan since they signed Martinez in November.
Utility-man Don Kelly is expected to be the team’s emergency catcher. However, the Tigers haven’t using him behind the plate this spring.
The Detroit News’ Lynn Henning asked Leyland recently if Kelly is Detroit’s third catcher, and Leyland replied: “Real third. We’re not going to get carried away with that.”
Leyland told Henning that Kelly will probably get some playing time behind the plate at some point this season.
“I just hope he's not behind the umpire,” he joked according to Henning.
There is this concern, however, if Martinez is going to be the designated hitter when he doesn't catch, what happens when the Tigers pinch-run or pinch-hit for Avila late in a game. Detroit will have to switch Martinez from DH to catcher — leaving the team without a DH for the rest of the game.
Leyland said it’s a situation that weighs on his shoulders.
“I’ll do whatever it takes to win the game,” Leyland told Henning. “But that’s a very interesting question. It’s going to come up.
If it’s a situation that happens too often, the Tigers might have to think about carrying a third catcher, Leyland said. “But we will not do that at the start of the season,” he added.
Leyland’s comment is quite interesting. The Tigers could use a third catcher and could probably acquire Jake Fox, a former University of Michigan player, in a trade with Baltimore.
Fox, who is hitting .356 with 12 RBI and has 7 homers this spring (he leads the majors in home runs this spring), is battling Craig Tatum, who is a better defensive backstop, for the Orioles backup catcher’s job.
The right-handed hitting Fox can also play both corner outfield spots and both corner infield positions. But he is out of options and it will be a difficult decision for Baltimore to keep him.
The Orioles would rather trade him than put him on waivers. If that happens Detroit could put a claim in for him.
The Tigers could use his power bat off the bench in the situations mentioned above, especially to hit against lefthanders late in the game—a situation Avila has had problems with since he’s a left-handed hitter.
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