A Deeper Look Into the Indians Catchers

In 2014, there was a lot of confusion behind the plate on days that Yan Gomes didn’t start. The Indians began the year with none but Carlos Santana, who was also the starting third baseman, available as the reserve catcher, but it didn’t take long for that plan to fail. In addition, George Kottaras, Roberto Perez and Chris Gimenez picked up starts down the line with Perez eventually taking over as the permanent back-up in mid-July.

This are a lot more stabilized going into 2015. Santana looks to be set at first base and will likely not play a single game behind the plate this year. Gomes will again be the starter and Perez the reserve after coming from beyond the depth charts last season. With this, the Indians do have a couple other options as well as Tony Wolters, Jake Lowery, Adam Moore and Brett Hayes are also in camp on Spring Training invites. While these could initially seem a long shot for Major League playing time, remember that Perez was in the exact same situation just one year ago.

Yan Gomes

Many around baseball were surprised by Gomes’ Silver Slugger winning season in 2014, but not those in Cleveland who saw him play the year before, or the management who signed him to a $23M, six year deal after just two partial seasons. Gomes’ biggest bonus was his defense as the Indians haven’t had a catcher who was always a catcher in years. Between Santana and Victor Martinez, Cleveland has gotten used to poor defense behind the plate and poor pitch selection. While Mickey Callaway deservedly gets credit for the turnaround in the Indians pitching staff through the past two seasons, Gomes defense, pitch framing and game calling deserves some credit as well.

Of course, Gomes is also one of top hitters on the team and at his position around the league (hence the hardware). In 2014, he crushed 21 home runs and 25 RBI, showing off his power, while batting .378, the third highest average on the team among qualifiers. Now that he has proven himself in a full season, the Indians and the rest of the leagues pitchers, will expect a repeat. Not only will Gomes be the starting catcher, but likely will hit near the top of the lineup, possibly ahead of the $48M DH, Nick Swisher.

Roberto Perez

Perez was drafted in 2008 in the 33rd round and spent the next five seasons with nine different minor league teams through the Indians farm system. Between his initial Rookie League season and 2014, Perez never batted .300 or slugged higher than .430 with at least 20 games in a season. In 2014, he did both, with a line of .305/.405/.517 all in AAA, surpassing Chris Wallace, Matt Colantonio and Luke Carlin on his way to the Majors. Once there, Perez played in 29 games and batted .271/.311/.365, but more importantly, caught 36% of attempted base stealers with just one passed ball and a .988 fielding percent.

Perez has the perfect set of skills to be a back-up catcher. He is a solid defener and an acceptable hitter while not being so great that he will force himself into the lineup as a regular. While it may seem that two starting caliber catchers is the way to go, the Indians have learned in the past with Einar Diaz, Kelly Shoppach and Lou Marson that you can’t turn a back-up into an All-Star.

Tony Wolters

As with every season, 2015 needs to begin with an overview of Tony Wolters, the catcher that has been considered one of the Indians top prospects ever since he started out as a short stop in 2011. Despite hitting eight home runs and knocking in 58 in 2012 in Carolina, Wolters didn’t make his debut in Akron until 2014 because of the position change. After a few years of work, Wolters is now considered one of the best defensive catchers in the Tribe system, although he has had some trouble at the plate. He could begin the year in Akron again, but with a good start, he should be a short distance from Columbus and could make his debut in Cleveland this year if absolutely necessary.

Jake Lowery

Lowery is another AA catcher, but will likely advance to AAA this year after almost two full seasons in Akron. He is a weaker hitter than Wolters and a couple years older, so little should be expected this year from Lowery.

Adam Moore & Brett Hayes

Moore is a 30 year old, career back-up catcher who has never played more than ten games in a season outside of 2010 when he batted .195 in 60 games. Despite that, he did hit .298 with 33 extra base hits in AAA with San Diego last year and could be a decent option in an emergency situation. Similarly, Hayes is 31 and has also been in the Majors since 2009, but has never been a starter. While he has played a few more games than Moore, his success is comparable. Last year with Kansas City, Hayes batted just .135 in 27 games for the Royals while hitting .310 in ten games in AAA Omaha.

With no real positive solutions beyond Perez and Gomes, the Indians will almost certainly carry just two catchers for the duration of the season, using Santana in a short term emergency or Ryan Raburn if absolutely necessary. It would take a disabled list stint to promote any of the others listed and that would lead to a poor situation for the Indians. While their one-two punch is among the best in baseball, the three, four and five are less than impressive and catcher depth should be a place of some concern going into the 2015 season.