And Atlanta might be fine if it plays catchers Travis d’Arnaud and William Contreras every day, using one as DH-but it more often slots Marcell Ozuna there, and he’s hitting just. The Cardinals and Guardians could each use another bat. The Padres need both a first base and DH upgrade, given lackluster performances from Eric Hosmer and Luke Voit this season. The Astros also fit here, even if they might feel uncomfortable moving on from Yuli Gurriel, who’s played in every Houston playoff game since 2017. The Red Sox are the first contender-if they still qualify as such, given the slump that’s pushed them out of the AL’s current playoff field-in need of a first baseman because Bobby Dalbec is still striking out a ton, but no longer hitting enough homers to compensate.
Some of the laggards here have already made upgrades: the Mariners with Carlos Santana, and the Mets (more recently) with Daniel Vogelbach.īut some clubs still need another middle-of-the-order thumper, defensive value be darned. These positions are grouped together because they’re where the big boppers reside. Multiple teams, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported Tuesday, “worry about Contreras-who is not known for his game-calling acumen-meshing with a new pitching staff on the fly.” First Base/Designated Hitter Yet, he’d represent a real defensive gamble for a team like the Astros, who would have to hope Contreras jells with an entirely new pitching staff in short order. He’s one of only a few backstops-along with Will Smith and Alejandro Kirk-with middle-of-the-order potential. The Rays also deserve a mention with Mike Zunino out for the season.Įasily the best target available is the Cubs’ Willson Contreras, who ranks second among catchers this season with a 140 wRC+.
#Thumper still upgrade#
(It’s hard to imagine the Cardinals adding another proven catcher to usurp Molina, though.) The most interesting team in this group is the Astros, who clearly love Martín Maldonado’s defense-which has helped stake Houston’s pitching staff to an AL-best 3.03 ERA-but could benefit from an upgrade to his. Louis are missing ostensible starters James McCann and Yadier Molina, it’s not as if they’ve hit well either. That’s terrible! And while New York and St. Just ahead of them are the Cardinals catchers, with a 51 wRC+, and the Astros’ and Guardians’ groups, who both check in at 52. Mets catchers have a combined 49 wRC+, meaning they’re hitting a collective 51 percent below average. The four worst-hitting backstop units are all on teams contending for a playoff berth.
Tigers first basemen have combined for a league-worst 67 wRC+, for instance-which makes sense because Detroit has the majors’ worst offense overall, and is thus nowhere near the playoff picture.īut at catcher, that dynamic is a little less intuitive. Typically in MLB, the worst players play for the worst teams. Let’s bounce around the diamond to examine the most glaring team needs in advance of the deadline, and the trade targets who might be the best candidates to help. Out of 30 MLB teams, 17 have at least a 25 percent chance to qualify for the expanded playoff field, according to FanGraphs-but some of those rosters are speckled with holes. They’d better move anyway, because teams in the hunt for a playoff berth need the assistance. Affordable stills.While Juan Soto rightly commands the bulk of attention less than a week away from the MLB trade deadline, many more players are likely to change teams in the coming days.