The Minnesota Twins reached an agreement with catcher Kurt Suzuki on a one-year deal according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Suzuki’s deal is worth $2.75 million and the contract includes incentives as well.
With longtime catcher Joe Mauer transitioning to first base, the addition of Suzuki adds depth to a catching corps that is headed by Josmil Pinto, a well-regarded prospect who impressed in 21 games last season, producing a .342/.398/.566 line and catching 5 out of 11 basestealers.
The 30 year-old Suzuki hit 42 home runs from 2009-11, posting a batting line of .252/.306/.392 for an 89 wRC+ and 6.8 fWAR. However, the last two years have been more difficult. He’s managed just 11 home runs with a batting line of .234/.282/.332 for a 66 wRC+ and 0.4 fWAR.
For his career, Suzuki has thrown out runners at a major league average rate, but in 2013 he caught just 8 out of 65 would-be basestealers. While he does an excellent job blocking pitches, catcher framing studies consistently grade him as one of the worst in the game. In that sense, signing Suzuki is a curious move, as the Twins recently traded away Ryan Doumit, who also grades as one of the worst pitch framers.
However, it’s a very thin catching market as this point as many of the free agent backstops signed early in the free agent process. The Twins are high on Pinto, and despite his very limited major league experience, the starting job will be his to lose.
Don’t expect the next Mauer, but the 24 year-old put up excellent numbers between Double-A, Triple-A, and the majors last year. If he can’t handle the rigors of starting, the veteran Suzuki will be able to fill in.
