Is Matt Wieters being Disrespected by Orioles Fan?
There has been a lot of talk lately about Matt Wieters and his value for this team now and in the future. One article that touched on this recently is the great Orioles fansite, Orioles Uncensored. The article entitled “Should the Orioles be Concerned With Wieters Struggles?” brings up the points of his offensive struggles so far this season. The question is then raised of whether the Orioles should be willing to pay him a large salary if he continues to struggle offensively. The answer to that question in the article says the answer is no. This opinion is shared by various others that can be seen at the forums at Orioles Hangout.
Matt Wieters Stats for 2013 on 6/21 :[table id=5 /]
Examining Wieters stats lead to the analysis that he has been an average catcher this year offensively, but is one of the top catchers defensively in the league. He is in the top three for RBI for these catchers which could be attributed to the hitting done by those in front of him. However, I would like to look back through 2010 to see how Wieters stacks up versus all catchers:
Matt Wieters Stats for 2010 through Present:
[table id=6 /]
Once again, Wieters shows as an average hitter while analyzing AVG/OBP/SLG. However, he ranks as one of the top catchers in Runs, RBIs, and Home Runs. Once again he displays the greatest Fielding of any catcher on Fangraphs and his WAR places him as a Top 10 catcher.
The question lies in the analysis of if Matt Wieters is the solution for the future of this team. Wieters is under control through the 2015 season. In 2016, he becomes a free agent at the age of 30. Who would be available at that time on the free agent market? Brian McCann is available this off-season (2014/30 years old) along with Carlos Ruiz (2014/34 years old), but the Orioles are not going to trade him for a top of the rotation starter. I can’t even imagine a team that would consider a trade along those lines at this time. Santana is available in 2017, but I don’t see that as any benefit. Molina and Posey are both under team control through 2018 and 2022 respectively so those are not options for the Orioles.
I personally look at Molina’s contract as a starting point for contract negotiations between the team and him. $10 Million per year seems attractive, but this was back in 2008. It will be interesting to see how the market sets up for McCann as it should dictate his value some more. I personally see Matt Wieters as a $12-14 million catcher based on his performance and the escalating value of the defensive catcher. I would love to see the Orioles lock him in for the six year contract until he turns age 32 and allow them to determine if they can garner anything from the 2013 draft or free agency/trade down the line. The defensive poise that he shows up for the plate and his ability to watch film with our young pitchers is more valuable to me than rolling the dice and letting him walk to another team in the AL.
