The Reds and Ryan Hanigan have agreed to a three-year contract that will pay the catcher $4MM. Hanigan, who is represented by Tom O'Connell, will also have the chance to earn another $800K in escalators based on playing time.
2011 is Hanigan's final pre-arbitration season, so the deal buys out two of his arb years. According to Olney, the 30-year-old will make $450K this year, $1.2MM in 2012, and $2.05MM in 2013. The deal also includes a $300K signing bonus and $400K in possible incentives in each of the '12 and '13 seasons. The Reds will have Hanigan under team control for one more season after the contract expires.
Splitting time behind the plate with Ramon Hernandez for the last two years, Hanigan hasn't displayed much power, but has posted exceptional on-base numbers. In 536 plate appearances in 2009 and 2010 combined, the longtime Red hit .280/.381/.374.
As MLBTR's Transaction Tracker shows, Hanigan's will be the fifth contract extended for at least three years by the Reds this winter. ESPN.com's Buster Olney first reported the agreement and John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer confirmed that the Reds announced the deal.
excellent contract for a back-up catcher
Three years for a back-up?
A good back up
I think its a great deal.
Your clearly didn’t read the statistics in the article, nor paid any attention to the best catching tandem in the major leagues last year.
Psh, comprehension is overrated.
When I posted this there were no stats up yet. Sorry that I don’t follow the Reds too closely. And I would definitely agree with Brandon Woodworth that the McCann Ross combo is far better
Not as a split squad, because they aren’t a split squad. They don’t split games. David Ross is a backup, not a part-time player, or full-time player.
Hernandez and Hanigan split time, which makes them part-time players, thus combining together to make a full-time outfit. They didn’t have any backups. Together they were BETTER than McCann in the majority of statistical categories for the same games played last year.
Agree all you want to, but the stats don’t lie.
Okay. I understand what your saying, but if that’s the case, they really don’t have any competition. The only tandem that split time last year that I can think of was Mathis and Napoli, and that’s gone now.
No doubt. That’s what makes them special. You’re just not going to find 2 catchers to split time the way they did and contribute equally well. McCann/Ross just simply aren’t comparable to these two, so I am not sure why it was even argued. McCann played 3x the amount of games Ross did.
But yet, like I said, some people just don’t pay attention to stats.
You stole my joke!
mlbtraderumors.com/2011/01/reds-volquez-discussing…
Pistols at dawn.
He starts almost as many games as Hernandez and I think this is Ramon’s last year in Cincinnati, because we have two really good catchers in the minors (and no, that doesn’t include Corky Miller)
Mesoraco should indeed be ready next year after a little more seasoning.
Hanigan may not hit for much power yet, but it’s generally the last thing to develop. Still, he’s 30 so I’m not sure there’s a whole lot of improvement to be made.
To be honest, I think he should be starting over Hernandez. I’m having a hard time seeing Hernandez repeat that OBP and AVG, and he’s not going to provide significantly more power than Hanigan. Hanigan is a great contact hitter with great plate discipline(81 BB to just 63 K in his career so far).
Both had 2.4 WAR last year, but Hanigan did it in 109 less PA’s. I think it would benefit the team more if Hanigan is the primary catcher with Hernandez backing up. I think they need the boost in OBP more than they do in power, although they were ranked in the top 2 last year in both. I think the Reds have a slight edge over the Brewers in offense, but the Brewers look like they’ve got the better rotation. The Reds are gonna need all the help they can get on offense, the Brewers really do look like they can win that division.
Problem with Hanigan is he wears down pretty quickly. He isn’t a 120 game catcher because of his size. He is at his best as a backup and playing about 80-90 games per year
That’s all we’ll need him for when Mesoraco arrives.
Me like me some Mesoraco!
Solid deal. He should be backing up either Mesoraco or Grandal by 2012. Wonder which of those two gets traded?
I’m betting on Grandal. Mesoraco is still younger and on the verge of the Major Leagues. Not to mention, he has tremendous power.
Yonder Alonso will be traded too.
Honestly I say they dont trade either. Jocketty built up the catching core in the minors and he seems confident to not break it up. also it seems like the reds REALLY want to keep alonso by really pushing him at 3rd and in left field. Billy Hatcher (1st base coach and his outfield instructor) said hes made TREMENDOUS strides in left field.
~Corey
No one is saying to trade them this year, but if both guys develop, one has to go. No sense spending a #12 overall pick on a backup catcher OR wasting a potential 25-30 HR backstop as a backup.
I have an idea: What if both Meseroco and Grandal and develop, why not keep them both on the roster as Catcher and work them out in the OF. On days they don’t catch, put them in LF. This would allow them to carry an extra pitcher! I know.. Stupid idea, but…
Certainly possible…. that would mean the Reds probably trade Yonder Alonso to open up LF…
Sure. I don’t like the idea of Alonso playing LF. He can barely handle 1st.
Agreed … he has not looked good at 1B this spring. I like Alonso’s potential with the stick but unless the NL suddenly switches to DHing he has to be considered a trade chip at this point. No way he sits on the bench or at AAA until Joey V’s deal runs out
As much as I hate the Reds I do have to admit they do wonders with their money
That was my 600th comment!!!! Kinda funny that some nobody in baseball took a while to go from 599 homers to 600 and it me a while to make the jump because I have been having trouble logging in for the past few weeks.
Absolutely correct. Someone who hits 600 homeruns is a nobody.
/sarcasm
Only 600 HR what a loser…