The Phillies are close to re-signing catcher Brian Schneider, according to Jon Paul Morosi and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter link).
Schneider, 34, has served as the Phillies' backup catcher since signing a two-year, $2.75MM deal prior to the 2010 season. His production at the plate dropped off significantly in 2011, with his .502 OPS bringing his overall slash line in Philadelphia down to .208/.297/.320 in 286 plate appearances.
Mack
Ugh, why? He has been terrible the last 2 years.
cards2WS
2010 he was solid. ’11 not so much.
Phillies_Aces35
Who do you see on the market that would be worth signing over him besides borderline starting guys (who won’t sign here because of Carlos)?
Mack
Laird, Rodriguez, Navarro. His ability to throw out runners is suspect and he can’t hit. After hearing that Amaro expects Kendrick, Francisco and Valdez to all be back, they basically expect the same terrible bench except gimpy Thome in place of gimpy Gload. Maybe Mini-Mart and Herndon can go away finally as well.
Unless he takes the minimum, I would rather go with a journeyman backup for the minimum. Could they really perform worse than Schneider in 2011.
Phillies_Aces35
Pudge wouldn’t sign here, he wants more playing time probably… Dionner Navvaro’s stats are compareable to Schnieder’s and he’s a clubhouse cancer type.
Laird would be worth acquiring though.
JST1331
what about Jose Molina? Great arm has the ability to hit. He is a quality back up and if Chooch goes down it will be somebody who you can throw in there and be confident with.
Ryan
Why are you such a blind defender of everything and anything that Rube does?
Schneider has not been able to help out offensively at all, and defensively, his best days are FAAAAAAAAAAR behind him as he only threw out 21% of base stealers in 2010, and a horrendous 13% in 2011.
News Flash: Ruiz is not getting any younger, we need a guy who can step in and play on a semi-consistent basis, and NOT be the automatic out, and free pass to second, that Brian Schneider was last year. This is a terrible move no matter how you look at it.
Phillies_Aces35
Like who? You didn’t give any names.
Ruiz’s successor is going to be here in a season or two to back him up. Charlie’s not going to play someone consistantly over Carlos and Ruben knows that and the free agent class knows they’re going to have no shot at catching more than twice a week, if that.
No bench player wants to play for Charlie Manuel. Given Schnieder’s aparent chemistry with Worley, this deal makes sense and there isn’t a great guy out there to replace him with who would concievably A) want to play here or B) is really that much of an upgrade
The guy you describe is a guy who’s a borderline starting player… why would that guy want to play here?
Newsflash: The Phillies have a successor for Carlos Ruiz… Sebastian Valle.
Silence
He isn’t going to be here for much longer, either is Ruiz. Sebastian Valle, a young stud in the minors ( 21 years old ) will be coming up in the near future, he’s not d’Arnaud status but, he’s just as good.
MrBaseball29
I’d rather have Posada
hoagiebuchanan
Is there no one else???
CaseyBlakeDeWitt
.502 OPS? Thats almost Jeff Mathis status..
cards2WS
Never wanna get in THAT zone….
RhapsodyinBlue
Yeah, the catcher market is REALLY this bad
hscphillyboy
I just tasted a little vomit that rolled up into my mouth. The guy’s first 2 HITS last year were home runs…….He ended up with 2 home runs………
CaseyBlakeSnell
It’s not like those 2 home runs were his only hits of the year though. Would you rather of had them be singles?
CaseyBlakeDeWitt
Interesting name sir.
CaseyBlakeSnell
Thank you. You also.
vonhayesdays
looks like youve been out witted , oh that was bad, im sorry , your handle is better but his picture surpasses yours
hscphillyboy
You may wanna check his numbers sport before you start championing the B.S. fan club……….he hit about .150 – .160……..so I don’t think it matters a hell of a lot what those hits were………
CaseyBlakeSnell
I’m not a huge fan of him, but he isn’t the starter either. He isn’t supposed to be out there hitting .300 with a decent amount of home runs when he starts a game a week. Plus he was never the strongest hitter when he was a starter. You can have worse guys as your backup catcher sport.
Phillies_Aces35
He essentially became Worley’s personal catcher by the end of the year. No real issue with this deal, can’t see him making much more than $1 million and you can do worse for a backup catcher.
Good guy too by most accounts. If he and Worley can build off their success together, it’ll be worth it. Nobody else really worth investing money into on the market and he’s already built a chemistry with the staff, namely Worley and Kendrick.
pb111
My buddy is his neighbor, I know for a fact his family had a very tough year this past year. I wish him the best if does come back or moves on.
Tyler 20
hes a solid backup. no harm in this signing
MetsMagic
Even if his offense fell off a cliff he called a great game for the young Worley and helping young pitchers to succeed is a invaluable asset in a veteran catcher. Good signing by the Phillies.
Ryan
True, but here’s the problem. Worley just turned 24, and Schneider will be 35 next week. Worley needs to get used to someone else, and Ruiz is no kid himself. We need someone to take some playing time off of his hands, and Schneider is not that guy.
Christopher David
The role of a backup catcher is not to set the world on fire offensively. If he were that good w/ the stick, he’d be a starting catcher. He needs to be good enough defensively to hop in every few games, or once in awhile during later innings. That’s about it. He and Worley work so well together that by season’s end, Ruiz could count on a day off every 5th game. I mean, for awhile there the Phils were winning nearly all of the games Schneider and Worley started.
The backup catcher market is perennially thin, and 2011 is no exception. Assuming Schneider’s deal is modest, I am all for this signing.
Jimmy the G
Why oh why would you bring back a guy who is old as dirt, can’t hit, can’t throw out runners, or catch a breaking pitch. If they want a decent cheap catching option why not bring Kratz up to the the backup?
Spencer Cowan
Love it, Chooch works 4 and on the 5th he rests. Love schneider, good fit. Welcome back.
Matt Cool
I’m surprised the Phils didn’t compensate him like he was the best catcher in the NL. He should of asked for Johnathan Papelbon money. I don’t understand what the Phillies are doing this offseason. I hate to see a franchise get in the habit of overpaying for marginal talent or for players that are on the decline.
Matt Cool
Like the comments have stated above^^^^ Schneider is a solid backup catcher. As a whole I don’t understand why the Phils are focusing on non essential needs.
philly_red
I like Schneid; he’s a great guy, smart, excellent defensively and good with the staff. You only really look for such qualities in a backup, because they play once a week at most. I’m kind of floored to read that he’s only 34, he looks much older…
hgr900
He’s being brought back to handle the Vanimal
Patricio
Expect the deal to be for 5 years and for over 40 million. I mean this is Ruben Amaro Jr we’re talking about.
Avery Maehrer
Phillies winning percentage when Brian Schneider started a game in 2011: .771. Not too shabby for a back-up catcher. All they really need is a guy who can call a good game. Any hit he gets is a bonus.
Sergio Rodriguez
posada es agente libre viejo pero es mejol que carlo y scneider, al igual que ivan rodriguez, viejitos pero baratos y buenos,