The Marlins have announced that they’ve exercised their $1.5MM team option on catcher Jeff Mathis. The 31-year-old has never hit well — his .200/.263/.274 line in 195 plate appearances last year is roughly in line with his .196/.256/.307 numbers in parts of ten big-league seasons.
His option costs very little, however, and well evaluations of his defense have varied over the years, he graded fairly well behind the plate last year, catching 16 of 49 would-be base stealers and posting decent blocking and framing numbers. He’ll serve as Jarrod Saltalamacchia’s backup again next season.
What ever happened to Rob Brantly?
He’s just another example of why the Marlins should never do another trade with Detroit.
Sophomore jinx or already busted. He was not a good backup catcher both offensively and defensively.