6:11pm: The Orioles are not expected to land the backstop, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com reports on Twitter.
6:08pm: A deal could come together by tomorrow, tweets Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. The Mariners, Orioles, and Royals are the teams that have joined the D’Backs in pursuit, per Cafardo.
9:11am: The D’Backs are joined by three other teams in “looking at” the backstop, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports on Twitter. The Red Sox and Rays are not among them, he adds.
8:28am: Arizona has indeed already reached out to Saltalamacchia, tweets Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca. Multiple clubs are involved early in the process, per the report.
8:19am: The Diamondbacks are considering a run at newly-minted free agent catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports. Arizona was said to be one of the teams discussing the veteran with the Marlins prior to his release.
“He’s a player that we’re going to talk a little bit more in-depth about,” said GM Dave Stewart. “I have to see what our scouts are saying and talk to our internal guys, and if it makes sense then we’ll make the next step.”
Now that Saltalamacchia’s large salary is destined to remain entirely on the Marlins’ tab, clubs can pursue him as a risk-free addition. It remains to be seen what kind of market will develop now that Salty is back on the open market, but competition to acquire his services will presumably focus on non-compensatory matters, such as playing time, fit, and location.
Arizona’s catching situation has been as unproductive as expected, though at least four other teams have compiled more negative fWAR at the position. Starter Tuffy Gosewisch has slashed just .176/.222/.176 through 72 plate appearances. And while the versatile Jordan Pacheco has provided some value offensively, his .280/.379/.400 slash is fueled by a .400 BABIP and seems highly likely to come back to earth.
Stewart acknowledged that situation, saying while he liked the job Gosewisch has done behind the plate, “we still expect a little more offense from him.” While the rookie GM did not give any indication that Gosewisch’s time was short, he did make clear that change was not out of the question: “He may make those adjustments,” said Stewart, “but with that being said, we have to at least go through the process internally and see if Saltalamacchia is an option to bring here.”
All said, the D’Backs look like precisely the kind of club that ought to take a shot on a return to form from Saltalamacchia, who just turned thirty a few days ago. He may never get back to the low-OBP but high-power option he was before going to Miami, but his ceiling is known and is obviously higher than that of most freely available talent. At the very least, the switch-hitting Saltalamacchia has always high right-handed pitching, making him a useful option to pair with a right-handed bat.
The guy has been on waivers for ten days with the possibility to be a free agent, his position is your biggest weakness and NOW you’re going to talk to your scouts and internal guys about him? Yikes
Probably a smoke-screen….
I guess. But he’s a guy that if you offer him a job, he’s likely to sign. It’s not like they’re pursuing someone in high demand.
Basically everything Stewart has said since becoming GM has been completely backwards. Not interested = interested. Interested = not interested.
So they’re not going to pursue Salty? Not surprising, I guess.
That or they’ve been interested since Day 1.
Makes sense. Arizona doesn’t have to part with any money or players, so it makes sense to try and work a deal. Nothing to lose. If he works out, good. If not, turn him loose. Marlins are on the hook for his salary
Had to wonder how long before the D-Backs looked for somebody.. ANYBODY to replace Gosewich behind the plate. During ST it sounded awfully strange that Stewart was going to head into the season with him, even Salty is a major upgrade over those 2.
Did anyone else read the article headline and imagine a Dukes-of-Hazzard-type car chase?
Yep. And Stewart standing outside his car talking to his guys to see if he should join the pursuit. Haha
610 times man has dared to steal off Salty. 475 times man has succeeded. I would let Bartolo Colon try a theft off of Salty.
Saying “we still expect a little more offense from him” talking about Tuffy Gosewich… that has to qualify as a candidate for Understatement of the Year, doesn’t it? It would be more proper to say “We still expect any offense at all from him”.
Seems like the Reds would be a logical fit, with Mesoraco out and this having little cost consequence.
I thought the same thing but the Reds aren’t known for doing things that make sense. For whatever reason they are letting Mesoraco pinch hit and DH in a few days.
The Mesoraco situation is bizarre to say the least
Mesoraco needs to be DL’d for sure, but is adding Salty really any kind of upgrade over the current Pena/Barnhart combo?
So tell me how is a guy who only hit .220 last season and currently hitting .069 going to help the problem especially when the current starters have hit better and defense is not the problem?
He’s barely played this year and batting average isn’t the greatest way to evaluate a player. Saltalamacchia’s not a great player but he’s a reasonable bat for a catcher.
No Salty for the Orioles….No biggie.
Truth be told, I am not sure why they haven’t taken a gander at Cody Ross.
That is who I would want.
Not a fit for Baltimore? Yea! Let him darken someone else’s door.