The Rangers are “surveying the market for a possible catching addition,” three sources tell Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. While the Rangers have had interest in Jonathan Lucroy all offseason, Grant cites another source in reporting that the Padres’ Derek Norris is a likelier target at this stage.
Norris, 27, is more affordable for the 2016 season ($2.9MM versus Lucroy’s $4MM), and he’s under control through the 2018 season, whereas Lucroy is controlled only through the 2017 campaign (by virtue of a club option following the upcoming season). While the $1.1MM difference between their 2016 seasons appears largely trivial relative to big league payrolls, Grant notes that the Rangers have already exceeded their projected payroll by $7MM (in large part due to their late signing of Ian Desmond).
Though he had somewhat of a down season at the plate last year, hitting .250/.305/.404, Norris has plenty of bat for the position and has amassed a .256/.333/.405 slash line dating back to 2013 despite playing his home games in the pitcher-friendly confines of Oakland’s O.Co Coliseum and San Diego’s Petco Park. He’s caught 27 percent of opposing base-stealers in the Majors, including a career-best 34 percent with the Padres in 2015. And, he delivered quality framing numbers last season in the eyes of Baseball Prospectus.
From the Padres’ vantage point, catching is a position of depth. Not only does the club have an experienced option in Norris, the club also has a pair of young backstops in the form of Austin Hedges and Christian Bethancourt. Each player has rated among the game’s top 100 prospects as recently as last offseason, though both did struggle in the Majors in 2015. The 23-year-old Hedges, considered one of the best defensive catching prospects in baseball, tallied 152 plate appearances in 2015 but batted a mere .168/.215/.248 in that stretch. Hedges tallied just enough plate appearances to surpass his rookie status, thus making him ineligible for prospect lists, but his defensive prowess and solid production in limited time at Triple-A in 2015 would’ve likely kept him ranked near the top of the Padres’ list of farmhands.
Bethancourt, like Hedges, has eclipsed rookie status despite struggles in the Majors. Acquired in an offseason swap with the Braves, the 24-year-old has hit just .219/.245/.283 in 278 big league plate appearances across the past few seasons with Atlanta. However, Bethancourt hit .327/.359/.480 in 218 Triple-A plate appearances last year and has received grades of 70 to 80 for his arm behind the plate (on the 20-80 scale). However, passed ball issues that some scouts believed he’d eventually correct never improved, resulting in an alarming 14 passed balls in just 73 games last season. Because he’s out of minor league options, Bethancourt will have to be placed on the Padres’ 25-man roster at the end of Spring Training or be exposed to waivers.
This won’t be the first time that Norris’ name has surfaced in trade talks. The Padres reportedly shopped both Norris and Hedges around a bit at the Winter Meetings, Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune reported back in November. More recently (in February, to be exact), Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports said that the Padres were still exploring deals for Norris in Matt Kemp. If the Rangers add Norris, Grant writes, it would allow them to lessen the workload of Robinson Chirinos, perhaps starting him in 70 to 80 games with Norris taking on a slightly larger workload. Internal options for the Rangers would include Michael McKenry, Bobby Wilson and Chris Gimenez. Tigers backstop Bryan Holaday has also seen his name surface in trade rumors recently, as he looks to be third on the Detroit depth chart and is out of minor league options.
I like this. Add some solid pop to the catching position to compliment Chirinos’ great defensive skills. At what cost though. I’d think the only true expendable position in Texas for a big league ready player would be a bullpen arm.
Profar
If it were my choice, no thanks. We haven’t seen any of his potential yet due to injury. Too soon to dump him IMO.
Lol. No
I wonder if the Rangers and Sox can work out a trade for Christian Vazquez… He might be coming off injury but he is a tremendous defender behind the plate. If he improves his hitting just a tad he could end up being the next Yadier Molina. If it wasn’t for the fact that the Sox already have a future perennial all star catcher in Blake Swihart I wouldn’t want to move Vazquez but as is he is expendable.
How about Vazquez for Dillon Tate?
Seems like a win/win for both clubs.
They already have a good defensive catcher in Robinson Chirinos .who has shown more pop at the plate than Vazquez ever has. No way they’re parting with their top pitching prospect who’s a top 50 in all of baseball for a backup catcher.
Agree to disagree
Agree to disagree on what? That Tate is a top 50? That Vazquez has a noodle bat?
That’s a bad trade for Texas. A REALLY bad trade.
Vazquez is recovering from Tommy John surgery and has caught all of 11 innings in spring training. I think the Rangers would want to see him play regularly and know he’s healthy before they’d be interested. Matt Wieters missed 13 months and rarely caught back to back days. I don’t think anyone would trade for Vazquez until next year when they know he can play regularly.
You sir have lost your mind. Dillon Tate was the top pitcher in the draft last year. They aren’t trading him for a back up catcher.
You need to stop posting trade ideas in these comments. You just suggested a back up catcher coming off TJ surgery for a number 4 overall pick who shined in his professional debut last year.
Norris and Austin Smith for Gallo?
Not a chance
Nope
You are going to get a lot of people that won’t like that trade because they over value their prospects. Norris is a 2.5 WAR catcher and that is worth any prospect other than a Seager or Buxton. Gallo is not one of those type of guys. He is a pretty one-dimensional power hitter who hit .240 in the minors and .204 in the majors last year. I also wonder how his left-handed power would play in Petco. It is still the 2nd toughest place for LHB to hit for power.
you’re nuts
Yep. We’re talking about Derek Norris. Derek freaking Norris! Not Buster Posey. Derek Norris.
Yup. We are talking about the 5th best catcher in baseball last year. That means to get him you are going to have to give up either a top prospect or someone as good or better than a proven #3 MLB starter, which is what the Padres gave up to get him. Reality sucks don’t it?
Please tell me you aren’t calling Jesse Hahn as a #3 starter….. Talking about reality, geez.
Thats fine. Its simple you keep him! Its not our problem you over paid to get him.
3.23 career ERA & 3.35 ERA last year means he is definitely a #3 starter or better. Top 30 in the game. Time to go back and check out reality. Last year not a single Rangers starter had a better ERA so he might be a #2 to start the year for the Rangers with Darvish out.
Yep… everyone’s just dying to trade a 40HR power prospect for a 2.5 WAR catcher… Nelson Cruz didn’t flash 40HR power until 2008, at age 27, and by that time, his MLB slash was .231/.282/.385 over 478 trips to the plate. Gallo was 8 years younger when he first showed that kind of potential.
“Potential.” That’s the thing. Norris is proven, Gallo is not. Norris also plays a position the Rangers have very weak starters and no depth at.
Are we talking about the same Gallo that hit under .200 in 351 PA between AAA and the majors with 147 strikeouts in 2015? That’s a 42% SO rate overall and 46% in the majors. SCARY! The same guy who has hit .231 with 311 SO in 679 AB/788 PA, a 40% K%, since arriving in AA in 2014? I wanted to clear that up just so we are talking about the same guy.
Personally, I would hope that Preller doesn’t want Gallo. He is one-dimensional player who will strike out 200+ times per season in the majors and hit .230 or less. He might get 40 home runs in The Bandbox at Arlington, but not in Petco. No, if we are trading with Texas for one of the top 5 catchers in the game in 2015, it needs to be a more well-rounded prospect like Mazara or Brinson or a MLB proven talent.
I agree, I don’t think Preller would want to make that kind of a trade. Gallo is fine in his own right, and I could see him becoming a Chris Davis-type player someday ( the good or the bad version) but I think the Padres would be better off targeting someone else.
Can we please stop pretending WAR is a good stat to evaluate a players talent? You guys realize Kevin Kiermaier (a great player in his own right) was THIRD in the AL last year in WAR behind donaldson and trout? Im sorry that just says a lot. Lot of players much more valuable than kiermaier if you ask me lol.
You understand defense is a thing, right? A run prevented is as good as a run created. Runs win games.
Just because he’s not a big name in a big market he’s not valuable? I’ll bet Tampa values him just as high as those two other names.
Obviously WAR is a terrible stat. Over the last 3 years the top 5 players according to fWAR are Trout, Donaldson, McCuthen, Goldy and Miggy. Any stat that puts Donaldson up there with the other 4 true superstars is obviously flawed. I mean Josh Donaldson the second best player…lol.
You do realize that when you evaluate a player that there is this thing called defense right? He was heads and shoulders better than anyone else in baseball on defense. It wasnt even close and he plays a premium position. Add to that double digit home runs, 18 sb and a .263 BA and .718 OPS and he is extremely valuable player. Go watch some of their games. You will be impressed.
Think about it.. Would you want to give up Margot for a 2.5 WAR player like maybe a Mitch Moreland(2.2)? No, you wouldn’t, and Margot isn’t even on the same level as Gallo.
stop, no way should they do that
Obviously Gallo/Mazara/Brinson are off limits and probably for Norris so is Profar. I like the Rangers upside littered through the system with international prospects and drafts:, guys like Tate/Ortiz/Jairo Beras/Jenkins/Morgan/ Yeyson/Mendez ect
Tate and Ortiz won’t be traded unless it’s a package involving a premier talent. Derek Norris is not a premier talent.
Tate and Ortiz are not elite prospects. They are B level. A 50 or 55 on the scouting scale. Tate has the same ceiling as Hahn who was a MLB pitcher that was traded along with a good relief prospect with MLB experience for Norris a year ago.
You don’t get young, 2.4 WAR catchers under team control for 3 more years for B level prospects. You get them for MLB proven talent or impact prospects. Just take a look at the history of catcher trades.
They are elite prospects. Tate was the first pitcher taken in the draft last year. You’re absolutely nuts.
Do you understand the scouting scale? 65+ is considered elite. They are not at that level. I don’t care where he was taken in the draft. That means that he was overvalued by the team that took him or that is was a weak draft, not that he is an elite prospect. Sorry, that is just the way it is.
Alrighty then. No deal! You aren’t going to get a solid, controllable piece at a premium position for spare parts and fringe prospects.
Ok and you aren’t going to get premium prospects for an average catcher. We aren’t desperate. We have plenty of catching depth.
Both your catchers would be backup catchers on most playoff teams and you guys ARE supposed to be a playoff team in 2016.
Rangers made out fine last season.
Average cheap starting catchers in there prime are very valuable, if you can afford to platoon Norris (not sure how Chirinos is against righties) he’s more than average. Padres are likely to get a top 100 prospect back for him.
Yes, the Rangers made out fine thanks largely to cluster, and outplaying there run differential, neither of which have year to year sustainability especially cluster luck. The Rangers actual play suggested they were roughly 10-12 wins worse than there record. The Astros have a significantly better roster than them.
Our roster is fine. Chirinos is just as good as Norris. Probably better defensively.
“Chirinos is just as good as Norris. Probably better defensively.”
Funniest thing I’ve heard all week.
You are kidding, right? That is sarcasm? Because Chirinos is 4 years older than Norris, has never hit anywhere in the vicinity of Norris in his career and was 5.4 runs worse than Norris on defense last season. 31 is the downhill side of your career, especially for catchers, while 27 is in your prime. That is EXACTLY why the Rangers have been looking for catching help.
Just as funny as the Gallo suggestion is that. Norris WARP last year was 3.3, his FRAA was 11.8, Chirinos WARP was .6 and has never had a FRAA in the positive
Why obviously? As good or better prospects than those 3 were traded both of the past 2 offseasons. Norris was traded for a 24-year-old #2-#3 starter and a promising young reliever with a high 90s FB who had a 1.13 ERA in his first shot at the majors. Both of them were already MLB talent. Mazara and Brinson have no MLB experience and Gallo struggled in AAA and the majors last season hitting under .200 in 351 combined PA. Brinson is just a year removed from 191 SO in the minors. Mazara may be the only one of the 3 that can be considered a can’t miss prospect, but he is certainly not untouchable. Any of the 3 could be included for the 5th best catcher in MLB by WAR who also happens to be under team control for 3 seasons. I don’t like him personally, but that does not mean that Norris is not more valuable than pretty much any prospect you can name including all 3 of those guys.
Lol. I’d hate to know what you want for a good player.
Norris was top 5 in baseball at his position last year. What do you call good?
Lol
All these Padres fans seem meeaaaan
I can handle mean. Its the pure insanity that scares me.
Do you know how to use Fangraphs leaders? Go look for yourself. Top 5 in the game. Maybe baseball is an insane game, but right there in black and white you find Norris ranked 5th. Expand your search to 2014 and 2015. Now he is #7. Still makes him one of the top catchers in the game, only 27 years old, and under team control for 3 more seasons. He is extremely valuable in trade and if that is too much for you to understand, go ask someone else to show you or look for a simpler sport like football.
Again, Jess Hahn has never pitched more than 100 IP, majors or minors, and is almost 27. He is a fringe MLB starter.
Hahn is going into his age 26 season for 2016, he pitched 115 innings in his rookie season of 2014 with the Padres, and he did get hurt last season while putting up an incredible line to that point.
He is healthy now and he would be a #2 on some staffs like the Rangers to start the season. He is a #3 on most.
You want to say Rangers fans are unrealistic, but then you start spouting off nonsense like Jesse Hahn is a #2 starter. He’s not a #2 or #3. Ideally, you slot a guy like Hahn at the BOTTOM of your rotation and hope he stays healthy, which he never has been able to do.
Hahn has proven little in the majors, outside of less than half a season with A’s and Padres where he pitched fairly effectively. If he was the #3 starter on the Rangers, I’d be VERY worried. Thankfully he’d be #4 right now, and #5 when Darvish comes back.
People tend to overvalue a teams’ prospects. Sure, some might become major league talents, but others won’t, so they’re not all guaranteed.
Preller knows both teams minor league systems. Norris is not going to bring back a king’s ransom, but let’s be realistic: if the Rangers really want him, they are going to have to start the negotiations with at least 1 top 100 prospect on the table, and go from there.
Yeah the rangers aren’t moving their number 4 prospect for a catcher that will hit .250/.300/.400 those are numbers chirinos could easily surpass this season if he stays healthy. If Tate moves it’s because they get the Padres to eat half of the contract and give the Rangers a good prospect as well.
Chirinos has never hit that well in his career. It is why he is a career backup catcher. Now he is on the downside of 30. Expect his hitting to regress, not improve at that age.
He’s also better than Norris defensively. I’d much rather have a defensive minded catcher.
Bottom line is if they brought in Norris they would split time. Norris wouldn’t be the everyday catcher.
I don’t think so. Over the past two years he has not been as good and last year he was substantially worse. Facts are facts and they just don’t support the supposition that Chirinos is better on offense or defense.
Chirinos has never had a FRAA in the positive, though I’m not a huge fan of all of BP’s stats, I think they have moved past everyone when it comes to catcher defense and pitcher advanced stats. Norris was +11.8 last year. Chirinos is yearly a bad framer.
Half of what contract? Norris’? He’s barely making any money to begin with.
Chirinos’ 2015 screams fluke. He’s never hit that well ever before, even in the minors, and he’s in his 30s. The Padres had this same thing happen to them in 2014 with Rene Rivera – a career glove-first, no-hit catcher who had a nice offensive season, got traded, and immediately turned back into a good-glove, no-hit catcher. Because of the physical demands of the position, catchers tend to have very short peaks and fluke seasons. And, come on, Chirinos, batted exactly 273 times last season. There’s no way he’s all of a sudden, in his 30s, going to become a full-time good offensive catcher.
Sounds like the Rangers are trying to get the Brewers to lower their asking price on Lucroy with this “rumor.”
I agree on this being a wishy washy “rumor”, likely made to ruffle the feathers of Milwaukee to try to get them to budge on Lucroy. Texas had stated many times they don’t want to part with their big 3 prospects ( Gallo, Mazara & Brinson) and probably Profar as well. If I were San Diego and this rumor did indeed have legs to it, I would ask for Martin Perez straight up. Gives both clubs a major league ready piece that they can plug and play with.
The Rangers hang up immediately. They’re banking on Perez being a major part of their rotation this year.
Yep. Martin Perez isn’t getting traded.
Are we talking about the same Perez that has struggled for 4 years at the major league level and can’t strike out more than 6 per 9 ip? The Padres gave up a better player than him to get Norris plus a good relief prospect.
For @gammaraze, Perez is a #5 starter on any team including the Rangers. Look at the Rangers depth chart. He is listed as #5 on every site. That means he is not being counted on to do much and can easily be replaced by a AAA starter or a swingman like Gonzales. Once Darvish returns in May, Perez may be in the pen. Not a very valuable trade piece.
youre an idiot
First of all I didn’t know the Padres actually had any fans and the few that I have read on these posts are highly delusional. The Rangers are not going to trade Gallo/Brinson/Mazara/Perez or anyone of that ilk. Norris is not Posey or anyone near that caliber. If the Pads want to deal then take your B level plus a C level prospect and like it. If you don’t then keep your light hitting low obp player.
You seriously have zero idea what you are talking about. Perez is a young high upside lefty who is coming off Tommy John surgery. He is very valuable. He’s proven at least if much, if not much more than Jesse freaking Hahn.
Hes not just an idiot. He’s certified insane.
Coming from a guy that thinks that Derek Norris is a top 5 catcher… the truth is that the A’s upgraded at catcher by trading Norris, so the A’s won that trade.
If you believe depth charts are the end-all-be-all, then you really believe that Colby Lewis is a #2 starter? Colby was signed to be the fifth starter once Yu Darvish comes back. He is a proven innings eater, something they are in desperate need of with 60% of their rotation coming off of major injuries. Your judgement lacks anything beyond the most basic analysis. You are assuming that Perez is the only pitcher that could struggle, but if Holland or Darvish suffer a set back, they’re going to need whatever Perez can provide.
And how exactly is a 4.22 ERA considered “struggling” at the MLB level? K-rate isn’t an accurate measure on how great a pitcher is. The fact is that the only struggling Martin Perez has done at the MLB level is staying healthy.
The only thing that I believe you are right on is Perez’s current trade value. A team is only going to be willing to part with a prospect while their trade value is this low when they no longer factor into the team’s plans.
So you can’t find any way to dispute the facts, so you call me a name? Are you a 6-year-old? Should your mommy be helping you with typing here?
I don’t have to think about it. I just go and look at the facts. Do you know how to read a Fangraphs leaderboard? Look at the stats for 2015. Dang, who is that guy in #5? That’s right! Its Derek Norris. What did he rank in 2014 – 2015 combined? 7th. I am sorry that is so hard to understand for you, but there are the facts.
Martin Perez has stunk. He has a 4.22 ERA over the past 4 years and has struggled with poor performance and injuries. He has zero value in trade and he is going to be the Rangers #5 starter and Banister, that is the Rangers manager if you are wondering, has already said so said this spring.
For thurmenmerman who said Perez is coming off TJ surgery, you are incorrect. He has pitched in each of the past 4 seasons and if he was coming off TJ surgery he would not be available this season and he has pitched this spring too. Only in 2013 has he had as many innings at the major league level as Jesse Hahn.
I do know what I am talking about and when I don’t I go look it up, but you don’t seem to like looking things up before you call other out.
Toby, go look up the last 2 trades for arb eligible catchers with a WAR of 2.4 and tell us who the other team got in return. If you are a Rangers fan and you wan’t a catcher better than the two backups you have, you are not going to like the caliber of player you are going to have to give up.
Perez is two years YOUNGER, and has proven more at the major league level. And yes, he came back at the end of the last season after Tommy John surgery. It takes at least a half of a season before returning to full effectiveness. He has NEVER stunk aside from his 2012 season where he was 20/21 years old.
Where was Hahn when he was 20/21? He wasn’t even in professional baseball. Perez is the far superior talent. And the fact you are using Hahn, who has NEVER pitched anywhere close to a full season in the majors or minors, as a comparison as a #2-#3 starter shows how much of a irrational homer you are.
Dave Cameron of Fangraphs just had an article that said Norris plus Ross for Gallo and another decent prospect and the Padres would have to pay most of Ross’s and Norris’s salary. He said the Rangers could trade for Norris straight up but that would be “minor” deal so you wouldn’t be getting the prospects you think he’s worth. Keith Law said basically the same thing yesterday in his chat. I’m not a Rangers or Padres fan but the fact that you think you could get one of the top five texas prospects for Norris is just crazy talk.
I say they just keep what they have. Chirinos is good and Gimenez is pretty good as well. Darvish and Hamels both prefer Gimenez.
I’ll trade you a slightly used 1999 suburban for your new corvette…..
If Preller wants Profar it’s going to take more than Norris. It would have to be a bigger deal from both sides with either Ross or Cashner being a part of it.
the Rangers are over budget as is so cashier or ross doesn’t make sense unless a bigger contract is going back
OMG. Rangers fans are delusional. Profar hasn’t played in 2 years and hit .234/.308 in 324 PA in 2013 before his injuries. He has exactly 15 Ab in spring training this year and has looked awful at the plate and in the field. No one knows if he can even still play. Norris was the 5th best catcher in the game last year and top 7 over past 2 years. He is 27 years old. That is in his prime with 3 more years of team control and an extremely team friendly deal this year.
lol. Profar. He is coming back from a major injury and has proven nothing except that he’s been injured for 2+ yrs.
Exactly. Which is why we have no desire to trade him until he reestablishes his value. No reason to sell low on an average catcher.
So youre saying Norris was better than Brian McCann, Russell Martin, Buster Posey, Yadi Molina and Sal Perez last year? WAR is a terrible statistic. Its not the end all be all by any means.
WAR is not a terrible statistic it is flawed however, especially for catchers. I’d say BP WARP is the best catcher available stat because it covers framing, blocking balls in dirt, and other stuff that WAR does not. Salvador Perez is much worse defensively than his reputation cause he is an awful framer that costs his team strikes. Yadier had a down year last year and was not good.
Of course Norris not as good as Posey (no catcher is), Martin, healthy Lucroy/D’Anaurd/Gomez (of course health is not a given), Grandal, and possibly Cervelli/Yadier, Cervelli we will see just how real last year was (where he was unquestionably better than Norris), Yadier has had 2 straight years with WARP’s slightly under 2. Swihart could breakout and who knows with Weiters. There are some questions with Norris, he’s much better value as a platoon guy but Padres don’t have a left handed catcher. and seem hell bent on making him a every day guy that can hit righties better. Forgot McCann he is probably slightly better though who knows how he ages.
Norris is a good/not great catcher, and would put up better wRC+ numbers not being over worked and platooned a little more.
You are citing a 20 yr olds stats at his first break into the MLB? Profar kept his head above water, which is about all you can ask of a 20 yr old.
He’s an uber talented, 23 yr old SS who, granted is coming off injuries. But you are completely making up that he’s looked terrible in the field. He’s looked the opposite, actually. And at the plate, he hasn’t been bad. I call SSS.
You think Derek Norris is the 5th best catcher in the game and we are the delusional ones? Give up man. Nobody is buying that garbage.
Please, Please, PLEASE take him Rangers. He is SOOOOO bad as a game caller, his defense is just bad and our pitching staff’s ERA would go up a half point with him gone. About the same as it went UP with him behind the plate.
Profar would be great, but since we are stuck with Alexei Ramirez at short & Jon Jay in the OF for a season how about Tate and Kivlehan or Morgan, or a package of Mazzara or Brinson and Faulkner?
Oh, and how is his defense bad?
2nd worst in PB, tied for worst in FP, 2nd most stolen bases against him, many WP that should have been blocked. While he was better than Chirinos in the advanced metrics such as Fangraphs defensive metric, he is just not very good. Add to that mediocre pitch framing and bad game calling and I really don’t like him. It doesn’t mean that he isn’t a very, very valuable trade chip because anyone in top 5 in WAR at any position is very valuable. Much more valuable than pretty much any single prospect.
Aha! You brought up the number of stolen bases allowed!
Like I said before, when you’re looking at stolen bases against a catcher, the only stat that matters is the percentage of runners thrown out. Norris threw out 34% of opposing basestealers in 2015, good for 6th out of 13 qualifying catchers, 10% worse than the league leader and 19% better than the league loser. So at the very least Norris was “average” at throwing out baserunners. Norris had the second most stolen bases against him because, for some reason, he had the most stolen base attempts on him of any catcher in the Majors and it wasn’t even close. More attempts = more successes and more failures. But statistically speaking, he did a decent job throwing out those baserunners. I get the feeling they won’t try it as much on him in 2016.
Among 13 qualifying catchers, he was actually 10th in FP and 11th in PB so while still not good, not as bad as you claim. And then pitch framing and calling are too hard to quantify to even be worth discussing here.
No response? Figures.
Oh and don’t bad mouth any of our players on here while they are being shopped. You never which opposing GM’s might be reading…
So you agree with me, but think the Rangers GM might read the comments on here? LOL. Ok. I’m a fan and I am pretty sure he doesn’t give one second to consider what any fan thinks.
The GM part was more of a joke but you can’t be bad mouthing him and trying to sell him to the other team’s fans on the same thread.
Norris is a starting caliber Catcher so a package of Josh Morgan and Brett Martin would seem to be fair. It gives the Padres a couple projectable prospects while the team won’t be very competitive the next couple seasons. There are a lot of raw but high reward prospects in Ranger the system that but have issues with injuries or other concerns that would scare me off from trading a proven 2-3 WAR player.
I feel like this is more realistic of a trade. Norris is a solid catcher but the idea of him brining back a top prospect seems like a stretch here.
Preller is going to want something of value, and he knows the Rangers system. Maybe Norris can bring back one top 100 prospect and another lesser prospect, but I guess it just depends what Preller wants.
Josh Morgan and Brett Martin for Derek Norris? A couple solid prospects that will fill future needs for the Padres for when we are more competitive in 2018 or 2019.
That’s sounds much more realistic than any other insane proposal I’ve read here tonight.
Sounds about right.
Bryan Holaday has learned from the famed Brad Ausmus on how to catch with both hands and even without a glove. What a steal, plus it would mean no more free holidays for base runners..
a trade for Norris wont happen this late in ST. And I wouldnt be a bit surprised if he was extended, actually. Hedges is valuable…mostly defensively, but his bat is lagging. They’re hoping that the new hitting coach, working in concert with McGwire (new bench coach) can turn Hedges into a hitter. But I just dont think long term, he develops offensively, the way Molina did.
if Norris has an even better season this year with the bat, with 82 games in a pitchers ballpark, it could very well mean a nice extension for him, and Austin Hedges, being traded. Bethancourt, is out of options and may very well be sent elsewhere by the time Spring Training is done….they have another guy named, Kratz, who could probably replace Bethancourt, and they wouldnt be worse for wear.
Preller is unpredictable….but he knows very well how necessary Derek Norris will be to the teams’ success this season, and beyond.
Now if the team falls flat again this season, and they’re outta contention, early, Norris is gone. As well as Kemp and anybody else of value, not named Tyson Ross.
Kemp is completely untradeable at this point unless the Padres eat all of his contract (the part that’s not being paid by the Dodgers, that is.) Kemp is just a bad player at this point.
Funny that in 2015 a guy who has a strong 2nd half and finishes with 100 RBIs while missing the last 8 or so games of the season is a bad player – D will improve this year especially with a real center fielder playing next to him and Andy Green positioning him better
sorry, I meant 81 games..lol
Carlos Ruiz and a bag of balls for some Rangers tickets.