The Reds have re-signed catcher Luke Maile to a one-year contract with a club option for 2025, the team announced. Maile is guaranteed $3.5MM on the new deal (per Mark Sheldon of MLB.com).
Maile, now 32, was signed by the Reds a little less than a year ago, inking a one-year deal with a $1.175MM guarantee in November. The club also nabbed Curt Casali in the same offseason, hoping that a three-catcher system would keep Tyler Stephenson healthy all year by allowing him to spend some time at first base and designated hitter.
That plan worked insofar as Stephenson stayed healthy enough to play 142 games compared to just 50 in 2022, though his production didn’t cooperate. Stephenson had hit a strong .319/.372/.482 in 2022 but fell to .243/.317/.378 in 2023, his wRC+ going from 135 to 85.
Maile’s offensive production was fairly similar this year, as he hit .235/.308/.391 in his 199 plate appearances, but he brought a strong defensive reputation to the club. Defensive Runs Saved has never tagged him with a negative number and his +1 this year pushed his career tally to +22. Pitch framing metrics have soured on him a bit in recent years but he still has positive grades there for his career as a whole. He rated as above-average on Statcast’s blocking leaderboard and throwing leaderboard this year.
Perhaps more importantly than the metrics, it seems Maile was a good fit on the club, a key trait for catchers as they need to have a working relationship with everyone on the pitching staff. “He was great with all of our guys,” Reds president of baseball operations Nick Krall said today, as relayed by Mark Sheldon of MLB.com. “Staff loved him, players loved him. He was a really good fit. He’s a tremendous guy.” Krall added: “He’s a guy our pitchers were comfortable with, our coaches were comfortable with,” he said. “We loved having him this year. It was a pretty easy decision.”
Maile was set to become a free agent in a couple of weeks but it seems the club liked him enough to prevent that from happening. The $3.5MM guarantee is roughly triple what he got at this time a year ago but is still a perfectly reasonable salary for a solid backup catcher.
The catching options on the free agent market aren’t amazing and the Reds have bigger needs on the roster, particularly the pitching staff, so their best seems to be to give Stephenson a chance to get back on track in 2024. He will qualify for arbitration for the first time but will still be affordable and have the potential upside he has shown previously.
Both Maile and Casali were set to become free agents, the latter having a 2024 mutual options with the Reds. Mutual options are rarely picked up by both sides and Casali hit a dismal .175/.290/.200 in 2023. It seems fair to expect the club will move on from him and go with the Stephenson-Maile pairing next year.
There is still the possibility that they add a third catcher to keep Stephenson fresh again, though that plan will be a little more challenging next year. The club graduated a large number of position player prospects in 2023, which means their first base and designated hitter slots are far more crowded now compared to a year ago. Even if Joey Votto isn’t back next year, they will likely have Christian Encarnacion-Strand and Spencer Steer taking time at first, with Elly De La Cruz and Noelvi Marte perhaps squeezed into DH duty by the presence of Matt McLain and Jonathan India in the middle infield. This squeeze already affected Stephenson in 2023, as he got plenty of starts at DH in the first half of the season but just one after July 6.
A lukewarm stove
Oh, what an earth-shattering signing! Luke Maile is back, and I can already feel the excitement radiating from fans. The Reds must be planning a World Series parade as we speak.
I sense a hint of sarcasm in your reply.
Re-signing a back-up catcher got you this upset? a necessary move…they can’t all be blockbusters.
@Dog-Faced Gremlin
Oh, absolutely! I mean, who needs excitement or drama in baseball? The thrill of a backup catcher re-signing is unparalleled! It’s almost like watching paint dry… but in a stadium.
Not clever.
Better money then what garver will get ,and give in production , for the players age
Luke had a good year. Glad to see him back and he’ll be vital for that young pitching staff.
Nice raise. Good for him.
Career earnings $4,112,400 (8 years)
New contract $3,500,000 (1 year?)
Must have one something on them… Blackmaile?
> Must have one something on them…
> Blackmaile?
Sorry?
No, wait…
Congratulations!
I didn’t think it was possible but you managed to answer incorrectly to a question that wasn’t asked.
language arts, my guy! (unless you’re Tonto, then I apologize)
$ breakdown hasn’t been reported yet but it’s probably going to be something like 2.75M in 2024 with a 3.5M TOPT for 2025 with a .75M buyout. And Maile has made about 5M$ in 6 years of service to date when you include prorated saleries from 2015-2017 and his split salary in 2021.
Decent move. Keeps the Catcher core intact (though i don’t see Casali coming back, i also don’t see the Reds carrying 3 Catchers next season)
Catching duties were well balanced last season, I hope Stephenson will be able to improve his offensive numbers.
Luke worked well with Reds young staff.Solid defender. With this signing, Krall and staff can concentrate on identifying and signing some (hopefully) young pitching to augment what they already have. Exciting times to be a Reds fan.
Good move. One of the few I definitely expected this off-season.
Glad to see Luke back.
Must be tough having too many good players in the IF to be able to play them all on a regular basis. Me thinks a trade is coming! Just don’t pick the wrong one to trade. (Jeff Bagwell instead of Scott Cooper to Houston comes to mind).
India is probably the one to trade. Otherwise mix him in as the DH. His defense isn’t that good and his offense fell off last season. I think the Reds need to sign a cheaper middle of the road starter for insurance and a couple of relievers and call it a day this off season. I would like to sign Sonny Gray but he will be too expensive (north of 20 million per year plus losing a draft pick).. At his age an injury is always likely as well. A cheaper middle of the road starter makes sense since we have a couple or 3 top rated starters that are nearly ready in the minors.
India is the most obvious trade candidate. But he seems to have some kind of special status in the clubhouse. Don’t know if that’s real or just media talk. At any rate, the infield is getting crowded.
The trouble is that the players the fans want to trade don’t bring as much back as the players the fans don’t want to trade.
Keep hearing needs on the SP. The need is HEALTH! 2nd problem with the staff is they haven’t throw a whole lot innings outside of Abbott this year. Too win it all, you need at least 2 guys throwing 200 innings, including the playoffs. Not sure they have 2 that is capable yet. Rather than 20 mill on a Giolito, I’d keep Ben Lively. Ben threw some very good game’s for a #5 or maybe they bring him back, and go with a 6 man staff.
omg….lively? we can do a LOT better
Teams can negotiate already with their players? Thought post season had to end first. Or is that only in MLB the Show?
If they are still under team control, they can be signed anytime.
Overpay for a 33 year (in 2024) mediocre backup with a history of injuries. This guy hit .235 and it was a career year. So they tripled his salary? WTF. Better move would be to call SF and ask to swap the underachievers Senzel and Bart. Giants banished him to minors last year so maybe they move him. Bart is younger, cheaper, more years of control, and has a lot more upside than Maile. And if he breaks out he could form a two headed monster at catcher with Stephenson. Also should have used that $3 million as a piece of a long-term deal for some of this young core they need to start locking up. Maybe Reds could get some hometown discounts if they front load the deals. It’s gets some extra coin in the players pockets before expected and saves some money for the Reds down the road so the have flexibility. I hate it when the Reds sign five pieces of trash for 3 million each but can’t afford an All-Star for 15 million. It’s just stupid.
You’re not looking at the intangibles that Maile brings, and he’s far from a piece of trash. This young staff trusts him, which is immeasurable. That’s not a bad thought about Bart, but I imagine every other team in baseball is thinking the same thing. As for Stephenson, I don’t think he was 100% recovered from the shoulder surgery. I look for him to have a huge year in ’24. They do need to sign extensions with the younger players. I’d start with McClain, then CES. I know, Boras. But they have to try..
You want a veteran catcher with a young staff and those who don’t want to give up prospects would not want to for soneone else’s failed prospect (otherwise why did he lose his job?). Also, it is not like there is another catcher in the system close to ready for the big leagues.
Dude is solid and came up with some timely hits this season, glad to have him back
Love that pitch framing metric. I guess Stephenson just plum forgot how to catch. It couldn’t possibly have anything to do with the umpires assigned to the games he caught. More likely he should be checked for arthritis. Ya can’t jerk the ball back into the zone if you be stiff.
Pitch framing is overrated. A good umpire is not fooled by that.
Nuke Maile, good vibes guy when he was in Cleveland