The Texas Rangers designated catcher Max Ramirez for assignment on Monday while clearing roster space for Brandon Webb and Arthur Rhodes. Ramirez only has a handful of career big league at-bats, but has hit .298/.396/.476 in 7 minor league seasons. 2011 will be his age 26 season.
I only bring this up because the backup catcher position is one of the few wide-open spots left on the roster. By most accounts, Ramirez isn’t a great defender behind the plate, but he’s not as bad as George Kottaras. With the bat, he’s even more patient than Kottaras is, putting up some huge BB% numbers in the minors. He’s also a better bet to hit for more power and a higher average than Kottaras.
The Brewers have already added Wil Nieves to the mix and will also have Martin Maldonado in camp to compete for the backup spot behind Jonathan Lucroy, but Ramirez would be an upgrade over just about everyone currently on the roster, including Lucroy. The Rangers have 10 days to trade, release, or waive him.
As a former Top 100 prospect that’s still shown an ability to hit, he’s not going to make it through waivers. With so many teams in need of solid catching, I doubt the Rangers will trade him for peanuts, either. For those reasons, I don’t see the Brewers realistically getting involved, but it is fun to think about.
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