I talked about Ryan Doumit’s terrible defense in my last post, but after his error at first base in last night’s game literally cost the Pirates a win, I think it’s time to expound on that.
There’s no two ways about it: Ryan Doumit is horrible at everything but hitting. We saw last night what he does when at first base, and as a catcher he allows too many passed balls, has gunned down only four would-be base thieves as compared to the 47 who have stolen off him, and has trouble with simple things like blocking the plate.
The fact is, Doumit is not going to be a long-term problem with his glove for the Pirates. With Tony Sanchez coming up the pipe, we’ll have a catcher that was rated as the best defensive catcher in the draft class, and who scouts said was defensively ready for the big leagues the day he was drafted. It also helps that he’s been hitting well in the minor leagues so far. And with Jason Jaramillo on the big-league club and Erik Kratz in AAA, the team has two solid if unspectacular options to go to if Doumit were to be traded.
The catch here is that catcher – a position that Doumit is terrible at – is the only position he can be without having a below-average bat. Doumit is a career .272/.334/.447 line. Those numbers are above average for a catcher, but very poor for a first baseman, designated hitter or outfielder. It makes one wonder if a team would want him in the first place.
Now, I’m not saying Doumit has no value to an AL club. A designated hitter who can also be an emergency catcher, first baseman or outfielder has some value. I’m just saying that the return will probably be minimal, and if Doumit is traded, we should think of it more as a move to get him off the diamond than as a move to acquire talent.
I told Cory before the season in one of our podcasts that I felt Tampa Bay would have a use for Doumit. I still think that’s true. Pena still has his power but his hitting under the Mendoza Line. Navarro and Shoppach aren’t hitting anything. And they are now trotting out Hank Blalock as a DH, sometimes John Jaso. Needless to say, they are lacking. Doumit could give them a solid, switch-hitting option at DH/C/1B/RF, wherever they want to try to stick him in the field once a week.
What he could get in return, who knows. But I’m sure the Rays have talent from which to choose. Maybe Doumit and Cedeno could land Brignac and low-level bat. I don’t know, just throwing out names.