Stewart: Price To High For Catcher On Trade Market

When the Diamondbacks traded veteran catcher Miguel Montero to the Cubs to shred his $40 million dollar salary, General Manager Dave Stewart made it seem that acquiring a catcher to go along with Tuffy Gosewisch was a must.

According to a report by Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic, Stewart doesn’t feel that way anymore after looking at the cost of catchers on the trade market. This is what he told the paper about that situation:

“We’ve not made a whole lot of headway in that area yet,” Stewart said. “Without really giving up something that’s going to cost us a player that we don’t want to give away, we don’t have a whole lot of motion yet.”

The Diamondbacks certainly have the money and prospects to trade for a solid veteran backstop, but the Snakes shouldn’t give up to much especially when Peter O’Brien should be ready by 2016.

Arizona doesn’t have a lot of leverage in negotiations with other teams because catcher is an obvious need for the Dbacks. As a result, other teams are asking for top prospects in return, and Stewart is simply not willing to do that.

The Diamondbacks have talked to the Cubs about Wellington Castillo, and the Blue Jays about Dioner Navarro who is expendable after Toronto signed Russell Martin.

Stewart has also mentioned in the past that the team has had interest in Tigers backstop Alex Avila. Giving up top prospects for any of those catchers would be foolish. Unless rival G.M’s reduce their demands, the Dbacks probably won’t acquire a catcher.

That means that Gosewisch would be the everyday guy behind the plate come Opening Night. He has certainly earned the right to get more playing time, and he is a great defensive catcher.

However, Tuffy has appeared in just 55 games in the majors and owns a career slash line of .213/.225/.287. Oscar Hernandez, who was acquired in the Rule 5 draft, would be the backup. He hasn’t played above High A.

If the Dbacks do nothing about their catching situation, they will have the weakest catching tandem in the majors. Stewart is hoping that other guys in the lineup can make up for the lack of production at the catching position.

While that is entirely possible, I believe something has to be done. What do you think should be done about the catching situation? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below!