Three Arizona Diamondbacks players that won't be on the Opening Day roster

Jose Herrera

Jose Herrera has served as the Diamondbacks’ backup catcher for the last two seasons. However, he has hit rather poorly with mediocre defense in both years. Last season, Herrera collected 120 plate appearances, slashing .208/.396/.257. He has yet to hit his first Major League home run, and only five of his 21 hits from last year went for extra bases. Herrera drew a walk in 10.8% of his plate appearances but also struck out at a below-average 25% of the time.

If Herrera’s bat was the only issue, then he’d be a perfectly fine secondary catcher. But his glove was atrocious in 2023. Herrera was worth -6 defensive runs saved with -6.1 framing runs. He did have an outstanding 1.92-second pop time, but his arm was slightly sub-par, as his throws averaged 81.4 MPH. In terms of blocking, he was about average and allowed three passed balls.

For most backup catchers, you’re not expecting any offensive value. Catchers across baseball last year averaged a sub-.700 OPS. But you still want someone who can field his position with grace behind the dish. Catching is a defense-first position.

Herrera set an extremely low bar that I think someone else will take over the second catcher role. The Diamondbacks have signed both Tucker Barnhart and Ronaldo Hernandez to minor league contracts with Spring Training invites this off-season. Herrera isn’t guaranteed a spot anyway because he still has a minor league option remaining.