Its also a little irritating that all these guys were just as available to come up last year this. They could've had this surge last year and been capitalizing on it in 2018. They got Madrigal out of it so whatever, but hopefully they realize this team is figuring it out.

Many Cub fans here seem to take my viewpoint on situations like this as a personal attack on the Cubs. It clearly is not.

Ask yourself this question- if Zack Collins is everything you want him to be, is he really better than what Narvaez has already show himself to be at the big league level? I don't see how. Platoon player? In his "weaker" split vs. lefties, he gets on base 38% of the time. And no, Narvaez isn't Johnny Bench behind the plate, but so what? He'd be my guy to catch 120 games and I'd have my backup be a defensive guy.

But you're probably right. Chances are Narvaez plays in a World Series as Billy Beane's starting catcher while we get to enjoy Zack Collins striking out.

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

First time for everything, I guess....

I've been thinking about that lately as well. I think the best case scenario for Collins is what Narvaez is currently doing but with more pop (which isn't nothing). Collins has 25 HR potential.

I don't know why you turn it as a denigration of Collins. Narvaez is a success story. Two years of consistently good AB and high OBP and a LH bat to boot.

_________________
O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

The only LH power they have right now is Palka and Delmonico. And other than Collins that includes the minors until you get down to Winston-Salem where Sheets and Rutherford are. And neither of those two have really realized their power potential at all (yet).

If Collins can be a more versatile defensive version (C/1b/DH) of Palka with about 100 points more of OBP that's pretty huge. Collins definitely has the power. 15 HR in Birmingham is a real accomplishment. You just worry about the same thing that happened to Moncada happening to Collins, which is the K's just become such a huge disaster that it bleeds into every part of his offensive game.

There's nothing really wrong with carrying three catchers on the ML roster. Narvaez/Castillo/Collins would come at the expense of carrying a true DH on the roster. Collins is coming for Davidson's spot, not Narvaez's.

It's not a denigration of Collins. Collins is a prospect. I don't know what he may be, But the chances aren't good he'll ever be as good as Narvaez already is. To shitcan Narvaez in favor of your first round draft choice is the kind of dumb thing that the Sox do all the time. You got lucky with a guy who is probably one of the top five offensive catchers in the game. I just don't want them to squander that luck (or to doubt that what they are seeing is really happening) chasing something else. Let Collins play first if he's good enough.

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

Omar is a decent hitter and could be a good back-up catcher for awhile but he is a terrible receiver behind the plate. He cannot even begin to frame a pitch because he is not balanced in his crouch.

_________________
An Ode to the Texas man who shot an Antifa terrorist:

Oh, he might have went on livin'
But he made one fatal slip
When he tried to match the Ranger
With the big iron on his hip

They do not have to shitcan Narvaez. THey can keep him around for his bat as a DH, PH, and a guy who can get 200 or so ABs a season. But they need to get someone better as a receiver. Its important particularly with a very young pitching staff.

_________________
An Ode to the Texas man who shot an Antifa terrorist:

Oh, he might have went on livin'
But he made one fatal slip
When he tried to match the Ranger
With the big iron on his hip

That isn't Collins though. And you know what really helps a pitching staff? A catcher who gets on base 36% of the time.

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

Uh it would definitely be Collins playing 1b and DH. Narvaez is a decent defensive catcher and compared to Collins he might as well be gold glove material.

Smith is more in sync with the young pitchers. It could be cognitive dissonance, but the young guys seem better with him back there. He's smart, gung ho and a chirper. There's plenty of room for Narvaez. Give him a 1st baseman's glove, a DH bat, and backup catcher's equipment. Worry about Collins place when it's time to worry about Collins place.

I get that the young pitchers love Kevan Smith but the guy brings nothing offensively and his age would suggest you are witnessing him at the absolute peak of his "powers".

See, for me, if Narvaez isn't your everyday catcher, I don't have room for him on the team. He doesn't have enough power for a guy I want at first or DH and he isn't good enough defensively to be the backup catcher. And I think that's exactly how the Sox will see it when they get rid of him, instead of just letting him catch and get on base like a fucking machine. He'll probably be doing it in Oakland. Maybe Beane can even get both him and Palka for some athletic centerfielder with no bat and a third rate pitching prospect.

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

Go get a track athlete with no hands, and I'll be convinced that Al Davis' spirit possessed Rick Hahn

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You make perfect sense. This is a me problem. I'm pitching-centric. Pitching wins playoff games. So I want the best catcher I can get to help my pitchers be the best they can be. There's room on my team for David Ross. Plus it's my personal opinion that Omar stinks behind the plate. Smith is a TON better.

There is room for three catchers. There is even room for Narvaez to see some DH/1b time if they are willing to get creative with lineups. God willing Moncada gets his shit together even a little bit you've got him at 2nd (switch), Collins taking a day or so a week behind the plate (left), Eloy in the of (right) and Abreu at 1st (right)...that's enough power from both sides of the plate for one lineup. What it needs is guys to get on base for it. Narvaez cant run well but whatever. Give me a guy with a .378 obp who cant run in front of Eloy Jimenez rather than a .300 obp guy who can fly.

Narvaez has just enough offense to be a decent hitter in his own right. If he played 1b instead of catcher he'd be tied with Cody Bellinger for 12th best OPS among first basemen (minimum 250 plate appearances). .800+ OPS plays anywhere comfortably. DH, left field, 1st...once past that mark you justify putting a player just about anywhere.

I share Jorr's worry that Hahn won't let this play out. Next year is a development year. No carts before the horse please.

There is not room for 3 catchers. Leury can pitch and catch!

Narvaez is a good hitter, but he needs to get better blocking pitches in the dirt. When you have guys like Giolito and Rodon who can throw wipeout sliders/curves, the catcher needs to be able to save those balls from the backstop. Narvaez must improve in that department.


I'm hoping those past deals were more Kenny moves and not organeyezational moves, and that Hahn will have enough sense to make Narvaez the #1 catcher next year. No point in going out to sign a Castillo or Soto.

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Fair enough. I guess it depends on how your lineup is constructed. If you have enough offense in other spots you can afford Charlie O'Brien behind the plate. My point is that everyone is looking for a catcher who can hit like Narvaez. I would hate to toss him aside just because you stumbled upon him by accident rather than in the first round of the draft.

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

Castillo was an odd signing at the stage they are at. I thought it may have been because Machado is his best friend.

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

They thought they had swooped everyone at the beginning of free agency, but last year was really a sea change in terms of how teams want to spend. Castillo got paid twice as much as Mike Moustakas.

I'm not demanding Omar become a pitcher whisperer and leader all great catchers are. Just be adequate. There's an ambiance of comfort in me when Smith is catching Giolito and Lopez. Did you happen to catch the mound visit from Coop? He gets there and has to wait for Smith to get done saying whatever it is he's saying to Lopez. He didn't give a fuck that Coop is standing right there looking at his watch. And Lopez' eyes were on Smith. He cared what he had to say.

But, I got one foot in your boat. It should play out and Hahn should procrastinate because it will sort itself out, most likely.

A scenario where Navarez, Collins, and either Smith or another defense-first catcher are each starting 45-60 games behind the plate, Collins is getting another 90 games in LF, and Navarez is getting another 50 games at DH and getting a lot of pinch hit opportunities... I just don't think that is that bad of a scenario.

Eventually, either Collins or Navarez proves to be the worse defensive catcher and you get them out of the rotation, or they both turn out to be adequate and you launch the defense-only catcher.

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"When people want their version of the truth, they go find it, no matter how baseless their beliefs." -- Ken Rosenthal

Out of curiosity, how are you so sure that the Narvaez we are seeing this year is the real Narvaez? His OPS was .713 last year and .689 the year before. What if the real Narvaez is more of .750 to .780 guy? Is he still worth keeping?

I'm pretty sure considering how he controls the strikezone. I think he's very similar to Pierzynski except he isn't an asshole.

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

Collins would be 1b/DH. LF is going to be Eloy-land for the next 20 years.

His increase in power, basically from having none to having some, is what is driving this improvement. Could be roids, which means you can count on him sustaining it until (if) he gets caught.

Yep. The OBP is almost identical to last year in the .370s.

_________________
O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

How hard are you squinting these days?

Having three catchers is ridiculous unless one of the three can hit for power and play another position. Narvaez is not that guy and is a weak defensive catcher. Very weak.

_________________
An Ode to the Texas man who shot an Antifa terrorist:

Oh, he might have went on livin'
But he made one fatal slip
When he tried to match the Ranger
With the big iron on his hip