Joe Mauer received the biggest guarantee for a catcher, $184 million in 2010. Buster Posey received the next-biggest, $167 million in 2013.<\/p>\n
Recent history suggests those numbers will not be topped, and the market for catchers will remain depressed. But Drake Baldwin might be an interesting test case, if the Atlanta Braves engage him on an extension.<\/p>\n
Baldwin, 25, is younger than three other catchers who merit long-term consideration, the Athletics\u2019 Shea Langeliers, Milwaukee Brewers\u2019 William Contreras and Baltimore Orioles\u2019 Adley Rutschman, all of whom are 28. He entered the season with only one year of service, as opposed to three for Langeliers and four for Contreras and Rutschman respectively.<\/p>\n
The way Baldwin is playing, batting .313 with 9 home runs and a .923 OPS while appearing in all 36 Braves games, he will be a candidate for National League MVP coming off his award for NL Rookie of the Year.<\/p>\n
The Braves, however, have yet to seriously engage Baldwin in discussions on an extension, according to people briefed on the matter. Their hesitance almost certainly stems from the reason catchers rarely get big money \u2014 the wear and tear of the position, even with days at designated hitter offering occasional relief.<\/p>\n
The last catcher the Braves extended, Sean Murphy at $73 million over six years, provided $39.6 million of value in his first year with the club according to FanGraphs\u2019 dollars metric, which is WAR converted to a dollar scale based on what a player would earn in free agency. But injuries cost Murphy nearly half his team\u2019s games the past two seasons and the first 35 of this one.<\/p>\n
Yes, the risk with catchers is greater.<\/p>\n
Front office types will tell you Mauer underperformed his contract, in large part due to a concussion that forced him to move to first base. Posey, on the other hand, greatly outperformed his deal, virtually doubling its value despite sitting out the 2020 Covid season.<\/p>\n
This is not just about numbers.<\/p>\n
Mauer was a first-ballot Hall of Famer. Posey, who becomes eligible for the first time in the next election, might achieve the same feat. Teams benefit from marketing opportunities when a player is elected to Cooperstown. They benefit in a similar manner when a player spends his entire career with one club, something long-term deals help achieve.<\/p>\n
The Philadelphia Phillies\u2019 J.T. Realmuto was perhaps the catcher best positioned to approximate their contracts, and nearly did. His two free-agent deals combined add up to eight years, $160.5 million. The first of those agreements, reached when he was entering his age 31 season, might have been even greater if it had not been signed amid Covid uncertainty. Realmuto still beat Mauer\u2019s record average annual value for a catcher \u2014 barely, with an AAV of $23.1 million.<\/p>\n
Baldwin, obviously, is a long way from any comparison to Mauer and Posey, and even Realmuto. But he\u2019s also well beyond two catchers who signed extensions with comparable levels of service \u2014 Washington\u2019s Keibert Ruiz (eight years, $50 million as a one-plus player) and Baltimore\u2019s Samuel Basallo (eight years, $67 million just after entering the league).<\/p>\n
The Los Angeles Dodgers\u2019 Will Smith is in the third year of a 10-year, $140 million extension, a deal he signed as a four-plus player. The Seattle Mariners\u2019 Cal Raleigh is in the second year of a six-year, $105 million extension, a deal he signed as a three-plus player, before his 60-homer season. Each of his three free-agent years is valued at $23 million \u2014 Mauer\u2019s AAV.<\/p>\n
No matter what the next labor agreement looks like, some catcher eventually figures to beat Mauer by a sizable amount in AAV, if not total guarantee. Rutschman, Contreras and Langeliers might be on that path. Baldwin, because of his age and early achievement, might stand the best chance of all.<\/p>\n
Smith\u2019s quiet Hall of Fame case<\/p>\n
In his most recent list of active players who might be headed to the Hall of Fame, The Athletic\u2019s Jayson Stark included the Dodgers\u2019 Smith for the first time. That was last July. Smith since has won his third World Series. His quiet case for Cooperstown, befitting for his low-key personality, is only getting stronger.<\/p>\n
Smith wasn\u2019t a Rookie of the Year or MVP like Posey was, but he already has matched Posey in World Series titles. His offensive profile is similar to where Posey\u2019s was at the same point of his career. And he figures to play longer than Posey, who retired at 34. Smith is signed through his age 38 season.<\/p>\n
Through 752 career games:<\/p>\n
Posey: .859 OPS, 102 HRs, 446 RBIs<\/p>\n
Smith: .831 OPS, 131 HRs, 458 RBIs<\/p>\n
No extension in works for Reds\u2019 Stewart<\/p>\n
The Pittsburgh Pirates awarded shortstop Konnor Griffin a nine-year, $140 million extension. The Detroit Tigers signed infielder Kevin McGonigle to an eight-year, $150 million deal.<\/p>\n
So where, Cincinnati Reds fans might ask, is the long-term contract for their team\u2019s own standout rookie, first baseman Sal Stewart?<\/p>\n
Right now, nowhere.<\/p>\n
Stewart, 22, was the National League Rookie of the Month for March\/April, batting .281 with nine homers and 29 RBIs. But the Reds, who offered Kyle Schwarber a five-year free-agent deal in the $125 million range last December, with heavy deferrals in the first year, are not in the same financial position they were then, according to people briefed on their situation. Nor are they in the same position they were when they offered shortstop Elly De La Cruz the richest deal in franchise history<\/a> in the spring of 2025.<\/p>\n The Reds were one of nine major-league teams to terminate deals<\/a> with Main Street Sports Group in February (the Tigers, who play in a larger market, were another). Main Street offered Cincinnati $42 million to stay, down from the $52 million they would have paid under the previous contract, but ultimately could not come up with the money.\u00a0 The Reds then shifted production and distribution of their telecasts to the league, which is selling direct-to-consumer subscription packages \u2014 a less lucrative plan, at least in the short term.<\/p>\n Around that time, owner Bob Castellini authorized the signing of free-agent infielder\/DH Eugenio Su\u00e1rez to a one-year, $15 million contract. The deal put the team over its payroll budget. And with the lingering uncertainty over future revenues, the Reds have yet to even make a formal offer to Stewart, according to people briefed on the matter.<\/p>\n Cardinals on the rise<\/p>\n Young players sometimes tread lightly around veterans, reluctant to express themselves. The St. Louis Cardinals, by trading third baseman Nolan Arenado, first baseman Willson Contreras and right-hander Sonny Gray during the offseason, effectively liberated their youngsters, allowing a new culture to form.<\/p>\n Super utility man Brendan Donovan, another player dealt by first-year president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom, is not the grizzled 30-something the other three were. If anything, Donovan would have fit nicely with this group. The Cardinals, though, felt the return of three prospects and two draft picks was too good to refuse.<\/p>\n With Donovan gone, shortstop Masyn Winn, first baseman Alec Burleson and backup catcher Pedro Pag\u00e9s are emerging as leaders for the position players, left-hander Matthew Liberatore for the pitchers. In recent years, St. Louis previously was a place where a number of young players failed, only to succeed somewhere else. Bloom is trying to reclaim the Cardinals\u2019 identity as an organization built on young talent.<\/p>\n Encouraging as the Cardinals\u2019 position-player group looks, both offensively and defensively, it\u2019s difficult to imagine the team sustaining its 21-14 start with a pitching staff that ranks last in the majors in strikeout rate. But, if at the deadline the Cardinals are within range of a playoff spot, they likely will adjust their rebuilding plan without abandoning it.<\/p>\n In other words, they could act as modest buyers, fortifying their pitching staff while remaining committed to their young talent. It\u2019s a difficult balance to strike, but Bloom is operating with a clear direction \u2014 unlike in Boston, where he initially was tasked with restocking the farm system, only to have the success of the 2021 team heighten expectations for fans and ownership.<\/p>\n Sandy a goner? Maybe not<\/p>\n The Miami Marlins\u2019 demotion of struggling catcher Agust\u00edn Ram\u00edrez on Monday to make room for top prospect Joe Mack did not attract nearly as much attention as the New York Yankees\u2019 decision to option shortstop Anthony Volpe. But it demonstrated the same type of front-office urgency.<\/p>\n