Detroit Tigers: Ranking All 17 of Al Avila’s 2016 Acquisitions

6. Jarrod Saltalamacchia

WAR: 0.1

OPS: .630

wRC+: 69

wOBA: .277

ISO: .175

On the surface, a .171 batting average and a .284 on-base percentage don’t seem like much to write home about, but Saltalamacchia provide significant value to the Detroit Tigers.

The backstop hit a number of clutch home runs while serving as an offensive option off the bench.

In April games against the Pirates and Astros, the man commonly referred to as Salty blasted go-ahead home runs in the sixth inning of each contest.

He also crushed a two-run, walk off blast against former Tiger Joakim Soria in mid-July. Saltalamacchia also went deep to tie games late against Chicago on two separate occasions down the stretch.

All told, the catcher collected 38 RBI, 30 runs scored, 12 home runs, five doubles and a triple in 92 games despite a .222 BABIP. He also threw out 24% of would-be base thieves.

In fact, in some offensive categories, Saltalamacchia actually out-produced regular starter James McCann. Salty outdid his catching counterpart where a number of statistical categories were concerned, including ISO, wOBA, wRC+ and OPS.

Just as with Aybar, the catcher is a free agent following the conclusion of the World Series. Given his clutch tendencies and his ability to be a offensive threat off the bench, it wouldn’t be a shock to see him return to the Motor City.