Detroit Tigers could use veteran catching depth at Triple-A

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DETROIT, MI – AUGUST 4: Al Avila laughs during a news conference at Comerica Park after he was promoted to executive vice president of baseball operations and general manager on August 4, 2015 in Detroit, Michigan. Avila replaces Dave Dombrowski who was the Tigers’ general manager since 2002. (Photo by Duane Burleson/Getty Images) /

The Detroit Tigers have consistently found veteran help behind the plate in years past. Rafael Lopez and Hector Sanchez each represent solid depth options to stash at Triple-A in 2018.

Despite being a relatively thin position throughout the majors, the Detroit Tigers have rarely struggled with catching depth.

James McCann has been the Tigers starting catcher since 2015.

Behind him has been a revolving door of veteran backstops, including Alex Avila, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Bobby Wilson, Bryan Holaday and current backup John Hicks.

Heading into 2018, McCann and Hicks are expected to be the opening day catchers.

However, the Tigers are a bit thin behind those two.

Prospect Grayson Greiner is likely the third catcher on the depth chart and potentially the starter at Triple-A Toledo.

Greiner is a solid catching prospect, but he only has 14 at-bats at Triple-A in his career. He spent most of 2017 at Double-A, hitting .241 with 14 home runs and a 108 wRC+.

Greiner has a good chance of making his long awaited debut in 2018.

However, MLive Tigers reporter Evan Woodberry tweeted the following on Friday:

“Presumably Tigers will peruse the minor league free agent market for a veteran catcher to pair with Grayson Greiner in Toledo.”

This is obviously Woodberry’s opinion, but if the Tigers do pursue another catcher, a couple free agent options available to Al Avila and his crew are 30-year-old Raffy Lopez and 28-year-old Hector Sanchez.

TORONTO, ON – SEPTEMBER 8: Raffy Lopez #1 of the Toronto Blue Jays fields a soft grounder while avoiding stepping on the bat as he makes the play and throws out the baserunner in the second inning during MLB game action against the Detroit Tigers at Rogers Centre on September 8, 2017 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images) /

Rafael Lopez

Rafael Lopez was outrighted off the Toronto Blue Jays 40-man roster in November, making him a free agent.

Lopez hit .222 with four home runs and an even 100 wRC+ in 63 plate appearances for the Jays in 2017.

The catcher was much stronger at Triple-A, slashing .293/.368/.551 with 12 home runs and a very strong 153 wRC+.

The 30-year-old has posted strong walk rates across all levels, including his 11.1% rate with the Blue Jays last year.

He may never hit for a high average, but if he draws walks and drags out at-bats he will be valuable as a depth option behind the dish.

Defensively, Lopez is a solid receiver behind the plate. He does not have the best arm (two runners caught in 21 stolen base attempts) but is a serviceable backstop.

The left-handed hitting Lopez would also help balance out the right-handed hitting trio of McCann, Hicks and Greiner.

Left-handed hitting catchers are rare and the Detroit Tigers traded away one of the best in Alex Avila during the 2017 season.

While Lopez will not replicate Avila’s success, he would give the Tigers another left-handed hitting option if called upon at the big league level.

Hector Sanchez

Despite being two years younger than Lopez, Hector Sanchez has considerably more major league experience.

Sanchez made his big league debut in 2011 and appeared in at least 28 games every season since.

He spent his first five years with the Giants as Buster Posey‘s backup. He also spent some time with the White Sox and was in San Diego with the Padres in 2017.

Sanchez hit a career-high eight home runs in 2017. He also posted a .219 batting average and a 70 wRC+ in 137 at-bats.

In his 783 career trips to the plate, the switch-hitting Sanchez has hit .238 with 21 home runs and a 76 wRC+.

While those numbers certainly don’t jump off the page, Sanchez has fared much better in Triple-A.

In 2016 with San Diego’s Triple-A affiliate Sanchez was a beast, hitting .324/.392/.636 with 13 home runs and a 168 wRC+ in 176 at-bats.

Sanchez’ Triple-A results might not translate to the Majors, considering his bast numbers in the Majors. However, it does indicate that there is still life in his bat.

At 28 years old, it is not unreasonable to expect Sanchez to make some adjustments and become at least a decent big league hitter.

In this hypothetical scenario, the Detroit Tigers would be signing him to be their Triple-A catcher anyway, so expectations would be low for Sanchez, barring injuries at the big league level.

Defensively, Sanchez is a tick above average. His dWAR according to Baseball-Reference is 0.6.

He has thrown out 41 career base runners in 165 attempts.

Despite a below average bat, Sanchez has some big league experience and can hold his own defensively behind the plate.

Next: Melky Cabrera is a fit for the Tigers

As a depth piece to utilize at Triple-A, Sanchez or Lopez both represent solid options. Each would give the Tigers experience and can contribute to the club if needed.

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The Detroit Tigers have consistently found veteran help behind the plate in years past. Rafael Lopez and Hector Sanchez each represent solid depth options to stash at Triple-A in 2018.

Rafael Lopez

Hector Sanchez

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