Imagine you¡¯re a Major League general manager, tasked with the challenge of putting together a team from scratch. What position would you prioritize over all others?
A No. 1 starter? How about a stud shortstop? Perhaps a slugging center fielder?
We posed that question to a number of decision-makers earlier this spring, and none of those three accounted for the most common answer.
¡°I think if you have a catcher that can hit and play defense, that¡¯s gold, because you¡¯re so far ahead of everyone else roster-building-wise,¡± said Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer. ¡°Everyone else is running out a guy hitting 8 or 9. If you have Will Smith, William Contreras, Willson [Contreras] when he was with us, Adley Rutschman -- that offense/defense catcher is a big deal.¡±
Most executives cited the importance of building up the middle of the field, and although shortstop and center field received multiple mentions, the importance of a premier backstop in the eyes of club architects was clear.
¡°Catcher touches everything, and it¡¯s such a difficult position,¡± Rays president of baseball operations Erik Neander said. ¡°Just a lockdown anchor there; the organizations that have one, it can be so franchise-changing.¡±
¡°[A catcher] can impact a game in so many ways,¡± Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris said. ¡°An impact catcher that can give you an edge on both sides of the ball, that¡¯s a great way to start team building because you¡¯re going to have such an advantage both defensively and offensively.¡±
The responses got us thinking: if the best catchers in the game are seemingly in such high demand, why do so few of the elite backstops test the free-agent market?
¡°Catching is incredibly hard to find,¡± Marlins president of baseball operations Peter Bendix said.
Since 2023, we¡¯ve seen some of the top young catchers in the game sign extensions with their teams. Cal Raleigh signed a six-year, $105 million deal with the Mariners just days before the season-opener, while the Blue Jays locked up Alejandro Kirk with a five-year, $58 million extension. Will Smith (10 years, $140 million) inked a long-term deal in 2024 to stay with the Dodgers for the next decade, while Sean Murphy of the Braves (six years, $73 million) and Keibert Ruiz of the Nationals (eight years, $50 million) signed extensions in 2023.
¡°If you have one, you do your best to lock them up,¡± an American League executive said. ¡°Most of these catchers are smart; they may think, ¡®It's grind of a position to get into free agency, so if a team wants to keep me, I¡¯m willing to listen.¡¯¡±
That grind might be the biggest factor when it comes to the number of notable extensions at the position. Only one catcher has ever signed a nine-figure free-agent deal: J.T. Realmuto¡¯s five-year, $115 million pact with the Phillies prior to the 2021 season. Only four other catchers have even cracked the $53 million mark in free agency: Willson Contreras (five years, $87.5 million), Brian McCann (five years, $85 million), Russell Martin (five years, $82 million) and Yasmani Grandal (four years, $73 million). Of those four deals, only Contreras¡¯ was signed during the 2020s.
¡°You have to get to six years to get a deal; then what is a team going to give you?¡± the AL exec said. ¡°Is a team really going to give a guy five or six years as a catcher with the idea that they¡¯re going to catch until year 10 or 12? Shortstops are getting 10-year deals after free agency; you would never do that type of a deal with a catcher, because who catches 10 or 12 years in the Major Leagues?¡±
Since 2010, 18 catchers have signed deals worth at least $50 million; 12 of those have been extensions, including the three largest guaranteed deals for catchers in the game¡¯s history.
¡°The odds that you¡¯re going to go into free agency as a catcher and get a five-year deal aren't really good,¡± the AL executive said. ¡°So if you can guarantee yourself four-to-six years pre-free agency, I think it's as much of a benefit to the player as it is to the club. I would rather take on the risk and have a guy from years three through eight or nine than go out into the free-agent market and try to sign the big catcher on the market from years seven to 13.¡±
A National League executive compared the catching market to the running-back market in the National Football League. While both positions are extremely important to a team¡¯s success, the shorter shelf life of a player¡¯s prime in both spots can lead to players looking to cash in sooner rather than later.
¡°It¡¯s rare to see a catcher cash in on a second big contract,¡± the executive said. ¡°There are always going to be some outliers -- think Yadi Molina or Sal Perez -- but those guys are few and far between.¡±
The data backs that up. Molina signed a five-year, $75 million extension in 2012, then re-upped with the Cardinals for three years and $60 million in 2017. Perez signed a five-year, $52.5 million deal with the Royals in 2016, then was extended again in 2021 for four years and $82 million. No other catcher has ever signed two deals worth at least $50 million during their careers.
The fact that catchers haven¡¯t typically found themselves on the same financial tier as other positions could also play a role in their willingness to sign pre-free-agency extensions. Only five catchers in history have signed deals worth at least $100 million -- Joe Mauer, Buster Posey, Smith, Realmuto and Raleigh -- with Mauer¡¯s eight-year, $184 million extension from 2010 setting the bar at the position.
¡°The catching market is generally more reasonable than that of shortstops or starting pitchers,¡± the NL executive said. ¡°When teams approach catchers about extensions, the market has pretty much been set; even if you have a great one, it¡¯s not going to cost you $30-40 million per year to lock them in.¡±
Of the top 10 catchers with the highest fWAR from 2022-24, only Realmuto (6th), Jonah Heim (9th) and Travis d¡¯Arnaud (10th) are slated to become free agents in the next two offseasons. Heim is the youngest of the three, though he will be entering his age-32 season when he reaches free agency.
Clubs looking to make a splash at catcher via free agency will have to wait until at least three more years, when both Rutschman and William Contreras will be eligible to hit the open market. It¡¯s possible that the Orioles and Brewers could look to extend the All-Star catchers before then, or in the alternative, potentially trade them before they reach free agency.
¡°I don't think Adley or Contreras ever get to free agency,¡± the AL executive said. ¡°I think one of two things happen; either they get extended or their teams trade them, get a boatload in return and move him to a team that can extend him like happened with Sean Murphy in Atlanta.
"If you have a catcher like that, you do your damnedest to keep him or maximize the return.¡±