Atlanta Braves Close To Deal Minnesota Twins For Ryan Doumit
Sep 26, 2013; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Twins catcher Ryan Doumit (9) hits a single in the ninth inning against the Cleveland Indians at Target Field. The Indians won 6-5. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports
According to Jeff Passan, the Atlanta Braves and the Minnesota Twins are finalizing a deal that would send Ryan Doumit to Atlanta:
Source: Atlanta finalizing deal to acquire catcher/outfielder Ryan Doumit from Minnesota.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 18, 2013
Doumit is 32 years old and has a career line of .268/.329/.438 with the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Twins. Last year he played in 135 games with the Twins and hit .247/.314/.396 with 14 home runs.
Doumit caught 43 games and played outfield in 33 games last season.
According to Ken Rosenthal, the Braves are sending LHP Sean Gilmartin to the Twins for Doumit:
Source: #Twins get LHP Sean Gilmartin from #Braves for C/OF Ryan Doumit. Doumit to ATL first reported by @Jeffpassan.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 18, 2013
Doumit could help the Braves off of the bench, serving as an outfield back up and an insurance policy for Evan Gattis behind the plate. However, it seems a bit odd to bring Doumit in as a back up catcher since Gerald Laird seemed to fill that role on the team already. Maybe the team was simply used to having three catchers.
My immediate thoughts on the deal are that I don’t really like giving up Gilmartin for a player of Doumit’s caliber, but Gilmartin’s stock and value has also been dropping as time goes by, so maybe Frank Wren thought it would be better to get something useful out of him while he could.
That’s certainly a possibility. We’ll keep you updated on the news as it comes. In the meantime, what do you think about Doumit fitting into the current roster? What about Gilmartin’s potential?