ATL All Day
Fansided

Matt Wieters: Braves Will Not Pursue Veteran Catcher in Free Agency

By Jonathan Savitske

facebooktwitterreddit

Matt Wieters was the long-time catcher for the Baltimore Orioles, but became a free agent this offseason, leading to speculation that given the Braves catching situation, the team would pursue the veteran this in free agency.

It makes sense that hypothetically the Atlanta Braves would want to sign Matt Wieters, given his connections to the city of Atlanta. Wieters played for Georgia Tech in college, and as a South Carolina native, would possibly have interest in returning close to home. According to Baseball Columnist Peter Gammons though, the Atlanta Braves will not attempt to sign Matt Wieters this offseason. Gammons tweets,

Gammons quashes any more speculation about the future of Matt Wieters coming to the Atlanta Braves and solving their problem at catcher.

-= Related: Matt Wieters: Braves’ Catching Solution in 2016? =-

This past season, the Atlanta Braves started former top-prospect Christian Bethancourt for the early part of the year, only for A.J. Pierzynski to replace him in May. Bethancourt was subsequently demoted to AAA Gwinnett. In the majors in 2015, Bethancourt only hit .200 with 2 homers and 12 RBI’s. 

More from ATL All Day

The Atlanta Braves signed A.J. Pierzynski to a one-year deal, and he performed exceptionally well as the Braves starter in 2015. Last season for the club, he had a slash line of .300/.339/.430 with 9 home-runs and 49 RBI’s. For a 38-year-old veteran catcher seemingly in the twilight of his career, those numbers proved his value, even at his age.

So now that we know the Atlanta Braves will not pursue Matt Wieters, what does it mean for the club as they prepare for the 2016 season? Christian Bethancourt could get another opportunity to start early in the year, despite the fact that he has never truly realized his potential at the major league level. The organization’s patience is wearing thin, and 2016 is perhaps his last chance to remain with the Braves.

Another option is to re-sign Pierzynski. Though he is fast approaching 40-years-old, A.J. Pierzynski showed in 2015 he is still a more than capable hitter and is an asset to a young and developing pitching staff. Personally, I would have no qualms with the Atlanta Braves pursuing Pierzynski once again this offseason. Of course, given his excellent numbers this past season, many other teams will undoubetdly vie for his services, and his cost may become prohibitive.

More from Atlanta Braves

Another potential move for the Atlanta Braves down the road — now that we know Matt Wieters is not in the club’s future plans — is that the Braves intend to pursue Milwaukee Brewer’s catcher Jonathan Lucroy with either a trade or in free agency next year. Lucroy is a plus bat and would provide protection in the lineup for Freddie Freeman. This past year, many speculated that Lucroy has long been a trade target for John Hart and John Coppolella. Now whether they trade for him this offseason or wait until free agency remains unclear.

It’s a little disconcerting as a fan of the Atlanta Braves that despite more financial flexibility than they have possessed in years, the club will once again steer clear of big name free agents this offseason. It’s understandable, given the failure of long-term deals with Melvin Upton Jr. and Dan Uggla over the past half decade; but still, if the organization intends to compete in the near future, it cannot sit idly by and rely on it’s farm system to solve it’s problems.

Next: Hector Olivera: What Does Move to OF Mean for Braves?

The organization possesses great pitching prospects, but has a dearth of impact bats in its minor league system. Because not every one of its pitching prospects can make it to the starting rotation, why not use this assets to improve a horrible offense? John Hart and John Coppolella will stay the course that began a year ago. Hopefully it pays off and the Braves can compete by 2017. I’m not too sure they can.

Home/Atlanta Braves