Blue Jays: Consider trading a catcher to one of these three teams this winter

San Francisco Giants

The San Francisco Giants were one of the biggest surprises this year, winning 107 games on the season and taking the NL West from the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres.

Backed by a pretty potent lineup that was only enhanced by the deadline acquisition of Kris Bryant, the Giants also had great seasons from the pitching corps in both the rotation and the bullpen, which led them to the playoffs although they had an early exit in the NLDS at the hands of the Dodgers.

Moving forward, the recent announcement that Buster Posey will be retiring is a bit shocking but does put the club in a bit of an awkward position.

The most experienced catcher on the roster is Curt Casali, an eight-year veteran who has been used mostly in a bench role with just 405 games under his belt through that time. The Giants do boast a top catching prospect in Joey Bart, who will undoubtedly be handed the reigns as the club’s starting backstop in the near future, but he has struggled since making his debut in 2020, appearing in only two games this past year while bouncing between AAA and the big leagues. If the club is looking for a potential upgrade over Casali while also splitting time beside Bart on the Major League roster, look no further than the Toronto Blue Jays.

Kirk and Jansen may not fit the bill because of Bart being in the picture but McGuire could be a solid option that would come at a relatively cheap price compared to others on the market. With McGuire, the Giants get a player who boasts pretty good defensive numbers behind the plate and a catcher who can throw at runners out at a 30% clip while also providing some hitting ability from the left side of the plate (ignoring the 2020 campaign if possible).

Having McGuire split time with Bart could provide some more benefit than Casali but the club could look to keep the two together moving forward. The option is there but I would not put this at the highest possibility of happening compared to other options listed below.

In return, the Blue Jays could look to acquire a pitching prospect who is most likely not on top 30 prospect list or international bonus pool money, which is always something good to have in the back pocket.

Cleveland Guardians

A team that is familiar with the Blue Jays and their fanbase, the Cleveland Guardians are an organization that could be looking to upgrade at the catcher position this offseason.

Cleveland used three different catchers this campaign in Wilson Ramos (picked up off waivers from Detroit midway through the year), Roberto Perez, and Austin Hedges. Ramos heads to free agency this winter on the heels of his third ACL-related injury, something that puts his future as a catcher certainly in jeopardy while both Perez and Hedges struggled in 2021. Perez did spend some considerable time on the IL, posting a .564 OPS through 141 at-bats while Hedges carried a bulk of the catching duties but fared no better, posting a .178/.220/.308 slash line with a .527 OPS through 286 at-bats.

Both catchers are on the books until the end of next season before becoming free agents but the team could look to trade one of their biggest assets to try and bolster the organization in multiple areas.

The Blue Jays inquired about third baseman Jose Ramirez this past trade deadline but the two sides were unable to strike a deal. If the club is looking to improve at the catching position and acquire some other players/prospects, trading with the Blue Jays and including Alejandro Kirk makes sense on both sides of the coin.

The Toronto Blue Jays have three catchers who are major league caliber but could be used as trade bait this offseason to bolster the rest of the roster.

I personally don’t believe Cleveland would be too interested in Jansen and would rather acquire Kirk, who is a power threat and has more club control. Kirk alone will not get the deal done, as the Jays will have to add a few more players/prospects to get Cleveland to come anywhere close to moving Ramirez and his team-friendly contract. Kirk could be someone the future Guardians could be really interested in as an upgrade over Perez or Hedges and carries some considerable value.

There are quite a few different combinations the Blue Jays and Cleveland could hash out to try and get any deal done but with a surplus of catching in the organization, I don’t see how the Jays don’t try and include Kirk or Jansen. It would be tough to part with Kirk for sure but Ramirez would be such an upgrade on the roster that the deal makes sense if the club is serious about contending for the postseason over the next few seasons.

The one hiccup to any potential deal involving a Blue Jays backstop would be how much Cleveland values catching prospect Bo Naylor and whether they prefer to have him try and gain some ground next season behind home plate over an outside source like Kirk or Jansen. Only time will tell on this one.

Arizona Diamondbacks

Tying with the Baltimore Orioles for the worst record in baseball with just 52 wins, the Arizona Diamondbacks are a team that sits in an awkward position when it comes to trying to improve moving forward.

They are most likely looking to rebuild after securing top prospect Jordan Lawler this year in the MLB Draft to along with top prospects Alek Thomas and Corbin Carroll already in the farm system while they also don’t have a ton of money on the books other than Madison Bumgarner, Nick Ahmed, David Peralta, Kole Calhoun, and Ketel Marte taking up the bulk. The club could look to dive further into the rebuild by selling off some of these assets similar to how the Blue Jays did a few years ago and this is where the two organizations could come together to get a deal done.

Considering the Diamondbacks only feature one player on the top prospect list who is a catcher (and is also years away from any potential debut), the club could be looking for some depth to go alongside current starter Carson Kelly. This would be where Kirk and/or Jansen would fit in well, forming a tandem beside Kelly where each player has at least three years of contract control and could do well in the desert.

In return, the Blue Jays would benefit the most by going after 2B/OF Ketel Marte, who has three years of team-friendly contract control before becoming eligible for free agency. This move would require the Jays to add some more prospects to get the deal done, similar to the Cleveland/Ramirez deal, but could fill in the void at second base if Marcus Semien does not return next season.

If the Diamondbacks are unwilling to part with Marte, pitcher Zac Gallen would also be a welcome addition to the Blue Jays rotation. The right-hander is coming off a rough season in 2021 but has great career numbers, a 3.46 ERA through three seasons and 50 starts. Similar to the Marte deal, the Blue Jays will need to part with some additional prospect capital to get the Diamondbacks to come anywhere close to agreeing.

It depends on how heavily the Diamondbacks want to fully embrace a rebuild, as parting with Marte and/or Gallen will net them with prospect capital to facilitate this move. The issue arrises if Arizona thinks they can get a rebuild done quickly while Marte and Gallen are still under arbitration/club option, meaning they would be off the table. Neither player was traded at the deadline this year but that could change as the offseason progresses.

This one does seem like a bit of a longshot but could gain steam if Arizona does say they are willing to part with either player, as the interest will be high from across the league.