Blue Jays: Which teams could come calling for a catcher?

A few more decent fits

Rounding things out today is another very competitive division in the NL West. It might sound odd to say it’s competitive when the Dodgers have dominated for so long, but they’re far from the only relevant team going forward, as the Padres just showed us in the playoffs.

Los Angeles Dodgers:  As much as the Dodgers are seemingly in on any premium player that becomes available, I don’t anticipate them getting involved here. Will Smith is under club control for at least three more seasons, and I don’t expect that to change.

San Diego Padres:  I wouldn’t completely write off the Padres as a possibility, but they should be set up fairly well for next season and beyond as far as catchers go. Austin Nola will be arbitration eligible for the first time this offseason, Jorge Alfaro has one more trip through the process before he’ll be a free agent, and they have a top 100 prospect in Luis Campusano waiting in the wings.

Colorado Rockies:  Who can predict what the Rockies might do, but I’d be surprised to see a trade that made sense for either party here. The Rockies should be rebuilding with plans to hand the gig to Drew Romo in another year or two, but they might just chase the top free agents instead. I’d be surprised to see a trade with the Blue Jays though.

Arizona Diamondbacks:  The Dbacks might be a sleeper team as far as a trade for a Blue Jays catcher is concerned, but they definitely have the young talent to get creative this winter if they want to. They do have Carson Kelly under club control for two more years, and Dalton Varsho is also capable of strapping on the catching gear, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the Diamondbacks were interested in a young receiver like Moreno or even Kirk. They’re a few years away from being contenders, but they have a ton of talent in their outfield, including the likes of Varsho, Corbin Carroll, Alek Thomas, Jake McCarthy, Dominic Fletcher, and their first round pick from this past year in Druw Jones. It wouldn’t be an easy trade to get across the finish line, but there could be something here.

San Francisco Giants:  Last but not least would be the Giants, who I could see as being very interested in a young catcher to replace Buster Posey, who retired after the 2021 season. The heir to his throne was supposed to be Joey Bart, but that didn’t work out so well in 2022, and I’d be surprised if they didn’t have at least some interest in one of the Blue Jays three talented catchers. Moreno in particular strikes me as the type of player they would target, especially as they may be transitioning into a rebuild or even a quick re-tool.

Now that I’ve taken a quick review of all of the teams across baseball, I feel like I have a bit better idea of what the Blue Jays could be dealing with as far as the catching market is concerned. Admittedly, things could change in a hurry throughout the offseason as free agent contracts are signed and trades start getting finalized, and that’s especially the case when you’re talking about premium talent like the Blue Jays’ catchers.

With one of the strongest trade chips the Blue Jays have flexed in years, Atkins and company are going to have to make sure they maximize their return, regardless of which catcher they ultimately trade. That is, assuming that a trade is made at all, which even though I think it’s all but inevitable, I’ll admit that it’s still possible the Blue Jays could keep all three.