Doumit still possible trade bait
Ryan Doumit’s role for the 2011 season is a significant down grade compared to the years past. If he remains a Pirate for opening day, he will be seeing limited plate appearances, as a back-up catcher and a pinch hit/bench guy. And dare I say it? First baseman and right fielder on occasion.
There is still a chance Doumit could be moved before the season starts, however, according to Colin Dunlap of the Pittsburgh-Post Gazette.
“There have been feelers, both ways. I remember Neal Huntington quoted (I think it was in a Hot Stove piece) about “the right fit” for Doumit. And Neal went on to say that “right fit” could be some different roles in Pittsburgh or, perhaps, in another city. Logic yields that Doumit is being shopped. I would say there is a good chance other teams want to see him in Spring Training; want to see him healthy and in-person and then might be a bit more aggressive with a play for him. I said it before, though: I really wonder how much the head-injury stuff is holding some teams back.”
Kristy Robinson
Nothing but death and taxes seems to be secure anymore.
As Spring Training winds down a few teams might see the need for more durable catching options, or possibly upgrades.
Keep an eye on Boston and their catching corps, plus the Rangers or Angels. Solid catching can get you a few wins in the season, but having a guy like Doumit anywhere on your team would be an massive upgrade.
Rays Renegade
http://raysrenegade.mlblogs.com
Raysrenegade, sadly that is the truth.
I’m hoping Doumit is healthy and has a good spring training. I would rather the Pirates trade doumit away and bring up an intriguing prospect like Corey Wimberly in his place.
Doumit wouldn’t be a bad back-up catcher and bench guy for a higher payroll team. I agree with you on Boston. I’ve been thinking they would want him. I’ll be sure to watch the Rangers and Angels too.
-Kristy
I don’t think Doumit is going anywhere until at least the trade deadline unless the Pirates eat most of his salary. Even then, I don’t think any team is going to give up much of anything for a backup catcher that can’t catch very well. He’ll likely be released after this year if he’s not traded. It saddens me that the Pirates are using almost $11 million dollars on catchers that aren’t productive enough to justify the money spent. That’s 25% of the payroll – and I don’t care about the $3 million they got back for Snyder; that’s beside the point. The Doumit situation was almost doomed from the start – he couldn’t stay healthy, and he never improved his catching. Trading him after ’07 was the only way it could have worked out for the team. Now he’s 30 and has virtually no value. It’s hard to get rid of a young player “in his prime” who is helping to keep a team from losing 100 games when you don’t have a replacement. Other than the money spent, I’m fine with him being the backup catcher; I prefer defense over offense at that position.