Last week, the A's agreed to terms with backup catcher Josh Phegley on a one-year deal. But Oakland still needs to sign a starting catcher
Fortunately, it's a deep catcher market this offseason. Here are five potential names the A's could consider:
Jonathan Lucroy
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SIGN UP HERE Why not begin with last year's starting catcher? Lucroy gave the A's exactly what they needed last season, from defense to clubhouse leadership. While his offensive numbers were a bit down, he still slashed .241/.291/.325 with four home runs and 51 RBI, sixth-most among American League catchers. Lucroy also led MLB with 31 runners caught stealing.
The 32-year-old earned $6.5 million last year, but Spotrac lists his current market value at just $2.3 million. Other teams might be scared off by his recent decrease in offensive production, but Lucroy's value goes far beyond the numbers.
James McCann
McCann became a free agent last week when he was non-tendered by the Tigers. The 28-year-old is coming off the worst season of his career, slashing .220/.267/.314 with eight homers and 39 RBI. But the year before, McCann's slash line was a solid .253/.318/.415.
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Like Lucroy, McCann is a stellar defensive catcher and knows how to manage a pitching staff. He earned $2.375 million last season and was projected by MLB Trade Rumors to get $3.5 million in arbitration, making him affordable for the A's.
Matt Wieters
Wieters is a four-time All-Star and two-time Gold Glove Award winner, though his production has declined the last two seasons. Still, he slashed a respectable .238/.330/.374 last year for the Nationals. He also threw out 37 percent of attempted base stealers, well above the league average of 28 percent.
Wieters, 32, earned $10.5 million last season but figures to get less than that in his next contract. Of course, with Scott Boras as his agent, he will still likely command a hefty sum.
Martin Maldonado
The A's have become quite familiar with Maldonado the last two seasons with the Angels and Astros. The 32-year-old has never lit it up offensively but has always been solid behind the plate.
Last season, Maldonado slashed .225/.276/.351 with nine home runs and 44 RBI in 119 games between Los Angeles and Houston. More impressively, he led all of baseball with a 49 percent caught stealing rate. Maldonado earned $3.9 million last year, which Spotrac also lists as his current market value.
Nick Hundley
Finally, the A's could just look across the bay for a potential catching option. Hundley slashed .241/.298/.408 last season with the Giants, belting 10 home runs in just 96 games. However, the 35-year-old's defense is a bit of a concern, as he only threw out 21 percent of attempted base stealers in 2018.
Hundley earned $2.5 million last year and will certainly be affordable on the free agent market. He could, at the very least, split time with Phegley behind the plate in Oakland.