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December 2, 2009Go back 365 days. The Indians catching situation looked like the envy of the rest of the league. You had Victor Martinez, one of the top hitting catchers in the game, coming back strong from a shoulder injury. He would be bouncing between catcher and first base so that Kelly Shoppach, the previous season’s breakout Indian, could get the at-bats he had earned.
After all, Shop did lead all American League catchers in 2008 with 21 home runs. Vic the Stik is a career .300 hitter and a fixture in the middle of the Indians order. Oh, the best laid plans…..
Three hundred and sixty-five days later, neither player is on the team. Victor, as we all know, played his way out of town with his great play/the Indians on-field collapse/attendance debacle/payroll slashing. Shoppach in the meantime essentially jettisoned himself.
Shop’s defense completely regressed on top of the fact that he turned into a windmill, striking out 98 times in 327 AB’s . The Indians brass could live with the strikeouts when he was hitting 48 extra-base hits in 403 at-bats the year before. Instead, he spent almost all of 2009 hovering around or below the dreaded Mendoza line. The power pretty much disappeared from his arsenal, and by the trading deadline, GM Mark Shapiro had traded for Shop’s replacement, Lou Marson.
But there were more factors that made Shop expendable. He was arbitration eligible and could command as much as a $3 million salary in 2010. Wyatt Toregas and Marson took most of his AB’s down the stretch, showing the organization’s view of him long term. And of course, the big matzah ball in the room, the impending takeover of the position by #1 prospect Carlos Santana. All of this led up to yesterday’s trade of Shoppach to Tampa Bay for a Player to be named later.
This obviously isn’t a shock to anyone who follows the Indians. But the feeling I can’t seem to shake is that Shapiro traded Shoppach a year too late. I know all about hindsight – the Indians were supposed to be a contender in the AL Central last year – but the one thing you have to do sometimes in our market is to trade a guy when his value is at its peak. Shop was a smokin’ hot commodity last winter and with many teams thirsting for a power hitting catcher, he could have probably fetched either a B-level prospect or a solid, back of the rotation starter.
Instead, the Indians waited a year and received a player to be named later. Now Shapiro has had success with previous PTBNL’s (i,e, Coco Crisp, Michael Brantley, Shin-Soo Choo). so lets wait and see how it turns out. But I can’t help but wonder if Shappy regrets hanging onto Shoppach a year too long.
Last year, the Tribe entered with Vic the Stik and Shop as their two catchers. This year, more than likely, it will be Marson and Toregas keeping the seat warm for Carlos Santana.
What a difference a year makes.
8 Comments
You’re absolutely right. They waited too long to move him. Even if they were hoping to contend in ’09, how often does a backup catcher make the difference between contention and also-rans? I’d guess rarely.
Regardless, this was the right move at this time. At least we get something for him without the risk of offering him arbitration and having him accept. I can’t think of anything worse than paying ShopVac $3 million to strike out in 40% of his ABs. Enjoy it, Tampa!
PS-That picture still makes me sad. Really sad.
see ya windmill.
From left to right…
Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Unfortunately still here. Gone. Still here, for now.
Hindsight will always be 20/20.
I heard that the player we could be getting is Willy Aybar, if we get him for Shoppach then Shapiro got a steal. Aybar is A LOT better than Peralta at 3rd, can hit and has speed. Not to mention he plays 2nd, short and 3rd.
I agree with Jon, that pic is VERY sad.
You make good points and it certainly appears now that he was traded a year too late. However, as you stated in your article, Vic was coming off an injury riddled year in which I think he hit one HR? The Indians definitely had intentions of competing for the division title and it was unclear if Vic could hold up behind the plate for the year (the plan from the beginning was to get him a good amount of starts at 1B). Shoppach had a bigger role than just “back-up catcher”. We’re not talking Sal Fasano here. Also, he was basically Cluff Lee’s personal catcher. So, while trading him then looks good in hindsight, there were a lot of factors that kept him in a Tribe uniform. Now, with the team out of contention and Santana a year closer, the decision to trade is easy.
I recall some wanted to trade Franky a year earlier than we did, and then Shoppach a year earlier than we did. The reality is we were trying to not wear Vic out behind the plate and Santana was no where near ready and Shoppach had a solid 07 08 season so to second guess doesn’t really cut it.
At the end of the day, Wedge could not shake Jhonny, Shoppach or Ben Francisco out of their doldrums, and now all are gone, including Wedge. Oh wait, Jhonny is still here.
Did you see SI ranks the top 5 and bottom 5 farm systems? The Tribe ranks at 5th best. I was a bit suprised. I believe we are solid and I knew the salary dump trades helped but #5? I can only hope that is true. I am curious what you all think?