Manny Pina drawing trade interest, per report - Brew Crew Ball

The Milwaukee Brewers made a massive upgrade to their roster earlier this week when they reportedly inked catcher Yasmani Grandal to a one-year contract. Not that it’s a bad thing, but the added presence of the former All-Star has created a bit of a surplus behind the plate that the team will now have to figure out what to do with during Spring Training. Barring an unforeseen injury, as things stand right now David Stearns and company will have to decide whether to stick with Manny Pina or Erik Kratz as Grandal’s backup heading into the 2019 regular season. There is a chance that that the club could make a subtraction before things get to that point, however.

According to Adam McCalvy’s most recent mailbag post as Brewers.com, one of Milwaukee’s excess backstops has begun to draw some trade interest:

We have heard some rumblings about trade interest in Pina, and that obviously becomes more doable with Grandal in the fold. But it’s also quite possible that the Brewers go to Spring Training with all four of these catchers and push the decision to a later date. Jacob Nottingham still has options, and while Pina’s $1.6 million salary is guaranteed, all but $300,000 of Kratz’s contract is non-guaranteed. Keeping all of them would provide insurance in the event someone, I don’t know, steps on a cactus.

McCalvy’s comments don’t seem to indicate that any kind of deal is close or even particularly likely, but it certainly isn’t surprising that the team is getting calls on Manny Pina when considering the dearth of quality catching around the game. The 31 year old’s bat wasn’t quite as potent during his second full MLB season as it was the year before, but Pina’s .252/.307/.395 slash in 2018 (85 wRC+, 90 DRC+) was still above-average when it comes to his peers at the position of catcher. He popped nine homers among his 24 extra base hits in 337 plate appearances, and he also graded out as one of the better defenders to don the tools of ignorance. Long lauded for his outstanding throwing arm, Pina caught 41% of would-be base thieves in 2018 while also accruing +4.8 framing runs (per Baseball Prospectus). In terms of overall defensive contributions, Pina was credited with +6 Defensive Runs Saved and +7.0 Fielding Runs Above Average last season.

It’s no wonder why Pina’s usable bat and quality work with the pitching staff would make him a desirable commodity, and the newfound financial certainty surrounding his future is just another reason why other teams might be interested. He just inked an eminently reasonable, fully-guaranteed $1.6 mil deal for 2019 that includes a $1.85 mil option for 2020 with a $150K buyout, a level of cash that any team could comfortably fit into their budget whether they’re counting on Pina as their regular catcher or as a backup.

But, those traits also make Manny Pina someone that might be tough for Milwaukee to part with unless Slingin’ Stearns is presented with a deal that he simply cannot refuse. This is surely a situation worth monitoring in the coming days and weeks leading up to Opening Day. For what it’s worth, Erik Kratz’s non-guaranteed contract would pay him only $300K (roughly the equivalent of 45 days worth of termination pay) if he is released before the start of the regular season.

Statistics courtesy of Fangraphs and Baseball Prospectus

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