Playing the GM Part 3: The Free Agent Catching Options

With Salty and Lavarnway in the fold, the Red Sox could make some moves that would require them to acquire a back-up catcher.

Prospective Additions and the BoSox’ AL East Title Chances

There’s no doubt the Sox recent injuries have done a number on the club’s chances of winning the AL East. So we thought it would be interesting to uncover how bleak -- or rosy -- the those chances have become. Prior to the slew of injuries that befell Victor Martinez, Dustin Pedroia, and Jason Varitek, Baseball Prospectus had the Sox at about a 99-win team with an 853-702 scoring differential. That team, with the current standings, would have won the division about 38 percent of the time -- a solid second best to the Yankees' expected title rate of 45 percent. The Devil Rays take the cake about 18 percent of the time while the Blue Jays and Orioles are almost nowhere to be seen. But that was a different team. Injuries have decimated this club and with it, their chances at the division. So, we sought to quantify this question and see just how often the new lineup would win the AL East. We’ll spare you the nitty-gritty details, but the essentials are this: based on the expected run production of the new lineup, we simulated 10,000 “seasons,” the end result being an AL East championship probability. Further, we plugged in some of the club’s rumored trade targets and internal options to measure their effect on the team. Playing time estimates are rough estimates and are subject to change. Production estimates are based on Fangraphs.com’s CHONE projections. Below are the results.

Jays talking Chris Snyder

Boston whiffed on J.J. Hardy. Might another whiff be coming? The Arizona Diamondbacks are talking to the Toronto Blue Jays about catcher Chris Snyder. This is not the first time Snyder has come up at Fire Brand. I was on shift at Rotoworld.com when the news broke, and here's what I had to say:

Snyder hit .200/.333/.352 in a scant 165 at-bats during the season, losing his starting gig to Miguel Montero, and having the year marred by injuries. Due $11.25 million through 2011, the 28-year old has a reputation as a great defensive catcher who has a healthy rapport with pitchers. The Jays' top prospect is widely considered to be catcher J.P. Arencibia, so you have to wonder what Toronto is thinking if the rumor is true.

Snyder isn't a world beater, but he did hit .237/.348/.452. If Boston wants to upgrade offensively and defensively, one way might be to go after Snyder, put Victor Martinez at first and slide Kevin Youkilis over to third.

Red Sox Roundtable: Who’s our catcher?

Out of all the catchers that may be available through trade or free agency, which player do you want starting for the Sox and why?