I know a lot of people who are afraid to even entertain the idea of letting Jarrod Saltalamacchia go. He's had such great potential and was the supposed center piece of the most lopsided trade that Texas has ever pulled off.
When rising through Atlanta's minor league ranks, he was projected by many scouts as a decent defensive catcher with a big bat. A 30 home run, 100 RBI, .290 hitter seemed to be the consensus projection for Salty. Numbers like that from a SWITCH-HITTING Catcher would make any team go ga-ga, and it's why he was the big chip in the Teixeira trade.
Before I go on with why Saltalamacchia should be traded and why I think the Rangers have already made up their mind on it, let me pass along some notes that go hand in hand with this theory.
August 14th...Jarrod Saltalamacchia is pulled from a game against the Boston Red Sox in the 4th inning with more numbness in his arm.
August 15th...Saltalamacchia is put on the disabled list, Jon Daniels is quoted as saying the Rangers would "explore possible trade options in an effort to upgrade the catching situation"
August 18th...Pudge Rodriguez, all time fan favorite and still a solid catcher, is traded to the Texas Rangers for two minor leaguers. Upon arrival, Pudge is quoted as saying "This would be a great place to finish my career. I'm very excited to be back." as well as saying "Physically and mentally, I feel great. I want to play two or three more years."
Just down the hall in the Rangers clubhouse, Taylor Teagarden tells the media "I grew up watching and he was my idol. I've got the opportunity of a lifetime"
Pudge brings out the lineup card and the crowd goes wild. Pudge appears to feel right at home and the crowd is loving him.
August 19th...Pudge returns to the Rangers lineup and goes 3-4 with two singles, an RBI double and a run scored.
Back to today. I think at this point in time it's clear that the better all-around baseball player between Texas' two young catchers is Taylor Teagarden. I'm not saying Salty can't be better, but RIGHT NOW, it's Teagarden. While Salty has improved his defense, Teagarden is still a vastly better defensive Catcher and calls a better game. Salty's appeal has always been his offense though, so it would be excusable if he had shown that he was a much better offensive player...I haven't seen it yet.
For 2009...
Walks/Plate Appearance
Salty: 22/302 (7.2%)
Tea: 13/145 (8.9%)
Strikeouts/Plate Appearance
Salty: 96/302 (31.7%)
Tea: 47/145 (32.4%)
RBIs (162 Game Average)
Salty: 66
Tea: 81
HRs (162 Game Average)
Salty: 17
Tea: 20
So at this point in time, Teagarden is showing more patience and more pop at the plate than Salty is. The only thing Saltalamacchia really had Taylor soundly beat on is batting average. Looking at the numbers above, logic would seem to say that Taylor Teagarden could use much of the off season to work on his swing and should be able to catch up to Salty by the beginning of next year (In contact that is...Tea has already caught and passed Salty in everything else)
Right now, I think the Rangers focus for the future has to be Taylor Teagarden. Now, about now, you may be saying "Fine...let Taylor be the main guy. Why do we have to trade Salty?"
A number of reasons.
Remember the quotes above from Pudge Rodriguez? He says that he wants to finish things off in Texas. He also says he wants to play two or three more years. By connecting the obvious dots, Pudge wants an extension from Texas at the end of the year.
"OK, but why does Pudge's desire to have an extension trump Salty's youth and potential?"
The focus is Taylor Teagarden. As I quoted above, Taylor is pumped to have Pudge here. Taylor can be the youth and future, with Pudge the veteran that can show him the ropes. And who better to learn the Catcher position from than Pudge? Especially when it's the player you grew up idolizing?
"But Catcher is a premium position"
Exactly why Salty has to go. He hasn't shown any signs over the last three years of being the bat everyone thought he was going to be, and the bat was the reason everyone wanted him. If the bat isn't there, you're left with a good, but not great defensive Catcher who can't hit from either side of the plate.
Look...the Rangers have brought home Pudge to finish his career like they should have, but Pudge has shown signs this year of being able to play an extra season or two and he's expressed a willingness to be a backup. With Taylor as the future, and Pudge being his tutor...the position becomes a little crowded with Salty seemingly standing around and doing nothing.
Jon Daniels is never afraid to make a big move. That's why I think you'll see Salty and Scott Feldman along with a minor leaguer packaged away for another solid starting pitcher or a power outfielder. Why Feldman? Well...while Feldman has been excellent this year, realistically people need to recognize when someone's having a career year...that's Feldman. Feldman and Salty's value are probably as high as they're going to be for the rest of their careers (With Salty, his value days are past his peak, so it's only going down from here)
I don't want to make the same mistake with Jarrod Saltalamacchia that we did with Ruben Mateo in the 90s/00s. You can't hold on to potential forever, and I'm afraid that's a wall we've run into with Saltalamacchia.
To be absolutely clear, let me state...by April of next year, Jarrod Saltalamacchia will no longer be a Texas Ranger.
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