Matt Wieters Is Becoming A Team Leader

[ofahn]

Roch Kubatko wrote an excellent post (NO surprise there, he's the best sportswriter in Baltimore) about how Matt Wieters caught 14 innings last night and then came back to catch Steve Johnson's debut tonight. THAT'S leading by example. Javy Lopez or Ramon Hernandez would have done that too, right?

I really hope we can sign him through about 2018 or so. He may not be "Mauer with power" but he is a winner and we can use eight more like him in the line up every night.

http://www.masnsports.com/school_of_roc ... t-bat.html

[TuckerBlair89]

Roch is absolutely one of the best. Hilarious in person too.

Matt Wieters is the real deal in all aspects of the game. While people often knock on him for not being "the next big thing", I think they are utterly ridiculous. Top tier defense, durable, calls a good game when they let him actually call pitches, hits for power. What more do people want in a catcher? He is easily one of the better catchers in the league.

there are maybe one or two catchers in the game whom you can say have all the above traits.

[Jordan Tuwiner]

Some clutch at-bats as of late and he's really started to hit, and hit for power.

[Matt P]

He's good but I don't know about extending him. All these innings may catch up to him in a few years.

[osforlife]

I think we should look to sign him to an extension soon. He is likely never going to become the player he was projected to be, but he is still one of the better catchers in the league. He would likely still command alot of money knowing that he is a Boras client but it would be better than waiting another year and potentially watching him form into a .280/30 Homeruns kinda guy. Then he would want alot more money. But we sign him to an extension after this year and we get .250/25 Homeruns out of our catcher for the next 7 years, I'd take that in a heartbeat. If he explodes into that .280/30 guy, GREAT.

[ofahn]

He's good but I don't know about extending him. All these innings may catch up to him in a few years.

That why I suggested only through about 2018. That would be a realistic end of his regular catching days.

[OriolesRedskins28]

Roch Kubatko wrote an excellent post (NO surprise there, he's the best sportswriter in Baltimore)

Points for that!

That why I suggested only through about 2018. That would be a realistic end of his regular catching days.

2018 is a realistic end of his regular catching days, the only issue is that Scott Boras knows this and will no doubt want to have an extension beyond that time frame. He will probably look for a historic contract for a catcher citing all of the qualities you listed earlier that Wieters brings to the table. I would want to sign him ASAP before he gets any closer to free agency. Doubt Boras will go for it though...

[Matt P]

Points for that!



2018 is a realistic end of his regular catching days, the only issue is that Scott Boras knows this and will no doubt want to have an extension beyond that time frame. He will probably look for a historic contract for a catcher citing all of the qualities you listed earlier that Wieters brings to the table. I would want to sign him ASAP before he gets any closer to free agency. Doubt Boras will go for it though...

I don't think he's going to get a bigger contract than Joe Mauer got.

[ofahn]

I don't think he's going to get a bigger contract than Joe Mauer got.

75% of that contract's years would be a BIG mistake

[ofahn]

Points for that!



2018 is a realistic end of his regular catching days, the only issue is that Scott Boras knows this and will no doubt want to have an extension beyond that time frame. He will probably look for a historic contract for a catcher citing all of the qualities you listed earlier that Wieters brings to the table. I would want to sign him ASAP before he gets any closer to free agency. Doubt Boras will go for it though...

It all comes down to whether Wieters values his teammates and location over money. If he likes it here he could sign a contract that pays him as an elite catcher through 2018 or 2019 and then add a few more years at a DH or 1B salary with a substantial incentive clause for games caught.

The Orioles simply aren't in a position to pay "stupid Pujols money"; and shouldn't. I wonder if Pujols will at some point regret having left St. Louis (where he was a GOD) to go to Anaheim where he is already being overshadowed by Mike Trout. If Pujols would have stayed in St. Louis for the 220M or so they offered him the Cards could have added a Mike Trout EVERY year and Albert would still have been "the Man" there. The last four or five years of Ripken's career was not spectacular, but he was CAL RIPKEN, and treated as such. If he would have jumped to the Dodgers or Sux or some other team for big bucks then he would have been just another over paid aging player.

We all know Boras' agenda but the final decision is Matt's.

[Oriole85]

I don't think he's going to get a bigger contract than Joe Mauer got.

And he shouldn't. Before this year that was looking like one of the worst contracts of all-time and it still might. I like Wieters and all, but I'm not handing him a blank check, one of those "at any cost."

[Oriole85]

It all comes down to whether Wieters values his teammates and location over money. If he likes it here he could sign a contract that pays him as an elite catcher through 2018 or 2019 and then add a few more years at a DH or 1B salary with a substantial incentive clause for games caught.

The Orioles simply aren't in a position to pay "stupid Pujols money"; and shouldn't. I wonder if Pujols will at some point regret having left St. Louis (where he was a GOD) to go to Anaheim where he is already being overshadowed by Mike Trout. If Pujols would have stayed in St. Louis for the 220M or so they offered him the Cards could have added a Mike Trout EVERY year and Albert would still have been "the Man" there. The last four or five years of Ripken's career was not spectacular, but he was CAL RIPKEN, and treated as such. If he would have jumped to the Dodgers or Sux or some other team for big bucks then he would have been just another over paid aging player.
We all know Boras' agenda but the final decision is Matt's.

I think there's something to be said for players like Ripken, Gwynn, Chipper, and sorry, Derek Jeter... who spend their whole career with one team in this day and age where players change teams like the wind.

[ofahn]

I think there's something to be said for players like Ripken, Gwynn, Chipper, and sorry, Derek Jeter... who spend their whole career with one team in this day and age where players change teams like the wind.

That's worthy of your first point.