SB Nation - Jose Lobaton

Does The John Jaso Trade Make Jose Molina A Starter?

Bradley Woodrum — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 12:01:38 -0000

News broke on Sunday that the Tampa Bay Rays traded left-handed-hitting catcher John Jaso for young Seattle Mariners bullpen prospect Josh Lueke. The surprising trade has suddenly shuffled the Rays catching totem pole, which had previously looked like Jaso's to lose.

And now, with the Rays supposedly in the final stages of acquiring veteran catching Jose Molina, does this mean Yadier's older bro is finally going to get his first starting gig in the majors?

Well, probably not.

As I detailed earlier, Molina is an absolutely special catcher. His defensive capabilities may be the greatest of the modern era, but limited data on the matter has kept his true value a secret for about a decade plus. Mike Fast exposed Molina's clandestine epicness, and the well-researched Rays were quick to respond it would appear.

Nonetheless, Molina will turn 37 next June and has never crested 300 plate appearances in a single season. So, the main catching duties likely will fall to Jose Lobaton -- he of the 56 career MLB plate appearances. Lobaton had a solid year with the bat in Durham (Triple-A) in 2011 and is reportedly a strong defensive catcher.

Also, at age 27, Lobaton ranks as more of a high-upside candidate than the bat-less Molina, who might as well be swinging a sub sandwich at the dish. Lobaton made the majors last year while Jaso struggled with ineffective hitting, bad defense, and injuries, but Lobaton quickly found himself also on the DL, finishing the season injured. Loby should be the starter, but he may get half-time duty as Maddon eases him into MLB action.

So, Molina will probably not have a full-time starting gig in 2012, but the Rays would not really be crazy to consider it -- assuming his body can handle it. Either way, it seems likely Rays fans will see at least a half-helping a crazy-good pitch framing and wildly terrible hitting.

Hooray Molina!

Tampa Bay Rays Release ALDS Postseason Roster

Steve Slowinski — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 15:50:29 -0000

The Tampa Bay Rays waited until the last minute to announce their playoff roster, putting out the final list late Friday morning. But while the Rays took a long time to sort over who they wanted on the roster, there were very few final surprises.

The Rays opted to go with 11 pitchers and 14 position players, giving Joe Maddon more in-game flexibility for late-inning pinch-hit matchups. It means the Rays will only have seven pitchers available in their bullpen, but it's a very strong 'pen that has gotten better as the season went along. Jake McGee and Brandon Gomes have come a long way this season, and now are worthy high leverage arms alongside Kyle Farnsworth and Joel Peralta.

The notable weakness for the Rays is their bench; while they will have a five man bench, they don't necessarily have any strong hitters there. Reid Brignac, Elliot Johnson, Sam Fuld, and Jose Lobaton are all defense-first players, and John Jaso was added to the roster simply to give the Rays another left-handed bat with a bit of pop.

The full roster is below the jump.

Pitchers (11)

37 Cruz, Juan (R)
40 Davis, Wade (R)
43 Farnsworth, Kyle (R)
47 Gomes, Brandon (R)
74 Howell, J.P. (L)
57 McGee, Jake (L)
62 Peralta, Joel (R)

55 Moore, Matt (L)
33 Shields, James (R)
14 Price, David (L)
58 Hellickson, Jeremy (R)

Catchers (3)

28 Jaso, John
31 Lobaton, Jose
10 Shoppach, Kelly

Infielders (6)

15 Brignac, Reid
9 Johnson, Elliot
11 Kotchman, Casey
3 Longoria, Evan
1 Rodriguez, Sean
18 Zobrist, Ben

Outfielders (5)

22 Damon, Johnny
5 Fuld, Sam
8 Jennings, Desmond
20 Joyce, Matt
2 Upton, B.J.

Jose Lobaton Called Up To Tampa Bay Rays

Steve Slowinski — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 19:32:23 -0000

From Marc Topkin, St. Petersburg Times:

C Jose Lobaton has been called up by #Rays according to several Spanish-language sites. Should know more soon.

Considering the Rays have been getting dismal offensive production from their catchers -- overall .199/.287/.330 line this season -- it's only natural that they would call someone up. Jaso and Shoppach have been terrible this season, and Jose Lobaton has been on fire, posting a .293/.410/.489 line in Triple-A. He's also been ranked in the past as the best defensive catcher in the Rays' system, so even if that offense doesn't translate exactly to the majors, he should still be an improvement behind the plate. He doesn't exactly have a high bar to clear...

Lobaton will step into the roster spot left open when Brandon Guyer was sent back down to the minors last weekend, meaning unless they make any more roster moves, the Rays will enter this series against Boston with 6 relievers and 3 catchers. I'm glad Lobaton is finally up and will be given a chance, but what? Three cathers? I guess the odds are that Lobaton will only be on the roster for a few days -- until Alex Cobb needs to get called up for his start on Tuesday -- so it looks like the Rays will have a couple days with a very catcher-heavy bench.