ID-Backs signed the catch Aramis Garcia and shortstop Connor Kaiser on minor league contracts. Both players will receive invitations to major league camp. The deals were announced by Arizona’s Triple-A club in Reno.
Garcia, 32 in January, has the most major league experience of the two. The catcher has appeared in five MLB seasons, hitting 119 games between four teams. That includes three games and seven at-bats with the Phillies this year. Garcia is not an offensive threat. He is a career .211/.248/.325 hitter with a 35.8% strikeout rate in 327 plate appearances. He had a very poor showing in the minors this past season, hitting .159/.216/.279 while striking out about 36% of the time in 76 Triple-A games.
Teams are always on the hunt for catching depth, so the Snakes will send Garcia to Reno to start next season. Statcast hasn’t given him good grades on his blocking skills but has given him a plus arm. Garcia has done a good job controlling the run game in Triple-A this year. He threw over 32% of his steals in over 584 innings behind the plate.
Kaiser, who turns 28 next week, is a gloveman. A former third-round pick of the Pirates, he made three major league appearances with the Rockies in 2023. That’s his MLB career. Colorado removed Kaiser from their 40-man roster during that time. He spent this year with Rox’s farm team in Albuquerque. Despite playing in an extreme hitter’s park, the Vanderbilt product posted a .221/.343/.339 line through 347 plate appearances. Kaiser took his share of the trip but stuck to a roughly 32% clip. He is also likely to start next season at Reno, where he may be in a used position.
Source link
