The catching market has lost another top name. AJ Pierzynski has reportedly signed a one-year deal with the Boston Red Sox worth $8.25 million, pending a physical. Pierzynski's signing pretty much means that the Red Sox will be moving on from incumbent Jarrod Saltalamacchia, which seemed apparent a month ago when they didn't tender him a qualifying offer.
Pierzynski signed a one-year deal with the Rangers last year that paid him $7.5 million, so he'll be getting a slight raise for the 2014 season. In 2013 with Texas, Pierzynski hit .272/.297/.425 with 17 home runs. Despite the dropoff in his triple slash line from 2012, when he hit .278/.326/.501, Pierzynski was still a productive hitter, posting his third-highest single season home run total. He'll be 37 at the end of the month, and will split the catching duties in Boston with veteran David Ross, signed last winter to back up Saltalamacchia.
The Red Sox didn't really need to upgrade behind the plate, and despite their interest in Brian McCann and Carlos Ruiz, a one-year deal for a guy like Pierzynski seemed like it would be a better fit thanks to the glut of young catching in their farm system. Pierzynski's former team, the Texas Rangers, might end up scrambling a bit with Geovany Soto and Robinson Chirinos (who played more innings at first base in the majors than behind the plate this past season) as the only backstops on their 40-man roster. The pickings are getting slim for them, and someone like the newly-nontendered JP Arencibia might be their best option as a caddy for Soto and his inability to hit left-handers.
The free agent market for catchers is just about dried up with this signing, as Saltalamacchia is the only player remaining from our top ten I'd be comfortable letting start. However, there aren't really many teams out there in need of more than a backup, so I doubt you're going to see something silly like John Buck getting $10 million guaranteed. Saltalamacchia's options might be limited over the rest of the winter, and a team might be able to get a good value with him – especially because of the lack of draft pick compensation tied to him.
