The Chicago Cubs are close to acquiring Diamondbacks catcher Miguel Montero, and the deal is expected to be done by the end of the day today.
The Chicago #Cubs are on the verge of acquiring #Dbacks catcher Miguel Montero for prospects. Deal expected by end of day.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) December 9, 2014
Cubs incumbent catcher Welington Castillo hit .237/.296/.389 with 13 homers in 110 games last season. In 136 games last year, Montero hit a similar .243/.329/.370 with 13 homers. And Castillo is four years younger than Montero, and isn’t owed $40 million over the next three years like Montero. So why do this deal if you’re Chicago?
Simple – it’s all about the framing. By the framing numbers collected by Baseball Prospectus for the 2014 season, Montero was the eighth-best pitch framer in baseball. Castillo ranked 95th out of 100. Montero ended up giving his pitchers 216 more strikes than Castillo – that’s a huge margin.
With pitch framing becoming more and more emphasized by teams (see the Houston Astros’ acquisition of Hank Conger last month), it’s no surprise that the Cubs would look to buy low on Montero, despite his ridiculous contract. They can afford it.
