Cincinnati Reds: Curt Casali deserves more opportunities behind the plate

Tucker Barnhart has gotten the majority of starts as the Cincinnati Reds catcher this season. However, Curt Casali deserves more starts behind the plate.

The Cincinnati Reds‘ catching situation over the last several seasons has been a very interesting one. While Tucker Barnhart appears secure in position at the Reds’ starting catcher, Curt Casali’s play since arriving in Cincinnati has been impressive and it warrants more playing time.

In 2014, the Reds’ plan was to have a catching tandem of Devin Mesoraco and Brayan Peña. Mesoraco dealt with some injuries that season, but he did have a career-best season that caused many fans to think he would be the starting catcher and one of the leaders of the team for many seasons to come.

However, things don’t always go as planned. Over the next couple of seasons, Mesoraco dealt with a variety of injuries and really was never the same. His untimely injuries, however, opened the door for a young, defense-first catcher named Tucker Barnhart.

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Barnhart, slowly but surely, became a decent hitter and carried a good on-base percentage. Mesoraco couldn’t stay healthy during this time and Barnhart ultimately became the starting catcher for the Cincinnati Reds. Mesoraco was then traded to the New York Mets in May of last year for pitcher Matt Harvey.

In May 2018, the Reds had to find a capable backup catcher. First, they tried former St. Louis Cardinal Tony Cruz. Cruz only played 9 games for the Reds and hit .154 in 26 plate appearances. After this brief experiment with Cruz, the Reds demoted him and traded for the Tampa Bay Rays’ backstop Curt Casali.

In his brief tenure with the Reds, Casali has outperformed the expectations that many fans had for him when he was first acquired. Casali has a .288 batting average and a .348 OBP with 4 home runs and 17 RBIs in 188 plate appearances. Casali also possesses an OPS+ of 108.

This was a far cry from Casali’s previous production with the Rays where he managed to hit just .199 with a on-base percentage below .300. His last year with the Reds shows that Curt Casali can be more than a traditional backup catcher.

Now, I’m not saying Casali should be the majority of the starts at catcher. Barnhart has earned his spot as the team’s starting catcher. I’m just suggesting that Curt Casali deserves to play more than a traditional backup catcher.

Casali should get the start against all left-handed starters while Barnhart handles the right-handed starters. In their careers against right-handed pitchers, Barnhart has hit for a .259 average and an OPS+ of 106 while Casali has hit for a .209 average and an OPS+ of 88

Against lefties, Barnhart has hit for a .233 average and an OPS+ of 79. Compare those numbers to Curt Casali who has a career-batting average of .260 with an OPS+ of 127. As you can see, a platoon at catcher wouldn’t be a bad idea.

Offense is important but defense is more important for a catcher. It is well-known that Tucker Barnhart is a one of best defensive catchers in all of MLB. He won a Gold Glove in 2017. Now, Casali may not be as good defensively as Barnhart, but he isn’t a poor defender either.

If Casali is given more opportunities, this catching tandem could approach the productivity of the pair of Reds’ backstops who played earlier this decade. In 2010, Ryan Hanigan hit for a .300 average and an OPS+ of 124 while Ramon Hernández hit for a .297 average and an OPS+ of 112 that season.

Unless you’re Yadier Molina with the St. Louis Cardinals who gets pretty much all of the playing time at catcher throughout the season, most teams play their backup catcher a fair amount. The Reds are fortunate that they found a catcher in Curt Casali who can hit well. The Cincinnati Reds should take full advantage and give Curt Casali more starts.