In the history of the Denver Brewers, the past several years has been the most stable period in terms of a catching tandem, as
Zacarias Martell took over as the primary catcher back in 1974, and was an All-Star that year and the following two seasons while being an important part in bringing three championships to Denver. His backup since 1975 has been defensive specialist and team leader
Kirk Patnode.
But all good things must come to an end eventually and with
Martell recently having turned 31 and
Patnode turning 33 in the off-season, the Brewers front office is thinking about their options for change, a plan for the future at this position.
Rumor is that there is some disagreement in the Brewers front office about what the next step should be. Some believe that given that Martell's contract expires at the end of next season and that the team has a buyout option for him for next season, it might be time to let him explore the free agency market early.
Martell remains a solid defender and an excellent presence in the clubhouse, but his batting skills are greatly diminished. Although
Martell's salary of just a bit over 208K is certainly not breaking the bank for the organization, they are also on the hook for 220K for
Patnode next year, and given that his defensive skills are greater and his bat close to the same as Martell's, it might make most sense to keep
Patnode and let a younger (league minimum salary) player serve as his backup. Then again,
Martell remains very popular, both with the fans and in the clubhouse, so there will be a price to be paid if he is allowed to walk away.
So next season the most likely inexpensive backup option, if Martell is no longer with the club, is
Joey Mendiola, who is currently in his third cup of coffee assignment with the big league club in the past three seasons, and who is, like
Patnode, a switch-hitter with tremendous defensive skills behind the plate.
In the next few seasons the most likely outcome is that youngster
Jesse Cooper takes over as the starter at this position for the Brewers.
Cooper is the top ranked position player in the Brewers organization, which says far more about the quality of position player prospects in the system at this time than it does about
Cooper. (There are 13 pitchers ahead of him on the organization prospect list.)
Cooper is another strong defender (though with a weak throwing arm) who also profiles as having a decent, if unspectacular, hit tool. He's durable and while he won't be the plus in the clubhouse that both
Patnode and
Martell have been, he shouldn't cause any problems.
And maybe more to the point is that with all of those pitching prospects in the system, at some point it might make sense to leverage that strength to acquire a more suitable starting catcher. Then again, there are likely a few other weakness (particularly in the infield) that the Brewers also might want to address with more urgency.