Updated Jan 22, 2013 - 10:07 am

Mariners close to signing a backup catcher

By Shannon Drayer

It is no secret that the Mariners have been in the market for another catcher and now it appears they are close to signing one.

Thanks to a good catch by Lookoutlanding.com, we find that there is a report out of the Dominican Republic that the team has signed veteran Ronny Paulino. A source tells me the deal will not be complete until Paulino can take a physical. I am also told that this will be a non-roster-invite situation.

Paulino has played in 573 big league games for four clubs over the last eight seasons, putting up a career .272/.324/.376/.700 line. He has put up impressive numbers against left-handed pitching, hitting .325/.379/.465/.844.

If he makes the club he most likely will not be battling Jesus Montero for playing time against lefties as Montero's development will be the priority. He would, however, be a nice right-handed bat off the bench in late-inning situations.

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Your Vibe wrote...

Backup catcher/PH

January 21, 2013 9:10 pm

If they planned on PH with him much, wouldn't they want yet another catcher? Or are they just not that worried about the rare late inning catcher injury? Too bad he's got the same strength vs LHP as Montero. Not meaning equivalent just the handedness being the same. It's an NRI but is it a minor league deal? Could he possibly be the 3rd string catcher stashed in AAA? That's got to be it, because the reports I'm finding are that he's not a good defender. Add that to the vs RHP of .247 .298 .333 and it doesn't seem much like the perfect partner for Montero. His CS its fairly decent, but so was Olivo's. He received a 50-game PED suspension for taking a diuretic in an effort to lose weight. That's a new one to me.

524806

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shannon drayer wrote...

Different kind of backup

January 21, 2013 10:08 pm

Good observations Vibe, but what you have to remember here is the catching position will be handled differently this year. They are going to want Montero to get as many at bats as he can handle and because there is a logjam at DH it will more often than not have to be at catcher. It is one of the reasons why they saw Jaso as expendable. He would not have had the opportunity to DH as much this year as he did last year and with Montero's development still the priority there is little question he would have lost a good number of at bats. And this is before the arrival of Zunino. As for pinch hitting Paulino, that is not why they got him. If they do carry a third catcher then yes, we could see it. If not, he will be a more traditional 2nd catcher and probably catch a couple of games a week.

524823

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maqman wrote...

Supposedly he'll get $1MM

January 22, 2013 10:04 am

if he's on the big club but the source I saw suggested he was probably going to be a AAA reserve. Given the extra bats they have signed it seems to me it would be better if he was the backup on the big club. If he's in Tacoma it would seem he'll be backing up Zunino until/if Zunino gets to The Show. I see the Dodgers are going into partnership with Time/Warner Cable after the coming season and supposedly most of their income won't be shared with other clubs. What surprised me is the Dodgers have been getting $40MM a season from Fox and the M's are reported getting $45MM a season now according to Wendy Thurm at Fangraphs. The M's have one of the better current deals now, before the additional $25MM per club is paid out from the new national media sale.

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seaboyd wrote...

Why can't I appreciate Montero's worth?

January 22, 2013 4:37 pm

I have never seen "all that" in Montero? When I first saw him picking up and plopping down his clodhoppers in rounding the bases and saw balls wizz by to the backstop frequently, I said he must be a big bopper? NOT EXACTLY! Avg .260HR 15RBI 62Runs 46SB - is not exactly making me dizzy! The guy they traded to Oakland was more a keeper than Montero. Avg .276HR 10RBI 50Runs 41SB 5 I just don't get that Catcher situation at all? Pray for a catcher between now and March!!!!!!

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sambra27 wrote...

boyd

January 22, 2013 7:53 pm

Don't give up on highly touted prospects after one season.

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Pilate wrote...

Montero's Worth

January 23, 2013 5:34 am

He was only 22 years old last year, and has less than a big league season's worth of playing time under his belt. Relax, we have much bigger issues than Montero.

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Dj7675 wrote...

If we just had a...

January 23, 2013 5:41 am

Catcher that mashed right handed pitching...oh wait we did. Not to beat a dead horse, but for a team looking to upgrade their offense by trading away a catcher that can hit right handed pitching to get another offensive player just doesn't make sense. I like getting morse, but not at the cost of Jaso. I am really rooting for montero and ole he makes the most if his opportunity. Need him to take a big step forward this year.

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Updated Jan 22, 2013 - 10:07 am

Mariners close to signing a backup catcher

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