Signing spree continues; Phils ink catcher Fasano

The Phillies signed free agent backup catcher Sal Fasano to a one-year, $425,000 contract Thursday, a move that ends Todd Pratt’s tenure in Philadelphia and clears a path for rookie Carlos Ruiz.

This isn't about Todd Pratt, his contract or his age.

This isn't about Sal Fasano and his 11 home runs last season.

This have everything to do with clearing room for a young catcher.

Carlos Ruiz, the time has come.

Or at least it should.

In a news release issued by the Phillies, assistant GM Ruben Amaro Jr. spun it this way: "He [Fasano] will be a good complement to Mike Lieberthal. He's a winning player, which is the kind of character we are trying to bring to our club."

All spin. At best, I see Fasano beginning the year with the Phils, and at some point, being designated for assignment and assigned to Scranton. Ruiz comes up, Fasano goes down.

If you've never heard of Sal Fasano, you're not alone. The 34-year-old spent most of his career in the Triple-A circuit before something of a career year as a backup in Baltimore. If all goes as hoped, he can follow up by serving as Ruiz and Lieberthal's second-half insurance policy in Scranton where he'd be more at home. He is a minor league catcher, plain and simple. And as sad as it sounds, the Phillies actually needed Triple-A catching. Tim Gradoville and Trett Pratt, the hold-overs from Double-A Reading, hit .205 and .196 respectively.

Either way, Fasano must feel pretty good about this deal. He's a .222 career hitter in the bigs, and smacked a career-high 11 homers in 160 at-bats with the Orioles last season, batting .250 with a .785 OPS. Like Pratt, the right-hand-hitting journeyman was great against left-handers (1.145 OPS), and got into 64 games, compared to 60 for Tank. Before that, he spent the previous two seasons in Triple-A and has bounced around the Royals, A's, Angels and Rockies organizations since 1993.

Of course, this is all speculation until I wait for tomorrow's early edition, but Fasano's signing and Pratt's apparent departure can't be about age, and really can't be about money. As backup catchers go, what’s the difference between 34 and 39 when they’re playing once or twice a week? Their production was almost identical. I didn’t see anything last season that would indicate Pratt had slowed down.

Financially, this signing saves about $500,000. Some would say Pratt actually outplayed his contract just in the way he handled Jon Lieber and the rest of the staff, but if the intention is to groom talent, why resign him?

It would be nice to keep him if only for sentimental reasons, but now I see the logic in saying goodbye. Earlier, I thought it was a good idea to resign Pratt because of all the intangibles, but good teams know when it's time to let youth prevail.

Pratt was a loyal soldier, a good catcher and a superb handler of the pitching staff. He will be missed.

Choo-Choo! Fasano who?
Carlos Ruiz earned the nickname "Chooch" by teammates in Reading, and I love it, and hope to spread it.

The soon-to-be 27-year-old Ruiz has been on the rise ever since taking over full-time catching duties two seasons ago. With the Barons, he continued the upward trend, batting .300 with 4 homers, 25 doubles and - get this - 9 triples! He did all this after suffering a broken leg in a home-plate collision and missing significant time. He's continued the hot hitting in winter ball, where at last check, he was hitting .323 for Licey of the Dominican League. In addition to offense, he was named best defensive catcher in the International League by Baseball America.

Chooch, who stands about 5-7 (three inches shorter than the media guide 5-10) has developed into a godsend surprise for a team that forgot to develop catching between 2002 and the present.

Offensively, he has a chance to strengthen the weakest part of the Phils offense if he can transition to the bigs. Despite a second-best NL run total (807), the Phillies were extra-base hits and doubles deficient until the final month of the season, when a September surge catapulted them to seventh in the league in extra-base knocks (484). The Phils could use a good young gapper like this.

Exit Pratt.

Enter Fasano.

Ruiz is setting his sites on No. 2 in the company depth charts.

As far as I'm concerned, he's already there.

Comments

[MPN]

JW: Let's hope so re: Ruiz.

Pratt's Catcher's Earned Run Average has been:
2003 3.83
2004 3.93
2005 3.53

Fasano's
2001 9.00 (KC)
2001 6.11 (Oakland)
2001 3.08 (Colorado)
2002 6.43 (Anaheim)
2005 5.09

Of course, this could just be a factor of what he (Sal F.) had to work with. His caught stealing percentages, other than 2005, were better than Tank's.

[Brian]

Flash Gordon is our new closer

C'mon that's not too bad, I just wish they could've gotten him for two years instead of three.

Sorry I've been so anti-social, you'all have a lot of fun here. Now to find depth at starting pitching.

[Jeff Hildebrand]

I don't think this is right. Fasano signed a major league contract and is out of options. He can't easily be sent to Scranton which means they're planning on him being the major league backup and Ruiz being at Scranton again.

In other news, Tom Gordon has signed for 3 years at $18m.

[J. Weitzel]

Jeff: I don't think it will be an issue. The only thing I can figure about the contract is they didn't want to be hung out to dry without a major-league tested backup to begin the season, so they signed him now. They didn't want to resign Pratt because they know Ruiz factors into their plans for this season.

The "easily sent to Scranton part" is mostly up to Fasano. He would need to clear waivers (he will) and except his assignment. If he doesn't, well, they'll figure something out for Scranton. But he will.

I know the feeling though. I scratched my head at this one, too, but I violently refuse to believe Ruiz hasn't won the Phillies over in winter ball and Fasano is the backup catcher all season. That would be too idiotic to believe. Fasano was a minor leauge spring invitee the last two seasons. He stinks.

Unfortunately, odds are Ruiz will begin the year in Scranton and move up when Fasano breaks in the pitchers then plays himself out of the position. That means the Phillies are less likely to see me at CBP in the early-going. If he's Babe Ruth, more power to him, but I'm anxious to see Ruiz in Philadelphia.

[That Dude]

Call me crazy, but I am not getting excited over a 27yr old catcher in triple A.

[gr]

i thought pratt made 700k not 900k. i guess saving 3-500k is good, but they could have kept pratt to "break in the pitchers" and just traded him for something in season (a late pick) and sign a AA catcher then. i guess picking up a AAA catcher now if preferrable, but not when you start the year with two guys who aren't known for handling pitchers. i hope ruiz is good at it.

[J. Weitzel]

I estimated with the $500K difference. I threw in some extra bucks and settled on a figure Pratt might earn for 2006.

I'm not sure about the "just trade him" and "sign a AA catcher then." It's not only difficult, but a disservice to Pratt, who has been loyal to the team. It's time to move on, the team knows it, and Pratt probably knows it.

As for 27-year-old in Triple-A, Ruiz actually got a very late start in baseball. But who cares? Catchers take a long time to develop. What age would you prefer? How about not 39?

Guys, this is why there is a farm system, and cheering on Ruiz should be encouraged, as should more moves like this when they apply. Good teams, like the Braves, know when it's time to let youth prevail. I hope this is what the Phillies intend with this signing.

[gr]

if ruiz is good enough to make the team outright, its moot and that's fine. i'm not going to get antsy until i see what happens at the winter meetings. if they trade bobby, they're starting to put alot of pressure on utley and howard to be marketable stars.

[That Dude]

Ok Ill take a 27 yr old over the 39 yr old, but you're selling him to me as the future. I just dont buy it for a 27 yr old AAA'er.

[J. Weitzel]

Dude.

I'm selling Ruiz as the future of the backup catcher position. I'm selling a player who had a great season in triple-A as ready to catch about 30-40 games next season, and seeing what happens from there.

[gr]

ruiz is essentially the catching version of victorino. he deserves his shot. the wild card in all this is that the starter is overpaid and not all that good handling the staff.

[Bob]

100% in agreement with you "gr"....my comments exactly!

[Bob]

100% in agreement with you "gr"....my comments exactly!

[Philliesopher]

little to be excited about with Ruiz. Nice to see he's made himself into a fringe major leaguer from being a nearly released second baseman, but Phillies would be hard up if he got any significant PT... same goes for Victorino. AAAA material

Remember Tomas Perez always lights up one of those south american winter leagues... batting .300 down there doesn't mean much.

I'm a little perturbed with the Fasano signing. Had some flukey success last year, but phillies need a real backup plan for Lieberthal, someone worth giving 200-250 ABs and concievably more depending on Lieby's health and production. I think Pratt should have been brought back.

[J. Weitzel]

I forgot to mention something in the original article on Fasano. For those who have never seen him, he's big - bigger than Tank, 6-2, 250. Linebacker size.