The MLB free agent market is still taking shape, as there have been just a few signings so far. But the Phillies did their part to get the offseason action going, by re-signing catcher Carlos Ruiz to a three-year, $26 million contract. The deal also includes a club option for a fourth year at $4.5 million.
It’s hardly a surprise Phillies General Manager Ruben Amaro wanted Ruiz to return and that Ruiz wanted to stay in Philadelphia, the only place he has ever played in the majors. As the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Matt Gelb notes, he is familiar with the team’s pitching staff, and his defensive abilities are also very attractive.
Offensively, he had been one of the better hitting catchers in baseball up until last year. From 2010-2012, he hit .303/.388/.454 with 83 doubles, 30 home runs, and 161 RBI. He even earned MVP votes in each of those seasons.
Last year, however, his numbers slipped dramatically. In 92 games, he hit just .268/.320/.368, while managing only 21 extra-base hits and 37 RBI. Meanwhile, his strikeout-to-walk ratio of 2.17 was nearly double his career average. On top of it all, he was suspended for the first 25 games of the year for testing positive for using Adderal, and then missed another month with a hamstring strain.
In total, Ruiz ended up playing in just 92 games last season, which is the lowest full-season total of his career. Even still, he’s averaged just 114 games a year over the last seven seasons, and played in more than 121 games just once.
Ruiz will be 35 next year, and is coming off his least productive season in five years. This contract will keep him in Philadelphia through his 37-year-old season and possibly even his 38-year-old season if the team picks up his option.
The length of the deal for a catcher of his age and durability — he has spent time of the disabled list in each of the last five seasons — is a concern, as is its value. Ruiz will make $8.5 million each year. That salary would have ranked him fifth among all catchers in baseball in 2013. Even a 25-year-old Buster Posey coming off a MVP season made less than that.
The deal itself wouldn’t be so bad if there weren’t several other big contracts to aging players that are weighing the roster down. Gelb explains how this signing fits within the context of this Phillies team.
The return of Ruiz means five of the team’s projected position players — Ruiz, Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins and Marlon Byrd — will play 2014 at 34 or older. The Phillies have committed $135.17 million in annual average value (AAV) to 10 players for 2014.
For an organization in need of some optimism for its future, this doesn’t exactly do it. The Yankees had thrown big contracts at aging players with some success, for a few years, but their luck has finally run out. They, though, were at least winning consistently while doing so.
The Phillies have not been. They have missed the playoffs in each of the last two seasons, and have posted a combined record of 154-170. The best course of action would seem to be investing in younger players, but this signing, and others like Chase Utley’s extension signed over the summer and the contract given to Marlon Byrd this offseason indicate Amaro has other ideas.
Another side effect of Ruiz’s contract is that it now sets the market for catchers, which is bad news for teams that need one. If a 35-through-37-year-old Carlos Ruiz is worth $8.5 million, how much is someone like a 28-year-old Jarrod Saltalamacchia worth? Because of the Phillies, the cost for a quality backstop this offseason may have just gone up.
So for the Philadelphia fans who want to see Chooch retire there, they may get their wish. A three- or potentially four-year deal may take him to retirement, and Amaro may be trying to strike the same kind of magic as Ben Cherington did with the Red Sox when he signed an aging Shane Victorino coming off a down year. But for an organization that seems to be swimming in circles, this contract needs to work out.
