Catcher: A Molina in the mix?

One of the most recognizable family names is baseball is the Molina’s. They are the trio of brothers who are all catchers in Major League Baseball. Benji is the oldest brother and he is the catcher for the San Francisco Giants. Yadier is the youngest brother and he is the catcher for the St. Louis Cardinals. Jose is the middle brother who is currently a free agent, who spent the last two seasons with the Yankees as a backup and was forced into a starting role after injuries to Jorge Posada. The Molina brothers are the only set of three brothers in Major League Baseball history to all have won a world series with Jose winning two, one with the Angels in 2002 and last season with the Yankees.

Earlier this was off season the drama was between Benji and the New York Mets. Numerous sportscasters said that Molina and the Mets was a perfect marriage just waiting to happen. Then out of nowhere Molina returned to the the San Francisco Giants. The Mets lost out on another one of their big off season targets and they had to look elsewhere.Throughout this off season there has been little said about Jose and there was some questions as if there was a team that wanted him.

At the end of last season the Ranger’s catching plan for 2010 was that Jarrod Saltalamacchia would be the starting catcher with Taylor Teagarden backing him. In the middle of January it was reported that the Rangers had signed Toby Hall to a minor league contract to back up Teagarden if Saltalamacchia was not ready to go after his off season surgery. It was understood though that Saltalamacchia would be ready.

Within the last week or so, it was reported by MLB.com that Ranger’s manager Ron Washington in late January had called Saltalamacchia and Teagarden into his office. He told them that the starting catcher position would be up for grabs in spring training and that both need to be prepared to show what they are capable of.

Today on MLB.com it was reported that the Rangers have interest in the free agent Jose Molina to help solidify their catcher position. It is believed that the Rangers would only extend a minor league contract to Molina. As a catcher Molina makes more of an impact with his defense, which is a characteristic of all of the Molina brothers.

The fact that the Rangers are continuing to pursue catching options on the open market signals that the club is not completely comfortable with its catcher position. There is doubts on how Saltalamacchia’s recovery will proceed as it gets closer to opening day on April 5th at home vs. Toronto. The catching situation is not very clear right now and it will only become more confusing if Molina is signed; although a little competition should bring out the best in all players involved.