Do you think we might see Josh Willingham playing left field on Opening Day, since the Marlins already have Matt Treanor and Miguel Olivo at catcher and not enough outfielders with big-league experience?

-- Santiago N., Okeechobee, Fla.

 

Everything the team has said this offseason points to Willingham being given the chance to be the regular catcher. He has been groomed to catch over the past few seasons, and that's the position he's been practicing most in the offseason, but he also takes fly balls in left field. The addition of Olivo provides a more established defensive catcher, but there are still plenty of questions as to whether the former Padres backstop is truly an everyday catcher. Offensively, Olivo has had his share of struggles.

 

How the catcher position shapes up will be among the most interesting scenarios to watch in Spring Training. At the Winter Meetings in December, general manager Admin Beinfest made it clear that he wants to see how Willingham would do offensively if he played on a regular basis. As of now, the position at which he will get his first look is catcher.

 

http://florida.marlins.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/...t=.jsp&c_id=fla

There's two conflcting thoughts here, or at least ones that may lead to different conclusions.

 

Frisaro's comment regarding the FO's desire to see what Willingham can do playing everyday (we know he didn't mean that in the literal sense) were made BEFORE Olivo was acquired.

 

One the otherhand, catcher is the one position where players are not expected to neccessarily play everyday. It still seems to me, and since neither Girardi nor Beinfest have sought out my advice, and I can be 100% wrong but in my mind the best way to ascertain Willingham's potential is to play him where he has the best chance of remainig healthy, left field. Which is not to say he shouldn't be given a chance to win the starting catching spot if he shows a marked improvement there and can still hit for average with power.

 

I was reading something about Mike Jacobs the other day and I wish now I had bookmarked it. It seems before he was injured he was actually hitting something like 30-40 points higher when he was catching than when playing another position. Someone might find the piece and correct me, but if memory serves he was hitting something like .355 catching and .308 at whatever other position he was playing (might have been 3B).

 

So you never know.

Expect Joe Girardi to go with experience at catcher, Olivo is clearly the best option.

I agree. Olivo should start, or the Marlins shouldn't have signed him. Willingham can play alot more games if he wins the LF job over the C job, and the Marlins need the offense.

Expect Joe Girardi to go with experience at catcher, Olivo is clearly the best option.

 

Why's that? That would be contrary to every single public statement he has made since becoming the Marlins' manager. He's basically said that he wants to mentor and learn from a youthful excited team and is promising no one jobs. Olivo, or anyone not named Miguel Cabrera or Dontrelle Willis, is not going to be guaranteed a job, no matter their experience.

Expect Joe Girardi to go with experience at catcher, Olivo is clearly the best option.

 

Why's that? That would be contrary to every single public statement he has made since becoming the Marlins' manager. He's basically said that he wants to mentor and learn from a youthful excited team and is promising no one jobs. Olivo, or anyone not named Miguel Cabrera or Dontrelle Willis, is not going to be guaranteed a job, no matter their experience.

I happen to agree with Rferry's underlying but unsaid premise, no one with the exception of Cabrera and Willis with the possible exception of Jeremy Hermida, is guaranteed a job.

 

That said, in the end, with so many players to evaluate and a lineup to construct I still am of the belief that Olivo has a leg up on all the other possible catchers. Of course the Marlins could pull off a trade, or trades before opening day that woud change that dynamic but it is his job to lose. Going into spring training a good showing puts him behind the plate on opening day.

Olivo would have to be a total flop not to be the starting catcher. The Marlins didn't spend $700,000 on him to be a backup.