Adam Rubin is rolling out his ever popular Pace Law Annual Salary Projection Series. In making their determinations, Pace puts together a panel that will base their projections on the following:
- The quality of the player’s contribution to his club during the past season (referred to as his “platform season”), including but not limited to his overall performance, special qualities of leadership and public appeal
- The length and consistency of his career contribution
- The player’s past compensation
- Comparative baseball salaries
- The existence of any physical or mental issues on the part of the player
- The recent performance record of the club, including but not limited to its league standing and attendance, as an indication of public acceptance
So without further ado…
Travis d’Arnaud, Catcher
Pace Salary Projection: $1.9 million
MLBTR Salary Projection: $1.7 million
According to Pace, the three players that d’Arnaud likely will be compared with in arbitration are Robinson Chirinos (2015), Nick Hundley (2011) and Welington Castillo (2014).
You can read their full analysis here.
[iframe]<div style=”width:100%;margin:10px 0;”><iframe src=”https://w.graphiq.com/w/lv9GaWZAF” width=”600″ height=”400″ frameborder=”0″ scrolling=”no” style=”position:static;vertical-align:top;margin:0 auto;display:block;width:600px !important;max-width:100%;min-height:400px !important;max-height:none !important;border:none;overflow:hidden;”></iframe><div style=”text-align:center;font:14px/16px Helvetica,arial;color:#3d3d3d;”><a target=”_blank” href=”https://baseball-players.pointafter.com/l/3758/Travis-d-Arnaud” style=”color:#3d3d3d;”>PointAfter | Graphiq</a></div></div>[/iframe]
D’Arnaud, 28, is coming off his worst season as a pro, posting a .629 OPS and 69 OPS+ in 276 plate appearances with just four home runs and 15 RBI.
Defensively, his caught stealing percentage took another hit as 61 baserunners were successful against him and only 17 were caught stealing. And he hardly ever had to catch Noah Syndergaard. He lost that privilege as soon as Rivera arrived.
Time is running out for the one time top catching prospect as he now enters his prime years having failed to establish himself as an everyday catcher. Even after returning from the disabled list last season, he saw himself losing more and more time to backup catcher Rene Rivera. In fact, it’s my opinion that GM Sandy Alderson will look to upgrade the catching position by hook or by crook before pitchers and catchers report in February.
