Baltimore Orioles Add To Their Catching Depth With Signing

The Baltimore Orioles have signed catcher Bryan Holaday to a minor league deal.

We heard last week from MASN’s Roch Kubakto that the Baltimore Orioles were close to signing a veteran catcher to a minor league deal, something general manager Mike Elias had on his offseason shopping list to add depth the position. That deal is now done.

According to SiriusXM’s Craig Mish, the Orioles have signed former Miami Marlins catcher Bryan Holaday to a minor league contract. Orioles beat reporters have since confirmed the signing.

Originally a sixth-round pick of the Detroit Tigers back in 2010 out of Texas Christian University, Holaday has appeared at the major league level with the Tigers, Texas Rangers, Boston Red Sox, and Miami Marlins. The 32-year-old backstop will now look to earn a roster spot with the Baltimore Orioles, likely splitting time with Austin Wynns down in Triple-A Norfolk to start the season.

In 268 games across eight major league seasons, Holaday has posted a career slash line of .241/.287/.340 with 10 home runs and a career bWAR of 0.3. While Holaday isn’t a catcher who will wow you with his defensive metrics, his framing numbers are a big improvement over what current Orioles backstops Pedro Severino and Chance Sisco posted last season, according to Baseball Prospectus. 

As Mish points out on Twitter, the Marlins pitching staff enjoyed working with Holaday, something that may prove beneficial to a very young and inexperienced Orioles pitching staff during spring training.

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In his career, Holaday has thrown out 30% of base stealers, including 45% of runners back in 2018. His 2018 season in Miami was his best season, defensively, owning a 0.9 dWAR, the highest mark of his career.

By all accounts, the signing appears to be a solid depth move for the Orioles who could greatly benefit from having an experienced veteran behind the plate, even if it is just for spring training and working with the pitching staff in Norfolk.

The Tides rotation is sure to be stacked this year with quality pitching prospects like Dean Kremer, Zac Lowther, Alex Wells, and Michael Baumann. Holaday’s value will come in how he helps to develop this young and promising staff.

I guess this means the Caleb Joseph rumors can be put to bed.