WasWatching.com

Slam dunk. He could hold out for a lot more after this, and previous, season(s) and they still better pay it. I'd even offer him a club option for a 4th year at another 12. Odd situation, but quality catchers are harder to find than quality pitchers. They are an undervalued commodity. Very few people not named Molina want to raise their sons to be catchers. 2-3 more years like this one and we are talking about a HOF catcher. 2-3 years of his normal performance would still be very, very good and probably a border line HOF. I've been calling for them to get a young stud understudy, even at the expense of a young pitcher. That said, Molina is the best back-up we've had.

Whoa? The real news here is Posada as "fourth-best catcher in the American League."

Really? Who else ya got?

If this is true, he should've been given that deal yesterday.

i hope jorge doesn't read this, bc $36/3 is a steal for him, especially considering catcher is such a tough position to fill. although i dont know how truthful this article is, i'm not ready to trust his dad on what salary he wants. i suspect he'll ask for ~$16 per year for 3-4 yrs (he's probably going to finish in the top 5 in the MVP).

a team option for 2010 would be ideal, bc by that time there may be some real catching prospects in our system ready for the Bigs (if not sooner), e.g. Cervelli, Montero, Romine, Weems.

First of all, this report contradicts itself. The title is "Jorge will become a free-agent" and then it says he wants an extension. If he gets an extension, he doesn't become a free agent, right?

Second of all, there's no way there's any shred of truth to that dollar amount. Posada will get more along the lines of 50mil for those three years. From the start of the season he's said that he's going to test free agency, and he's playing like a man determined to do so. As much as I'd like to believe that Jorge would give us a hometown discount, I just don't think it will happen.

Heck, I'd go $50 mil for 4 years. He will be spending some time at first base and DH, Cashman should be more worried about getting a non totally crappy BUC & getting a kid in there to take over for Jorge at the end.

Is there any reason to expect Jorge's performance the next three years will be anywhere close to his 2007 campaign? Here's 2006 and 2005...

2005 - 105 OPS+
2006 - 127 OPS+
2007 - 161 OPS+

Jorge's a career .277 hitter. This season he's at .337 -- not coincidentally, his OBP and SLG are 60 points higher, too.

If you want to believe Jorge will continue at his current level, I think the burden of proof falls on showing there's some sort of skill change resulting in Jorge's .387 BABIP (.320 career). Otherwise you're paying for an established performance level of .270/.380/.480 performance (pretty good) from a catcher who just turned 36.

***

That being said, Jose Molina is surely not the answer, either.

Sky,
This link will help provide some perspective....
http://members.tripod.com/bb_catchers/catchers/hofmem.htm
16 HOF catchers in total. Jorge's numbers stack up very well against ~ 6-8 of them already. 2-3 years of in-line production of his historical performance puts him just under the elite (Bench, Berra, Dickey, Fisk and a couple of others). Pudge will go in as well, as will Piazza (only on hit bat). Surely this can't be thought of as the Golden Age of Catchers, but there are a few standouts, Jorge included.

I don't debate the greatness of Posada's 2007 season (it's probably the best season ever by a catcher age 33 or higher). And I agree that Posada has the potential to make the Hall of Fame. My point is that hoping Posada;s age 36-38 seasons will be anywhere near his age 35 season is foolish. In fact I'd posit that they're likely to fall below his career level.

This discussion has motivated me to take a deeper look at the issue -- I'll reply when I write something up. Thanks.