Ausmus Returns to the Dodgers

The Dodgers brought in Brad Ausmus last year as a mentor to young catcher Russell Martin. Apparently, they were happy with that arrangement, as the club agreed to continue its relationship on Tuesday, signing the 40-year-old (41-year-old in April) to a contract guaranteeing one million dollars this year with a mutual option for 2011.

Simply put, Brad Ausmus is a terrible hitter. A horrible hitter. Adjectives struggle to describe how bad of a hitter Brad Ausmus is. Even with his extremely lucky 2009 – a .370 BABIP, 80 points above his career average resulted in a .322 wOBA in 107 PAs, just below average – Ausmus has compiled a stunning -51.8 wRAA since 2006. CHONE projects him for a ridiculously bad 52 wRC+. Yes, that’s right – Ausmus is projected to be half as productive as the average MLB hitter. Basically, that means that Ausmus is no longer an MLB hitter.

Of course, it’s only one million dollars for a large market club and it’s just a backup catcher role. What does it really matter? Still, roster spots have value, and the Dodgers are far from the point that the Yankees are where another marginal win holds little sway over their playoff fate. Even with Russell Martin’s general health in 2009, Ausmus still saw 100 plate appearances. At the level that CHONE projects him, that’s about a 6 run loss versus an average hitter, and a 5 run loss versus the projected offensive level of AJ Ellis, for whom CHONE projects a 94 wRC+.

I’m going to give Ned Colletti the benefit of the doubt and assume that he isn’t fooled by Ausmus’s performance last year and is instead bringing him back to continue his mentoring of Russell Martin. Martin, at 27 and entering his 5th season, can probably be considered a veteran at this point. Even if you buy that Martin still needs to be treated like a rookie, consider this: After three straight 107 or higher WRC+ seasons, the addition of Brad Ausmus coincided with a substantial drop in power and Martin’s worst season yet, with an 88 wRC+.

This is nowhere near enough data to suggest that Ausmus is responsible for this decline, and to make such a claims would be irresponsible. What’s more likely is that Brad Ausmus’s presence has not and will not affect Martin’s skill in the slightest – after all, Martin is a better hitter than Ausmus ever was in his career – and the Dodgers are wasting an important roster spot at a time when they need all the wins they can get as a playoff contending team.