The Marlins signing of Jarrod Saltalamacchia to a three year, $21 million contract was always a bit on the questionable side, given that his one good season in Boston was built on the back of a .372 BABIP. That wasn’t going to last, and his contact rates were always going to be too low for him to be much more than an average hitter. But an average hitting catcher has value, and at $7 million a year, the commitment wasn’t so huge that the deal seemed like a huge mistake.

The Marlins, however, clearly had a severe case of buyer’s remorse, and today they’ve designated Saltalamacchia for assignment, ending his tenure in Miami. They’ll have 10 days to trade him or release him, since no one will take the remainder of his contract via a waiver claim. Realistically, Salty still projects to be a reasonably useful part-time catcher that a team like Arizona, Seattle, or Anaheim should be willing to take on a fraction of the $15 million he’s owed in order to upgrade their bench.

But it’s probably also true that our WAR numbers here likely overrate Saltalmacchia’s value; by Statcorner’s estimates, he was a miserable pitch-framer last year, and then there’s this from former MLB pitcher Tanyon Sturtze:

@Ken_Rosenthal @MLBONFOX not really Ken pitchers hate throwing to him, plus the fact he isn't hitting makes it easy for the #Marlins.

— Tanyon Sturtze (@sturtze56) April 27, 2015

Obviously Sturtze doesn’t speak for everyone, but pitchers do talk, and given that four organizations have now let him go, it does seem possible that Salty’s work behind the plate could be hurting his team in ways that we’re not currently capturing. So, before you get too excited about your favorite team picking up Saltalamachcia, keep in mind that he might be closer to replacement level than current estimates suggest.

After all, a team doesn’t usually DFA a guy that has real trade value. The fact that they made this move suggests there wasn’t much of a market for him, and it wouldn’t be a huge shock to see him get released and then sign with another team for the league minimum. Salty will find another job, but this might have been his last crack a starting role.