The 2025 Replacement-Level Killers: Catcher & Second Base

Today, we have a Killers two-fer, with lists covering a couple of important defensive positions, specifically second base and catcher. While still focusing on teams that meet the loose definition of a contender (a .500 record or Playoff Odds of roughly 10%) and that have gotten about 0.6 WAR or less out of a position thus far (which prorates to 1.0 WAR over a full season), I have also incorporated our Depth Charts’ rest-of-season WAR projections into the equation for an additional perspective. That may suggest that some of these teams will clear the bar by a significant margin, but even so, I’ve included them here because their performance at that spot thus far is worth a look. All statistics are through July 12.

Padres

With Kyle Higashioka departing for the Rangers in free agency, the Padres — who ranked 24th in the majors last year in catcher WAR (1.1) — pencilled in Luis Campusano, the weaker partner of last year’s catching tandem, alongside late-season addition Elias Díaz to do the bulk of the work behind plate. The pair, augmented by 38-year-old free agent Martín Maldonado, ranked dead last in our preseason Positional Power Rankings. After optioning Campusano to Triple-A El Paso in March (he was recalled yesterday), they’ve approximated that billing, ranking 29th out of the 30 teams in catcher WAR.

The 34-year-old Díaz, whom the Rockies — the freakin’ Rockies, man — released in the middle of last August, has hit just .198/.270/.297 (65 wRC+) while striking out a career-high 26.4% of the time and has been a subpar framer as well, though admittedly not as bad as he was in Colorado. Maldonado, who somehow hit for just an 11 wRC+ last year (.119/.174/.230 in 147 plate appearances) with the White Sox has been incrementally better than that, which is to say pretty awful (.178/.221/.295, 45 wRC+ in 141 PA). His -1.0 WAR marks his third straight season in the red, and Statcast is particularly down on his defense (-7 FRV, including -4 runs for throwing and -2 for blocking). The 26-year-old Campusano, a former top 30 prospect who fell out of favor due to his defense (a major league-worst -14 FRV last year, including -8 runs for framing) has hit well at El Paso (.308/.427/.587, 140 wRC+) but is 0-for-21 in spot major league duty. Tellingly, he has yet to play an inning behind the plate for the Padres this year (he DH’ed against the Phillies on Sunday), which is saying something given the competition. If nothing else, his four years of remaining club control makes him a change-of-scenery candidate.

With the Padres right in the thick of the Wild Card race and only 5 1/2 games back in the NL West, this is an obvious area of need, and 19-year-old top prospect Ethan Salas, who’s been limited to just 10 games at Double-A San Antonio due to a stress reaction in his back, isn’t the solution. Sean Murphy, who’s now sharing time with rookie Drake Baldwin in Atlanta and who’s signed through 2028, would be the top catcher available if the Braves choose to deal him; just last week, The Athletic‘s Jim Bowden mentioned the Padres as a team with strong interest in him. The Angels’ Travis d’Arnaud would be a less costly upgrade; he’s signed for $6 million for next year. The Yankees’ J.C. Escarra, who has hit well in limited duty as a rookie but is being crowded by Ben Rice’s dip back into the catching pool, might be available. One way or another, we can expect A.J. Preller to do something here in order to improve the Padres’ chances.

Rays

Starter Danny Jansen has been unremarkable on the offensive side, hitting .207/.302/.379 (93 wC+), but he’s been bad defensively, with -5.1 FRM and -7 FRV (including -7 runs for framing). Backup Matt Thaiss hasn’t hit much since being rescued from the White Sox in a late-May trade; his overall .225/.361/.297 (96 wRC+) slashline rests on a 16.1% walk rate, but he’s become far less selective, with more swing-and-miss, since the trade. Ben Rortvedt, who hit an impossibly awful .095/.186/.111 (-12 wRC+) in 70 PA before being outrighted off the 40-man roster, has hit for just a 77 wRC+ at Triple-A Durham, but had an 87 wRC+ and 1.4 WAR, with solid defense, as recently as last year. If he’s not in the Rays’ near-future plans, he could be of interest to another team.

As for potential upgrades, Bowden mentioned the Rays as the other team with strong interest in Murphy. D’Arnaud, who spent most of his 2019 season with Tampa Bay, would also be a fit, and MLB Trade Rumors has suggested that either Higashioka or fellow Rangers catcher Jonah Heim could be trade candidates, and likewise the Marlins’ Nick Fortes.

Twins

Ryan Jeffers and Christian Vázquez formed a tandem that was solidly middle-of-the-pack last year, combining for 2.2 WAR, but they’ve slipped — or rather, Vázquez has. Jeffers has hit for a respectable .247/.344/.398 (110 wRC+) while providing typically fringy defense (-3.9 FRM, -4 FRV), but Vazquez’s production has cratered. His .167/.239/.250 slashline represents a drop of 22 points in wRC+ (from 59 to 37), and where he was exceptional defensively in 2024 (9.5 FRM, 5 FRV), he’s been about average this year.

The Twins do have Mickey Gasper, a switch-hitting 29-year-old utilityman who can catch, at Triple-A St. Paul, where he’s torn up the International League (.307/.408/.577, 154 wRC+). He’s hit just .115/.258/.135 in 62 PA in the majors, however, and has caught just one inning during his brief time with the Twins, so it seems unlikely they’d suddenly turn to him as an upgrade. Noah Cardenas is a 25-year-old, 35+-FV prospect who has hit a combined .245/.383/.448 (130 wRC+) between Double- and Triple-A, but his defense is rough (“a 40 receiver with a 45 arm,” as Eric Longenhagen recently described him). As a sub-.500 team, the Twins (47-49) may wind up selling or holding instead of buying; given that they also made the Killers list at first base (Ty France) and second (see below), upgrading their second catcher may not be their top priority.

Royals

Despite just a 4.2% walk rate, Michael Massey made a solid showing in 2024, producing 1.5 WAR in 100 games while batting .259/.294/.449 (103 wRC+) and playing slightly above-average defense at second base. This year, however, his overly aggressive approach has caught up to him, and his performance has collapsed. He’s hitting just .202/.221/.258 in 209 PA; his 25 wRC+ is the lowest for any player with at least 140 PA, and his -1.1 WAR is tied for the lowest of any second baseman. His 2.9% barrel rate ranks in the seventh percentile, and he doesn’t have an xSLG above .300 against any pitch besides sinkers and sweepers, which together account for just about 14% of the offerings he’s seen.

Massey has been out of the Royals’ lineup since early June, when he went on the injured list with a left ankle sprain; while on his rehab assignment, he was hit by a pitch that caused a hairline fracture of his right wrist. In his absence, Jonathan India has been covering second, but that’s been less than ideal. He’s a better hitter than Massey even in what has so far been a career-worst offensive showing (.249/.330/.346, 90 wRC+), but as with the other positions at which he’s dabbled (third base and left field), his defense has been well below average (-3 DRS and -3 FRV in just 317 innings). Nick Loftin is a better fielder than India but has hit just .191/.238/.383 (64 wRC+). Maikel Garcia has played a bit of second base in the midst of his breakout season (.298/.355/.454, 123 wRC+), but he’s not as good defensively there as he is at the hot corner.

At 47-50, the Royals have been unimpressive to date, but they’re just 4 1/2 games out of a Wild Card spot. They could certainly use an upgrade, but given their position in the standings, they might prefer to seek a player with years of club control rather than a pending free agent. Still, buying low on someone such as the Rockies’ Thairo Estrada or the Braves’ Ozzie Albies (who would be here if Atlanta’s odds weren’t down to 3.2%) hardly guarantees improvement. Free agent DJ LeMahieu, whom the Yankees released last week, would be a fit; if nothing else, his 96 wRC+ to date looks absolutely All-Star caliber in this context.

Giants

As a rookie last year, Tyler Fitzgerald hit for an impressive 132 wRC+ with 3.0 WAR in 96 games, 72 of them at shortstop. The signing of free agent Willy Adames bumped him to second base, and things haven’t been the same. The 27-year-old Fitzgerald has hit just .227/.287/.333 (77 wRC+), and while he’s played above-average defense, he’s delivered just 0.4 WAR. Last week, the team optioned him to Triple-A Sacramento. Christian Koss, who got the bulk of second base work when Fitzgerald missed time due to a fractured rib, has been sidelined by a left hamstring strain, so the team has started Casey Schmitt at second base in all six games since Fitzgerald was sent down.

The 26-year-old Schmitt has hit a respectable .254/.346/.404 (117 wRC+) in 131 PA thus far while trimming his chase rate, nearly tripling his walk rate (from 3.5% to 9.9%) and boosting his hard-hit rate from 36.1% to 47%. Until recently, he’d been bouncing around the infield, serving as a platoon partner for since-traded first baseman LaMonte Wade Jr. and filling in for injured third baseman Matt Chapman. If he can hold on to the aforementioned offensive gains while playing more regularly, problem solved, but his track record is short enough — he’s never taken more than 69 plate appearances in a calendar month — to invite some skepticism. A pending free agent such as the A’s Luis Urías could be a fit if the Giants decide to go outside the organization.

Twins

Second base has been a revolving door for the Twins so far. The team began the season with Willi Castro, and Edouard Julien sharing time, but Castro strained an oblique in late May and Julien hit just .198/.288/.319 (72 wRC+) before being optioned to St. Paul in early June. Since then, Brooks Lee and Kody Clemens have handled the lion’s share of the work. The 24-year-old Lee, a 2022 first round pick and a top 30 prospect as recently as last year, has hit just .259/.292/.381 (86 wRC+) with stints at shortstop (when Carlos Correa was injured) and third base (when Royce Lewis was injured), but he’s somehow managed just a 39 wRC+ in 95 PA as a second baseman, which is part of the reason the Twins are here. The 29-year-old Clemens has powered his way into more playing time than ever, hitting .216/.299/.507 (121 wRC+) with 12 homers in 168 PA, almost entirely against righties. Lately he has been playing more first base than second, with Castro returning to the mix. A job share between the switch-hitting Lee and the lefty-swinging Clemens could work, but if the Twins decide to sell, the latter could be a useful utility addition for another team.

Red Sox

Red Sox second basemen combined for -2.3 WAR in 2024, the second-worst showing of any team at any position. For a brief time, it appeared the team had solved the problem by signing free agent Alex Bregman, but instead the Red Sox decided to slot him at third base, cheesing off Rafael Devers and setting in motion a saga we’ve written about more times than Statcast can count. Still, it appeared the Red Sox fortunes were turning for the better when rookie Kristian Campbell, no. 7 on our preseason Top 100 Prospects list, won the second base job during spring training, but after hitting for a 149 wRC+ in April, he sank to a -7 wRC+ in May. He was optioned to Triple-A Worcester on June 20 with an overall line of .223/.319/.345 (86 wRC+) and brutal defensive metrics at what is admittedly a fairly new position for him (-14 DRS, -6 FRV in just 471.2 innings). Lately he’s been learning first base — where the Red Sox have lost Triston Casas to a season-ending knee injury — at Worcester, so he may already be out of the picture here.

David Hamilton got the bulk of the non-Campbell work at second base until recently, but he was so dreadful at the plate (.179/.229/.276, 35 wRC+) that he was optioned to Worcester last week when Bregman returned from the right quad strain that knocked him out of the lineup for seven weeks. Manager Alex Cora recently said that rookie Marcelo Mayer, who shared time at third in Bregman’s absence, will now play a lot of second, but he’s hitting just .230/.273/.416 (83 wRC+) while striking out nearly 30% of the time, so one imagines his leash is short. Ceddanne Rafaela, who’s taken a big step forward at the plate (.271/.313/.475, 113 wRC+) while also playing elite defense in center field, will spot at second about once a week as a way to help alleviate the team’s outfield logjam. Romy Gonzalez, who’s swung a hot bat (.333/.371/.594, 157 wRC+) while splitting time between second and first base, will figure in the mix as well, though he’s rough defensively. Between those three, the Red Sox probably have enough bodies to sort this out without an outside addition, but if they’re active at the deadline, it could shake up this picture.