The Diamondbacks will have four catchers in their clubhouse when Gabriel Moreno comes off the injured list. They are likely to make a roster move.
Arizona Diamondbacks catcher Gabriel Moreno homered in back-to-back games, Aug. 19 and 20, for Triple-A Reno. He's catching consecutive games, one day to the next, and his return from the 60-day injured list is imminent.
It's just a matter of when, as the Diamondbacks' decision-makers evaluate Moreno to determine when he's ready to rejoin the major league team.
And that means something has to give on the current active roster, where the Diamondbacks currently have three catchers. José Herrera, James McCann and Adrian Del Castillo have divided time behind the plate, though Del Castillo has more frequently been in the lineup as a DH.
Herrera has been with the team since 2023; his defense and handling of the pitching staff are vital, even with his sub-200 batting average. To be fair, he leads the team in sacrifice bunts.
McCann batted above .300 for his first month with the Diamondbacks after being signed in late June, when it became clear that Moreno couldn't play through a broken hand. At the time, the Diamondbacks needed a catcher to split playing time with Herrera.
McCann's offense has tailed off since, but several starting pitchers have raved about how he works with them.
Del Castillo worked on his defense at Triple-A from the start of the season, got a call-up and has proved he can hit. His broken-bat single in the bottom of the ninth inning on Wednesday, Aug. 20, won the game that day.
All three have good cases to remain on the roster, but it's hard to envision the Diamondbacks carrying four catchers when Moreno comes back.
"It's going to be a very difficult decision. We can't carry four catchers. We know that," Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said Aug. 15 in Colorado, at that point adding that he didn't know what the decision would be on who goes and who stays.
Herrera has the tenure and the longer relationships with pitchers, and has proved his worth. Del Castillo needs more experience but offers the most with his bat, and he can continue in the right-handed DH role. McCann is a veteran who's filled in ably, perhaps better than expected.
At times, all three catchers have provided key hits, and none have made glaring mistakes defensively. But getting Moreno back should provide a boost in all areas, and his teammates recognize his importance to the team.
"I'm here and I'm happy to be here," Del Castillo said. "If obviously the decision is for me to go down or anybody else, it's going to suck. But 'Gaby' is an awesome player and we'd love to have him back."
Del Castillo and Herrera said whatever happens among the catchers is out of their control.
"For us, our mentality is to win games," Herrera said in Denver last weekend. "We don't think about what's going to happen. It would be great to have Gaby back and helping, we know how important he is to the team. But right now, we're just chipping away, doing our best to win every single game."
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Diamondbacks face a catcher decision with Gabriel Moreno coming back
Category: Baseball
