Beerman’s Report Card: Carlos Ruiz Signing

Posted by Nick "Beerman" Staskin, Tue, February 09, 2010 09:39 AM

Beerman’s Report Card will be a biweekly series that will run up to Spring Training. We will look at the signings, resignings and trades that were orchestrated by Ruben Amaro, Jr. this offseason. They will be no particular order; however check back every Tuesday and Thursday for new entries.

SIGNING CARLOS RUIZ TO 3 YR/$8.85 MILLION EXTENSION

When details of this contract extension first sprung, I really thought Chooch had parlayed a solid postseason into a three-year deal. To the initial eye, it looked like Amaro might have bid against himself, something he has done during his GM tenure before. However, like any responsible blogger/columnist/beerman, whatever you want to call me, I did my homework. Broke down some numbers. Compared some stats. Examined some contracts.

Ruiz will never be Joe Mauer. Hell, Carlos will never be Brian McCann. However, his on base percentage ranked third among full-time catchers in the National League at .355. Did you know that his .355 clip ranked higher than Raul Ibanez last year? Factor in the mere 39 strikeouts that Chooch accounted for and it is clear to see that the Phillies bottom of the order had a bat that could get the ball in play and help turn the lineup over.

Beerman's GradeHowever, it wasn’t Ruiz’s bat that garnered his new multi-millionaire status. Not many catchers in baseball can command a pitching staff like Ruiz can. Chooch can block the plate with the best of them, allowing only one ball to pass by him last season.

When it comes to holding runners, Ruiz allowed the fewest stolen bases of any catcher who started 100 games with 61 swipes allowed. He managed to throw out 23 attempted base runners as well.

In an era where the top catchers are seemingly going nowhere, and after trading away any and all catching prospects that they might have had, the Phillies locked up a very solid piece of the team at a very fair rate.

BEERMAN’S GRADE ON RUIZ RESIGNING: A-

Permalink Comments (17) | Trackback (0)

17 Responses to “Beerman’s Report Card: Carlos Ruiz Signing”

  1. hotstove.com / archive » Tuesday Morning Hot Stove Notes: Mets, Phillies, Astros, Twins, Reds, Pirates, more Says:

    [...] The Phillies made a smart move to lock up catcher Carlos Ruiz to a longer-term [...]

  2. joepa Says:

    Carlos seems to excel in the playoffs. I believe the reason is that the regular season is a difficult grind physically on a catcher, and it takes it’s toll. In the playoffs where Carlos gets alot more days off, he excels.

  3. Andrew R. Says:

    Yea I love Chooch in the post-season…. he freakin’ turns into Johnny Bench. I think offensively, he makes small steps but they are indeed noticeable. Hitting in front of a pitcher is not the easiest thing in the world.

    I always would like to see how he’d do hitting in the #2 spot. He hits a lot of ground-balls and line drives and could really be a poor-man’s Polanco, espicially if pitcher’s are going to be grooving him fastballs with Utley and Howard behind him.

  4. joema Says:

    good point joepa, maybe with a better backup this year in schneider, carlos will get some more days off and think its october and get hot..

  5. joegrandpa Says:

    I agree with both of you joepa and joema and so does joegrandma too.
    We both think that Carlos Ruiz is a good catcher and will have another good year. And we also like that Brian Schneider fellow as well. He will really help Carlos.

  6. Pat Gallen Says:

    I’d give it a B+, but it’s oranges and apples I guess. I wish he’d hit a little bit better during the regular year like he did in the minors, but I guess you can’t complain too much about an 8-hole hitter. His strikeout to walk ratio is awesome. Plus the $5 million option seems high to me.

  7. Chuck Says:

    His production for the 8 spot is fine. Not everybody in the lineup can be expected to hit .275 – .300.

  8. Andrew Says:

    He i team MVP. Take him away and put in a marson offensive type and this team doesnt make the playoffs. Next most imprtant is victorino utley and J rol. defense wins championships people.

  9. Joel Says:

    Beerman I think you were drunk when you wrote this, bc this was an A+++ signing compared to the usual 3 year deals Amaro deals out to AARP members.

  10. bfo_33 Says:

    Solid signing, esp with Schneider as back-up. If defense wins championships, the Phils should have killed the Yanks. Going by position, call left field a draw (although I’d give a slight edge to Ibanez because he has a decent arm), Yanks win with Tex at first, other 6 positions, Phils were far superior. Offense gets you there, Pitching wins championships.

  11. Jeff of Nova Says:

    Interesting Cliff Lee just had foot surgery

  12. psujoe Says:

    Solid signing. I’m very surprised he’s 3rd OBP for full time catchers. Talk about a bunus.

  13. Don M Says:

    If it wasn’t for buying out Arbitration years… Ruiz would’ve commanded a lot more money .. smart move by him to get guaranteed money, smary move by the Phillies to lock him up for a few years


    Interesting news.. the Mets, in an effort to increase HRs in their ballpark will take the second level off of their CF wall .. cutting the height from 16 feet to 8 feet

  14. Manny Says:

    Probably the smartest thing the Mets have done all offseason…

  15. Pat Gallen Says:

    SO maybe they will hit 100 homers next season, good for them.

  16. WFC010 Says:

    I still say the Mets should’ve signed Pat Burrell, so he could still be a Mets Killer…playing for the Mets!

  17. derekcarstairs Says:

    If I’m not mistaken, when Ruiz first came up, he was thought to be more of an offensive catcher. His last three years in the minors were very good offensively. 2008 is the only bad year he has had offensively in the last 6 years. I think an OPS of .750 is reasonable for 2010. Couple that with Chooch’s defensive skills, the Phils have a solid catcher, and his contract is a bargain.

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