In a move that was all but confirmed last week, Jose Molina finally parted ways with the Blue Jays today, signing a one-year, $1.8 million deal with the Tampa Bay Rays.
The deal includes a club option for 2013, and is a smart pickup by the Rays. Molina’s impact on the Blue Jays has been somewhat underrated; he was never much of a bat (although he did have a career year at the plate last season), but provided a young Toronto staff with veteran know-how behind the plate. That’s probably going to sound a little vague, but it’s exactly why I think the Blue Jays will miss him. It’s hard to quantify Molina’s contributions to the team as a backup catcher, as you can’t really put the work he did with guys like Romero and Morrow in hard numbers – even if he was Morrow’s personal catcher for the last two seasons.
What is more quantifiable about Molina’s game is his defense, something that Dustin Parkes of Getting Blanked broke down in a piece from earlier this year. Over the last 2 seasons, Molina has thrown out an impressive 38.5% of baserunners attempting to steal, an aspect of the catching game that JP Arencibia (24.3% in ’11) will have to continually work at to improve.
That being said, with JPA being the go-to guy in the near future, and D’Arnaud coming up right behind him, Jose Molina’s role on the team will likely have continually diminished over the course of 2012, and it was the right move for the Jays to let him go for a supplemental pick now while the opportunity is there.
It’s a good move for Molina as well. With the Rays having moved John Jaso, and declining Kelly Shoppach’s option, the 36-year old should see more time behind the plate over in Tampa Bay than he has over the last couple of seasons here.
The next question is, will the Jays now look to acquire a backup for JPA in the off-season, or turn to the recently reclaimed Brian Jeroloman?
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