Tampa Bay Rays interested in Derek Norris
Just three months after they acquired catcher Derek Norris from the San Diego Padres in exchange for Pedro Avila, the Washington Nationals have decided to cut him loose. But he may not be a free agent for long because he is reportedly drawing interest from several teams.
According to ESPN's Buster Olney, the Tampa Bay Rays have expressed interest in signing Norris and they have continued to have conversations about the possibility of adding him to their roster. However, he also noted that the Rays might decide not to bring in a new catcher since it would mess up the relationship that Luke Maile and Curt Casali have already built with the pitchers.
A number of observers also believe that pursuing Norris is a bad idea since he doesn't know the pitching staff.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
"A catcher needs to learn the pitching staff, understand their stuff, and learn how to get through when they are struggling. They need to be a leader, and have to know how to get through the opposing lineup. That can lead to a steep learning curve as a catcher goes from one team to another, especially in the middle of the season or in Spring Training," David Hill of Rays Colored Glasses said in his article. "That is exactly what the Tampa Bay Rays have to consider with Derek Norris," he continued.
Since Wilson Ramos is sidelined with a knee surgery, Norris can start for the Rays if the team decides to sign him. However, he will have to take a back seat when Ramos returns.
Norris was actually an All-Star in 2014, but his offensive production has continued to decline since then. In 125 games last season, Norris posted a batting average of 0.186, an on-base percentage of 0.255 and a slugging percentage of 0.328. Aside from that, he also had 14 home runs, 42 runs batted in.
