Rene Rivera is alright, and that is about the biggest complement you can give him. He gives the Tampa Bay Rays yet another terrific defensive catcher, but his bat has fallen entirely back to earth after a supposed breakout in 2014 and his hitting has been reminiscent of Jose Molina’s time in the batter’s box from the last two years. The issue for the Rays, however, is that there are so few great catchers available, and when a team has one, they are so rarely willing to deal him.
Especially with Justin O’Conner, their’ top catching prospect, struggling at Double-A even after a recent hot streak, the Rays need to look outside the organization if they want a true starting catcher.