In assessing the production the Washington Nationals got from their catchers in 2018, and acknowledging that Matt Wieters wasn’t likely to return after two seasons in D.C., GM Mike Rizzo told 106.7 the FAN in D.C.’s Sports Junkies in late September upgrading the catching corps would be a priority this winter.
“I think those are decisions that we’re going to have to make,” Rizzo said. “Wieters is a free agent. We’ve got our two young kids in [Pedro] Severino and [Spencer] Kieboom, who — Kieboom has had a nice year as a backup catcher for us this year, but I agree that a frontline catcher is a guy that we should target and go after, because it’s a huge position defensively, first of all, it’s a guy who controls a game, and I think you saw when Wieters went down, the way the pitchers threw to the catchers was as important as any type of offense you’re getting from the catcher’s position.