During his press conference Wednesday afternoon, Milwaukee Brewers manager Craig Counsell remarked that he was comfortable with his team’s dilemma of having only one catcher on the active roster because he knew how long it takes to get from Nashville, where their Class AAA affiliate plays, to Chicago, where the Brewers open the season against the Cubs Thursday.
Less than two hours later, the relevant question had shifted to how long it took to travel from Arizona to Chicago.
The Brewers addressed their sudden hole at catcher by trading for Victor Caratini from the San Diego Padres in exchange for minor-leaguers Korry Howell and Brett Sullivan, as well as cash.
Brewers president of baseball operations David Stearns did not have a timeline Wednesday afternoon for when Caratini, who was in Arizona with the Padres for opening day, would join the team for the opening series at Wrigley Field in Chicago.
The move comes one day after Pedro Severino, who was slotted as the backup catcher behind Omar Narvaez, was suspended 80 games for testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug.
“Clearly, this is a move that stems from Pedro Severino’s positive test and suspension,” Stearns said. “Not something that we were looking to do prior to that, but once that happened, we began calling around, seeing what catchers might be available.
“Caratini is someone who we’re very familiar with and have had interest in before and are pleased that we’re able to line up with San Diego and bring him into the fold today.”
In the aftermath of news of Severino’s suspension, the Brewers were left with two options already on the 40-man roster to fill the role of backup catcher. Sullivan was one but, like Narvaez, bats left-handed but he has never played in the majors. Mario Feliciano, a 23-year old prospect, bats right-handed but only has one career plate appearance in the majors and is currently at Class AAA Nashville.
“We think both those guys are talented players and there’s a reason why San Diego wanted Brett in return here,” Stearns said. “So we would have been comfortable with that. There was sort of a meaningful bar that deals were going to have to clear for us to bring in an outside player in our minds. Caratini clears that bar.”
Caratini, 28, provides Milwaukee with five years of veteran experience as a backstop and a switch-hitting option in the lineup.
Caratini is a familiar face for the Brewers after spending the first four years of his career with the Chicago Cubs before recording a career-high 356 plate appearances in his lone season with the Padres in 2021. He is a career .242/.321/.355 hitter with 22 homers in 1,033 plate appearances.
Perhaps most importantly for the Brewers, those numbers jump to .253/.351/.342 against left-handed pitchers. Severino was in position to receive most playing time against leftys before his suspension.
“I think first and foremost, this is someone who’s done this job before,” Stearns said. “He’s been a big league catcher. He’s been in this division. He understands what this job entails. The switch hitter profile is a bonus here. Having someone who could bat from both side of the plate, it gives the manager a little bit extra versatility in terms of how he uses them.
“And while we look at him primarily as a catcher, this is someone who has played other positions, adding to the usefulness on the roster. And then defensively, he knows how to handle a pitching staff.”
Defensively, Caratini rated 48th out of 59 in framing runs above average last year, according to Baseball Savant but has the invaluable experience of working with a major-league staff before.
The Brewers open the season Thursday at 1:20 p.m. against the Cubs. If Caratini is not activated before the 11 a.m. roster deadline Thursday, Feliciano is the logical fill-in for the time being.
The deal came together quickly as teams around the league finalized their rosters and saw what players may or may not fit into those pictures. The Padres were able to deal from depth with veterans Austin Nola and Jorge Alfaro already on the depth chart at backstop.
Brewers acquire Jackson from Marlins
Not long after the Brewers acquired Caratini, they added more depth at catcher, trading for Alex Jackson from the Marlins.
Milwaukee sent prospects Hayden Cantrelle and Alexis Ramirez to Miami in the deal
Jackson, who has one minor league option remaining, will report to Nashville but has a major-league contract and must be on the 40-man roster.
Milwaukee is now back to having four catchers on the 40-man, just like it was to begin the week.
Jackson, 26, is a former highly-regarded prospect as the sixth overall pick in the 2014 draft. In 61 games since 2019 between Atlanta and Miami he has struggled at the plate, batting .132/.243/.225.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee Brewers trade for catchers Victor Caratini, Alex Jackson