The Reds will likely keep three catchers as Dave Ross, Javier Valentin and Paul Bako are all veterans. This will also allow Ross and Valentin to pinch hit when they don’t start a game. 31-year old righty swinging Dave Ross will get most of the playing time this season. He swings hard in case he hits the ball and the result is homers and whiffs. Ross played in 112 games last season for the Reds and he was 63 for 311 (.203 avg, .670 OPS) with 32 runs scored, 17 homers and 39 RBIs. But, Ross whiffed an alarming 92 times last season! He is a solid defensive catcher though as he threw out 39% of the runners that attempted to steal on him and Reds pitchers had a 4.57 ERA with him behind the plate last season.

32-year old switch hitting Javier Valentin is not a all or nothing hitter like Ross is. He played in 97 games last season for the Reds and he was 67 for 243 (.276 avg, .715 OPS) with 19 runs scored, 2 homers and 34 RBIs. He does have more power than he showed last season and he’s a good pinch hitter. Valentin only threw out 11% of the runners that tried to steal on him and Reds pitchers had a 5.17 ERA when he was catching.

36-year old lefty swinging Paul Bako has never been much with a bat in his hands but he is a solid defender and would fit in nicely as the #3 guy on the depth chart. He played in 60 games last season for the Orioles and he was 32 for 156 (.205 avg, .533 OPS) with 13 runs scored, 1 homer and 8 RBIs. Bako threw out 18% of the runners that tried to steal on him last season and Orioles pitchers had a 4.96 ERA when he was catching and that really says something.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR 2008 SEASON: C-