As you all know by now, Matt Treanor was placed on the DL.
Matt Treanor was placed on the 15-day disabled list Tuesday with a left hip strain, prompting an all-out search by the team for another catcher. “Are we looking? Sure we’re looking,” baseball operations president Larry Beinfest said Tuesday. “The all-points bulletin is out because we’re light not only here but now in the minor leagues.” John Baker, who has never played in the majors, had his contract purchased from Class AAA Albuquerque. He joins a tandem that includes Paul Hoover, who has just 23 games of major league experience.
Normally, for a big club, the Hoover-Baker situation would look bad, but I'm not so certain in this case. Sure, they don't have experience in the majors, but they do have at least one thing going for them.
Hoover and Baker have spent most of the season splitting time at Albuquerque, where Hoover caught three starters and Baker two.
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"It's sad when somebody gets hurt, but I'm really happy for Baker finally getting a chance," Hoover said. "We're each other's biggest fans."
While they did see most of the pitchers in Spring Training, the hurlers are different now. But it appears they are willing to work together relearning or in some cases, learning, the staff and it always good to have a study buddy who is also cheering for you.
And anyways Beinfest and Fredi aren't that concerned about it.
''It's not panic time,'' Beinfest said. ``It's not anything. You have to deal with the market and the situation and, generally, catching is difficult, like pitching, to find.''
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"I feel comfortable with either of them," Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez said.
I have absolutely no idea how long it will take Treanor to recover from a hip strain. However, if the Marlins have to go with the status quo until he returns it may not turn out so bad. In Matt's case it should give him a break from the extraneous wear and tear of blocking pitches, getting spike on plays at the plate and being hit with foul balls. Once his hip is ready to go, the other parts of him should be healed and all set for the second half of the season. This is, of course, assuming a full recovery of his hip.