Bengie Molina, C, Toronto Blue Jays

February 10, 2006 @ 14:29:34

By Chris Hadorn
Edited by KFFL Staff

The Toronto Blue Jays have made headlines this offseason with their star-studded acquisitions.They landed another big fish earlier this week when they announced the signing of Gold Glove free-agent catcher Bengie Molina. Molina joins a Blue Jays squad that has added third baseman Troy Glaus, starting pitcher A.J. Burnett, southpaw closer B.J. Ryan and first baseman Lyle Overbay in an attempt to dethrone the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox at the top of the American League East. Molina signed a one-year, $4.5 million contract with Toronto that includes an option for $7.5 million in 2007. Molina found it difficult to find a long-term deal this offseason after the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim declined to offer him salary arbitration, which effectively cut ties that dated back to 1993. The New York Mets reportedly offered Molina a three-year, $18 million deal, but withdrew it after finalizing a trade with Florida for All-Star catcher Paul Lo Duca. Ironically, the Angels are going to replace him with his brother Jose Molina and rookie catcher Jeff Mathis. North of the border, Molina will assume the majority of catching duties but veteran Gregg Zaun will also get his share of time behind the plate.

Table: Bengie Molina Statistics, 2000-05

YEAR	TEAM	G	AB	AVG	HR	RBI	R	2B	BB	K	OBP	SLG
2000	Angels	130	473	.281	14	71	59	20	23	33	.318	.421
2001	Angels	96	325	.262	6	40	31	11	16	51	.309	.351
2002	Angels	122	428	.245	5	47	34	18	15	34	.273	.322
2003	Angels	119	409	.281	13	31	37	24	13	31	.304	.443
2004	Angels	97	337	.276	10	54	36	13	18	35	.313	.404
2005	Angels	119	410	.295	15	69	45	17	27	41	.336	.446

POSITIVES

Molina is your prototypical short and pudgy backstop. He is listed at 5-11, 220 pounds, but fantasy players should be wary concerning the accuracy of the second figure. Molina won Gold Gloves in 2002 and 2003 and his defense will forever be his calling card. As a hitter, Molina's strength is his ability to make contact and during his six-year career, Molina has never struck out more than 51 times in a season.

Molina enjoyed his best offensive season to date in 2005. Molina set career highs in batting average, home runs, on-base percentage and slugging percentage. Molina's good season can be attributed mostly to his assault on left-handed pitchers. Against southpaws in 2005, Molina batted .393 with 7 home runs and 37 RBI in 122 at-bats. He also posted an eye-popping .430 on-base percentage and .643 slugging percentage. In comparison, Molina batted .253 with 8 home runs and 37 RBI in 166 additional at-bats against right-handed hurlers. His on-base percentage was .295 and his slugging percentage was .391 versus righties. It is unlikely Molina will repeat those Roy Campanella-esque numbers against southpaws in 2006. Buyer beware, Molina did post a horrendous .689 OPS against southpaws in 2004. For the most part, Molina has historically enjoyed better success against lefties and fantasy managers who adjust their lineup on a daily basis should consider him in a platoon role.

Molina's prowess for putting the ball in play makes him a stable commodity. Barring a serious injury, Molina will likely hit home runs in double figures and maintain his steady batting average of the previous three seasons.

NEGATIVES

Molina's health and age are the two most significant factors that could derail his three-year run of hitting success. At age 31, Molina is entering the stage where typically catchers begin to show the side effects of catching. Molina's age and health concerns are some of the reasons why no team was willing to commit to a long-term contract during the offseason. Molina has spent time on the disabled list in each of the last five seasons. He has not topped 410 at-bats or 119 games in any of the last three seasons. His career highs in games played and at-bats occurred during his rookie season which was six years ago in 2000. Critics have attributed his stints on the disabled list to his weight and lack of conditioning, which Molina adamantly refutes.

Even if Molina is able to stay healthy in 2006, the Blue Jays will most likely limit his workload, similar to recent seasons in Anaheim. Toronto is also quite fond of Zaun, a switch-hitting backstop who hit 11 home runs and 61 RBI in 434 at-bats last season. Unlike Molina, Zaun is a patient hitter who draws his share of free passes and has posted respectable on-base percentages of .367 and .355 in the previous two seasons. Since Blue Jays general manager J.P. Ricciardi hails from the "Moneyball" crowd that values on-base percentage, Zaun will get his share of playing time as well. This is definitely a situation to monitor as it plays out in March at the Blue Jays' Grapefruit League camp in Dunedin, Fla. The Blue Jays also have a young catcher in Guillermo Quiroz, but he has not been able to stay healthy enough to make noise in the catching mix.

Molina is in the conversation for the slowest baserunner in baseball. Of course, nobody expects their catcher to steal bases, but Molina's lack of speed hinders his chances to score runs. In his rookie season of 2000, Molina scored a career high 59 runs and despite smashing home runs in double digits the past three seasons, Molina has not scored more than 45 runs since. Additionally, Molina does not draw many walks and his career .309 on-base percentage also limits his run scoring chances.

Molina has his offensive appeal, but fantasy players should take his age, health and playing time situation into consideration before they pull the trigger on draft day. Molina has minimal potential for growth and the Blue Jays' lineup can't save him from his deficiencies in scoring runs.

SUMMARY

Molina can assist your fantasy team at catcher with the occasional round-tripper and a steady batting average. If your league permits daily lineup changes, Molina is ideal for a platoon role strictly against lefties. With Molina's health issues and playing time concerns, managers should not count on him without another option at catcher. Molina is a late-round draft selection in MLB universe leagues and a middle-round pick in AL-Only leagues.

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Chris Hadorn
Chris Hadorn has covered minor league and amateur prospects for more than a decade. He writes for San Diego's North County Times and has been a KFFL fantasy baseball contributor since 2006.

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