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2007 Good catchers are harder to find than single women at a comic book store. There are 30 major league starting jobs out there, but not 30 guys with enough talent to fill them. Given the paucity of viable candidates, it`s surprising that Redmond has never gotten the opportunity to start four or five times a week. Not that he`d be Johnny Bench or anything, but he`s a solid defender who has hit .300 or higher as a backup in six of the last nine years. The Twins were smart enough to realize what a nice thing that had in Redmond and lock him up for two more years with an option for 2009, giving them, by far, the best catching corps in baseball. 2006 He was signed as a veteran backstop who might be able to handle 90-100 starts in case Mauer broke down, and Mauer didn`t break down. While legitimately good players who deserve to start get mentioned as baseball`s best backup catchers, Redmond is more worthy of the title: you don`t want him starting, but you`re also glad to have him. 2005 The moderately useful backup catcher went to the Twins after the season on the first multi-year deal of his career. He'll make a good backup to Joe Mauer if Mauer catches, and a decent half-time player if Mauer has to play elsewhere. The on-field difference between Redmond and Lo Duca, similar players in type, certainly isn't the $6 million-a-year difference in their salaries. 2003 Redmond and Ramon Castro both made the club out of spring training, but Castro hit the DL with an elbow sprain on May 16. In the interim, the club fell in love with Redmond, and he now stands to grab the lion’s share of the playing time with Charles Johnson’s departure. If Redmond had timing this good at the plate, he wouldn’t need luck to get a major league job. Forced into full-time play, expect his numbers to drop. 2002 Redmond is one of the game's better backup catchers, in a group with Tom Lampkin and Bill Haselman, all behind Gregg Zaun. Most teams obsess over having a good glove behind the plate; they should realize that you can get 90% of the defensive skill of the Mike DiFelices of the world in a package capable of posting an EqA 40 points higher. It's a sustained advantage for the teams that get it right. 2001 The coaches and managers in the Florida farm system loved his defense and the way he handled pitchers, saving him from a career as a minor-league nomad. Mike Redmond repaid the parent club with two offensive seasons out of line with his true ability level, which is closer to what he did last year. He’ll carve out a few more years as a good-field, no-hit backup signal caller, then embark on a managerial career. 2000 This is a quality backup/platoon catcher. Redmond is fair defensively and can pinch-hit, so he should be around for a long time; his immediate future will involve sharing time with Ramon Castro. He’ll play more than that projection indicates. 1999 The Marlins seem unnaturally fond of him, and they plan on letting him platoon at catcher with the recently-acquired Jorge Fabregas if his knee is healed up. The trade for Guillermo Garcia from the Reds may mean his recovery isn’t moving along fast enough. 1997 The Marlins have almost no catching depth in the minor leagues, which is why the pickup of Zaun was so important. Redmond predictably hits better his second year in a league, but there’s no reason to think he’ll ever be even a third-stringer in the major leagues. 1996 Wants to be Jimmy Kremers when he grows up.
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