Royals sign C Miguel Olivo

[banyon]

Royals sign catcher Miguel Olivo to one-year deal with mutual option for 2009

http://kansascity.royals.mlb.com/news/press_releases/press_release.jsp?ymd=20071227&content_id=2336782&vkey=pr_kc&fext=.jsp&c_id=kc

Kansas City, MO (Dec. 27, 2007) - The Kansas City Royals have signed catcher Miguel Olivo to a one-year contract for 2008. The Royals and Olivo each hold options for the 2009 season. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
"Miguel is a talented catcher with a power bat and a very strong throwing arm," Royals General Manager Dayton Moore said. "With him and John Buck, they form one of the most powerful catching duos in baseball."

Olivo, 29, has served as the Florida Marlins primary catcher the past two seasons after spending four seasons with the White Sox (2002-04), Mariners (2004-05) and Padres (2005). Olivo hit .237 (107-for-452) with 20 doubles, four triples, 16 home runs and 60 RBI in 122 games with Florida in 2007 after hitting .263 (113-for-430) with 22 doubles, three triples, 16 home runs and 58 RBI in 2006. Defensively, he has thrown out 31.2 percent (45 of 144) of attempted base stealers the past two seasons, good for fourth-best in the National League.

The 6-foot, 220-pound Olivo is a career .239 hitter with 61 home runs and 224 RBI in 556 games. His 32 home runs over the past two seasons rank tied for sixth among catchers in baseball. Olivo's .415 (22-for-53) average at Kauffman Stadium ranks second-best all-time among players with at least 50 at bats (Javy Lopez, .423).

Born in Villa Vasquez, Dominican Republic, Olivo now resides in Ceres, Calif., with his wife, Gloria, and their six children, Miguel Jr., Minaya, Alexandria, Sergio, Alazay and Erica. His second cousin once removed is current Royals shortstop Tony Pena, Jr. Olivo was originally signed by the Oakland A's as a non-drafted free agent on Sept. 30, 1996.

A corresponding 40-man roster move will be announced at a later date.

[DeepSouth]

maybe it'll light a fire under Buck ?

[banyon]

I haven't been 2nd guessing Dayton much, but I'm not sure how I feel about signing another RH catcher with a ridiculously bad K/BB ratio. I'll have to look and see what other FA catchers were out there.

Career Stats:

SEASON TEAM G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB SO SB CS OBP SLG AVG
2002 Chicago White Sox 6 19 2 4 1 0 1 5 8 2 5 0 0 .286 .421 .211
2003 Chicago White Sox 114 317 37 75 19 1 6 27 114 19 80 6 4 .287 .360 .237
2004 Chicago White Sox 46 141 21 38 7 2 7 26 70 10 29 5 4 .316 .496 .270
2004 Seattle Mariners 50 160 25 32 8 2 6 14 62 10 55 2 2 .260 .388 .200
2005 San Diego Padres 37 115 16 35 7 1 4 16 56 4 31 6 1 .341 .487 .304
2005 Seattle Mariners 54 152 14 23 4 0 5 18 42 4 49 1 1 .172 .276 .151
2006 Florida Marlins 127 430 52 113 22 3 16 58 189 9 103 2 3 .287 .440 .263
2007 Florida Marlins 122 452 43 107 20 4 16 60 183 14 123 3 2 .262 .405 .237

Career Totals 556 1786 210 427 88 13 61 224 724 72 475 25 17 .275 .405 .239

[BigChiefFan]

Good news. I like him better than LaRue.

[banyon]

OTOH, he has been associated with some decent pitching staffs, although that's probably just a function of the pitcher's ballparks he was playing in (FLA/SEA/SD)

[Pitt Gorilla]

I haven't been 2nd guessing Dayton much, but I'm not sure how I feel about signing another RH catcher with a ridiculously bad K/BB ratio. I'll have to look and see what other FA catchers were out there.

Career Stats:

SEASON TEAM G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB SO SB CS OBP SLG AVG
2002 Chicago White Sox 6 19 2 4 1 0 1 5 8 2 5 0 0 .286 .421 .211
2003 Chicago White Sox 114 317 37 75 19 1 6 27 114 19 80 6 4 .287 .360 .237
2004 Chicago White Sox 46 141 21 38 7 2 7 26 70 10 29 5 4 .316 .496 .270
2004 Seattle Mariners 50 160 25 32 8 2 6 14 62 10 55 2 2 .260 .388 .200
2005 San Diego Padres 37 115 16 35 7 1 4 16 56 4 31 6 1 .341 .487 .304
2005 Seattle Mariners 54 152 14 23 4 0 5 18 42 4 49 1 1 .172 .276 .151
2006 Florida Marlins 127 430 52 113 22 3 16 58 189 9 103 2 3 .287 .440 .263
2007 Florida Marlins 122 452 43 107 20 4 16 60 183 14 123 3 2 .262 .405 .237

Career Totals 556 1786 210 427 88 13 61 224 724 72 475 25 17 .275 .405 .239Dude, he's likely the backup catcher and he's an incredible improvement over what we've had at that position. I'll take it.

[banyon]

Dude, he's likely the backup catcher and he's an incredible improvement over what we've had at that position. I'll take it.

I don't mind that he's a backup, but usually you don't want two catchers that bat on the same side of the plate unless there's a good reason for it. I guess I don't see the reason yet.

[Deberg_1990]

Print Em!!

[Eleazar]

Similar production to John Buck... but several degrees of an upgrade from 0-2 LaRue. Thank goodness we don't have to watch him anymore.

[Eleazar]

Haha. Does it seem to anyone else like Jason LaRue had a whole lot more than 170 plate appearances last season?

Maybe they were so memorable because an appalling 40% of his at-bats ended in strikeouts. :eek: He appeared in 66 games and struck out 66 times.

He also managed to drive in only 13 runs the entire season despite playing in almost a third of the team's games.

I wonder how often it is that a team gives a guy 170 ABs with numbers like a .148 batting average :spock: :spock: a .240 OBP :spock: and a .272 slugging percentage. Or guys who are hit by pitches as often as they hit home runs (4).

You can say one thing for him though, of all his 24 hits last season (By comparison, Ichiro Suzuki had more hits on the first day of May than LaRue would have at season's end), 9 of them were doubles.

[Pitt Gorilla]

I don't mind that he's a backup, but usually you don't want two catchers that bat on the same side of the plate unless there's a good reason for it. I guess I don't see the reason yet.
It also increases the potential for Buck to be dealt.

[Spicy McHaggis]

I like Buck and found it extremely frustrating that Bell insisted on platooning LaRue with him. This guy seems like a much better fit.

[Demonpenz]

There was no reason to play buck every day last year. People wanted to see buck jack up a couple more home runs... For what? The royals need to save buck's legs for either a run or to be dealt. Sadly enough they are using buck the way larry johnson should have been used last year. I don't know if people fully understand that your legs are vital in a good baseball swing.

[Spicy McHaggis]

There was no reason to play buck every day last year. People wanted to see buck jack up a couple more home runs... For what? The royals need to save buck's legs for either a run or to be dealt. Sadly enough they are using buck the way larry johnson should have been used last year. I don't know if people fully understand that your legs are vital in a good baseball swing.

I understand the need to preserve the legs of your guys. I looked up the statistics and Buck played roughly 2 games for every 1 LaRue played so I would say the Royals accomplished that goal. At the same time it was just frustrating to have essentially an automatic out playing that much, regardless of the reason.

[CHENZ A!]

Buck sucks ass. He can't hit, and his defense is mediocre in my opinion. I'd make this guy our starter and bring Buck off the bench. I can't understand why people still like that guy after watching him the last 3 yrs.

[Mr. Laz]

better than LaRue

[Mecca]

Yea this guy is a backup, but we still need a starter...

[FringeNC]

Can the Royals afford another sub-.300 OBP hacker in the lineup?

[CHENZ A!]

Can the Royals afford another sub-.300 OBP hacker in the lineup?

that depends, what do you mean by afford? We can't really get much worse.

[GoHuge]

I think this guy will be the starter or "have every opportunity to be the starter."

[KevB]

He's an upgrade over last year, and he's got some pop off the bench late in games (in place of TPJ or Gathright). I really like the signing. Would you like to have a LH hitting OBP guy to complement Buck? Sure, but good luck finding one.

[siberian khatru]

Would you like to have a LH hitting OBP guy to complement Buck? Sure, but good luck finding one.

Johnny Estrada (switch-hitter)?

But maybe he wouldn't accept a part-time role, or was asking for a lot more $ than Olivo.

[Mecca]

The Brewers got rid of Estrada because he's a major dickbag in the clubhouse...

[chiefqueen]

Print 'em.

[banyon]

Below is the list

Strangely, several of these guys are former Royals (in royal Blue). I guess if you can't play for us, you can't play for anyone, huh?


Player Team Position Roster Service Agent Age Opt
Sandy Alomar Jr. New York Mets C FA 17.047 John Boggs 41
Paul Bako Baltimore Orioles C FA 8.14 Barry Meister 35
Rod Barajas Philadelphia Phillies C FA 6 Danny Horwits, Dan Lozano (fired Gregg Clifton and Terry Bross on 11/26/06 and fired Danny Horwits and Dan Lozano in September 2006) 32
Alberto Castillo Baltimore Orioles C FA 7.132 37
Einar Diaz Pittsburgh Pirates C MFA 7.082 Peter Greenberg 34
Mike DiFelice New York Mets C FA 7.148 38
Todd Greene San Diego Padres C Retired 6.155 Mike Nicotera 36
Tim Laker Cleveland Indians C Retired 5.138 38
Mike Lieberthal Los Angeles Dodgers C FA 12.005 Arn Tellem 35
Mike Matheny San Francisco Giants C Retired 12.057 John Boggs 37
Damian Miller Milwaukee Brewers C FA 9.023 Bob Garber 38
Doug Mirabelli Boston Red Sox C FA 8.034 Sam and Seth Levinson 37
Josh Paul Tampa Bay Rays C FA 5.06 Dick Moss 32
Mike Piazza Oakland Athletics C FA 14.034 Dan Lozano 39 B-D
Todd Pratt New York Yankees C FA 12.052 Himself (fired agent Peter Grosz after 2005 season) 40
Kelly Stinnett St. Louis Cardinals C

[banyon]

It's a pretty bad list. I guess we did okay looking at those names. Rod Barajas is the only other guy who can still swing a stick who didn't retire and he sux with pitchers.

['Hamas' Jenkins]

That is an awful list. Olivo was the best of a shitiful bunch, but he still sucks ass.

[Demonpenz]

it would be nice if someone just had a crazy year and went off for 40 more homeruns than he was projected for but this is the royals we don't even hit our lower than projected homeruns or rbi totals