Phillies avoid arbitration with catcher Cameron Rupp
By John Town
The Phillies avoided arbitration with catcher Cameron Rupp, agreeing to a $2.05 million deal. This deal doesn’t guarantee a spot on the team.
Matt Gelb of Philly.com has reported that the Phillies and catcher Cameron Rupp have agreed to a $2.05 million contract for the 2018 season, avoiding arbitration. MLB Trade Rumors projected that Rupp would get a $2.1 million contract, so they were pretty much dead on.
This deal is only guaranteed if Rupp is on the 25-man roster when the regular season rolls around. Rupp still has to earn the backup catching spot in spring training in a battle with Andrew Knapp. He and Knapp both have a minor-league option left, so Rupp could still go back to Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
General manager Matt Klentak said he is willing to option either Knapp or Rupp need be: [quote via Gelb]
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"“Carrying three young catchers on the 40-man roster — if that’s what we end up doing — is really no trouble,” Phillies general manager Matt Klentak said last November. “Two of those players, Rupp and Knapp, have options. Alfaro is the only one who does not. It’s not ideal to option young players who we think are major-leaguers. But the flexibility is there.”"
In 2017, Rupp played 88 games, starting 83. His offensive numbers were uninspiring as he had a .217/.299/.417 line with 14 home runs and 34 runs batted in. He had a solid 10.3 percent walk rate, but it was negated by a 34.4 percent strikeout rate.
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Rupp isn’t viewed as a great defensive catcher either. He was worth 10.3 runs below-average in terms of framing according to Baseball Prospectus. He was also below-average by their blocking, stolen base, and throwing metrics. As a whole, he was worth just 0.3 wins above replacement according to BP.
Down the stretch, Rupp saw less and less playing time in favor of Jorge Alfaro, who hit .318 with an .874 OPS in 29 games after being called up to the majors. Rupp started just eight of the team’s last 29 games last year.
Next: Does Jorge Alfaro have superstar potential?
The Phils still have until Friday to reach a deal before hitting arbitration with their other eligible players: Cesar Hernandez, Maikel Franco, and Luis Garcia.