Los Angeles Dodgers: Right-handed bench bats that fit perfectly in LA
By Jason Reed
2. Austin Romine
Austine Romine has the Los Angeles Dodgers written all over him. Romine is exactly the kind of player that the Dodgers would bring in to provide depth off the bench and actually fills in a need for the Dodgers.
If the Dodgers do not bring back Russell Martin to be the backup catcher then they are going to have to look externally. Austin Barnes should have run out of chances by now and heralded prospect Kebeirt Ruiz is still a year away from making a big-league impact.
Plus, with the emergence of Smith and more catching prospects behind Ruiz, it would not be all that surprising to see him become trade bait this winter.
Romine has experience catching some of the biggest high-profile arms in the league and has done so for the New York Yankees since 2011. He has also proven in prolonged stretches that he can be productive offensively, filling in at times for an injured Gary Sanchez.
Most important, Romine hit .309 against left-handed pitching last season and still was not bad against right-handed pitching with a .269 average.
The left-handed numbers might not matter much with a right-handed Smith ahead of him but it is nice to have that right-handed bench bat to provide contrast to the left-handed hitters in the lineup.
Some may evaluate Romine as a starting catcher but I don’t think he has that kind of market. He may get starting offers from low-level teams but for a veteran, it probably means more to be a backup on a contender rather than start everyday for a team that wins 70 games.