How many catchers can one team have? Richard Justice is reporting the Astros have claimed former Phillies' catcher Chris Coste off waivers.
Justice is also reporting Coste will report to Houston on Saturday and will be activated, and that means someone is going to get cut or sent down. I can't imagine the Astros being willing to carry three catchers, so does that spell the end of Quintero's time in Houston - at least for now?
Coste, 36 years old, started 98 games behind the plate for the Phillies last year. This year Coste has started 26 games, and gone .245/.342/.382.
This is the second time Ed Wade has picked up Coste, signing him as a free agent following the 2004 season.
Let's do some quick career splits:
vs RHP: 134x492, .272/.333/.417, 85K:29BB
vs LHP: 64x211, .303/.354/.493, 44K:15BB
2nd half: 105x369, .285/.338/.444
at MMP: 7x14, .500/.563/.500, 2K:1BB
Now let's compare those career splits to Quintero's:
vs RHP: 74x346, .214/.256/.280, 77K:16BB
vs LHP: 34x119, .286/.309/.378, 20K:1BB
2nd half: 55x250, .247/.272/.326
at MMP: 46x190, .242/.273/.321, 29K:5BB
In every way - even the limited sample of both players - Coste's numbers are better than Quintero's, who turns 30 on August 8. That doesn't necessarily mean it's Q who gets sent down.
But if it does, that means the Astros have a 37-year old catcher, and a 36-year old catcher to back him up.
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
