The Baltimore Orioles Catching Carousel

Feb 14, 2014; Sarasota, FL, USA; Baltimore Orioles catcher Matt Wieters (32) works out with a group of catchers at Ed Smith Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Dyer-USA TODAY Sports

The Baltimore Orioles continue to change up the 40-man roster with the addition of Delmon Young, and it is one of the many catchers who comes off the roster.

Ryan Lavarnway, we hardly knew ye.

The Orioles signed Lavarnway on December 23rd off waivers, as they continued to search for catching depth.  Less than three weeks later, the O’s released Lavarnway.

Technically the Birds have four catchers now.  However, many would realize they have five catchers, once the J.P. Arencibia signing becomes official. Arencibia has an invite to spring training, so despite being off the 40-man, he could easily still playing in the majors next year.

So, who are those five catchers?

Arencibia has been detailed in length already by colleague Joe Serpico here.

Michael Olhman – Ohlman is the youngest of the Oriole catchers, and also the only one without minor league experience. The 24-year-old spent all of last season in AA Bowie, where he hit .236 with 25 doubles. Ohlman is largely considered to be one of the O’s top 10 prospects, although at the bottom of the top 10.  He is rated as a decent defender, which won’t be enough to cut it in the majors with the O’s. However, he has a powerful bat that the team really likes.

Steve Clevenger – If you get the feeling that Clevenger, 28, could quickly be the odd man out if the Orioles add to their roster, you aren’t the only one.  Clevenger was frequently passed over last year, including when the Orioles traded for Nick Hundley.  It was clearly a sign the team wants to see more from him defensively, as his bat certainly is rated to exceed that of Caleb Joseph.

Caleb Joseph – Caleb Joseph entered last season with a lot of questions.  The O’s did not trust his defense, and made that clear. However, when Matt Wieters went down, Caleb got the call.  And to say he filled in admirably would be an understatement.  Caleb led the AL in caught stealing percentage in 2014, at over 40 percent! He also did a great job calling games as stated by the pitchers.  Many of the pitchers even said they really liked throwing to Caleb. Batting was a bit of a struggle, as Caleb hit .207 in 82 games.  However, the Orioles hope that Joseph will not need to start anywhere near 82 games in 2015, instead serving as a fill-in for a hopefully healthy Matt Wieters

Matt Wieters – And that brings us to one of the stars of the Baltimore Orioles. Wieters was well on his way to the best season of his career when he was sidelined after 26 games for the season.  Wieters was raking, hitting over .300, 5 HRs, 5 2Bs, 13 Rs, 18 RBIs in his short time last year. The Orioles will expect another great year in 2015, but a lot of it will depend on if Wieters is healthy to start the year.  Wieters is one of the top 5 catchers behind the plate, and a force to be reckoned with beside it as well.

The Baltimore Orioles are well prepared at catcher for 2015, now it is time for Dan Duquette to build upon some of the other positions on the team.