Mariners - Acquired Montero

Seattle Mariners acquire C Jesus Montero for P Michael Pineda and P Jose Campos ZiPS projected Montero at .271/.333/.486 in Yankee Stadium. Good enough for a 112 OPS+. He’s going to a much tougher place to hit, so the raw stat line is not going to be nearly as pretty to get the same value. Let’s put it this way. Justin Smoak (a name not chosen at random of course) put up a 104 OPS+ with .234/.323/.396. I like Montero an awful lot but I’d downgrade him a fair amount in anything like a Strat keeper league. Will he catch? Far from a given even with the Mariners. ZiPS sees Todd Zeile and Mike Sweeney as his most comparable players and neither stayed behind the plate. I see him as unlikely to be an impact player unless he can stick as a catcher. The Mariners are in a position to find out if he really can handle the position and I expect them to do so. His arm isn’t likely to be a deal breaker (he wasn’t awful against the running game in the minors). He a...