but the problem I see is that Towles and Q are likely to be fantastically awful, offensively. Unfortunately, Ed Wade and Drayton keep sending mixed messages on whether or not they plan on contending next season. If they do, then they really need to sign Zaun. If they don’t, then just bring Towles up again and hope for the best.

I think the argument for acquiring a free agent catcher is that there is so much uncertainty about what Towles will do next year. Marcels, by its nature, will predict that a player who has a bad year will improve. But, what if Towles doesn’t improve and is the same as last year, meaning that he will spend a lot of time at AAA? The veteran pick up provides some insurance.

Now, I’m just making the argument; I don’t disagree with you, entropic. In my view, if Zaun is available cheaply enough, thne sign him; but if he isn’t available at a low price, then run your risks with Towles/Quintero…perhaps pick up Skelton in the Rule 5. Bako’s offense is so bad, I don’t think he offers much improvement over even the worst case scenarios. However, I fear that is who we will get, because he is likely to be cheaper than Zaun.

for age. For players with little experience in the majors, like Towles, it probably is pretty unreliable. For players with a lot of experience, like Zaun and Bako, it is more reliable. I don’t think Marcel is inherently pessimistic, but it tends to discount really good and really bad years by “regressing toward central tendencies.”