Cleveland Indians: Ryan Hanigan adds valuable catching depth

The Cleveland Indians made a minor move on Monday, inking catcher Ryan Hanigan to a minor league deal.

If Hanigan, 37, is able to make the major league roster, he will earn $1.25 million, according to Bob Nightengale. Hanigan joins a catching group that includes incumbents Yan Gomes and Roberto Perez, along with prospect Francisco Mejia.

The odds of Hanigan making the big league roster are not good. Both Gomes and Perez are locked into long term deals and don’t appear to be going anywhere. Mejia is going to get the first chance at a call-up if necessary.

Really, Hanigan’s best chance of making the roster is an injury during spring training. Maybe even two injuries. Since Mejia is just about ready for the big leagues, Hanigan is down to fourth on the depth chart. Still, that doesn’t make this a bad signing.

Pretty much every team signs catchers for spring training, simply because they need someone to catch the bullpen sessions of all their pitchers in camp.

How has Hanigan performed in his career?

At 37, Hanigan has been around awhile. He made his debut in 2007 as a 27 year old with the Cincinnati Reds. He was never a full time starter, however. The most he ever played in a season was 112 games in 2012, when he finished with 317 at bats with a .274 average. He was with the Reds for the first seven years of his career.

Last season, Hanigan hit .267/.324/.347 with two home runs with the Colorado Rockies. For his career, Hanigan is a .251 hitter with a 84 OPS+ in his 11 seasons.

He’s a career backup and is important depth for the organization. Should there be injuries to the Cleveland Indians catching corps early in the season, Hanigan brings experience as a major league catcher to the team and can help lighten the load of Mejia.

Hanigan is likely ticketed for Triple-A where he could get the bulk of the catching duties if and when Mejia is called up to the big leagues. But depth is never a bad thing, especially at catcher, and that’s all that this Hanigan addition is, depth.

Next: The final Monday before spring training

He won’t take any at bats away from any of the Tribe’s current catchers and may even be given his release after spring training if he isn’t added to the Opening Day roster. This is a low-risk signing but it doesn’t really possess any high reward production-wise. But not every move has to be.