FORT MYERS, FLA. – Hector Santiago's first bullpen session of spring training was with new Twins catcher Jason Castro, and it didn't take long for the lefthander to realize that he was paired with someone who likes to sell the strike.
"Usually you go through the motions,'' Santiago said. "He's back there holding pitches, framing them, grabbing the pitches and making sure he is working on his craft. You see the difference between the guy who just sweeps that pitch off the corner and throws it back to you and the guy who, boom, holds it for two seconds. Castro does a good job holding and showing you what your pitch is doing."
Castro will be paid $24.5 million over the next three seasons, and not because he's going to put up Mike Piazza-like numbers at the plate. It's because of his defensive skill set, with pitch framing at the forefront.
Baseball has made breakthroughs in recent years in measuring glovework behind the plate, and Castro is among the best in the game at pitch framing.
Or stealing strikes.
Or fooling umps.
Call it what you want, but catchers with soft hands who can turn a wrist to make a pitch look like a strike are in demand.
"You are deceiving umpires," said John Ryan Murphy, who hopes to be Castro's backup. "That is part of the job."