December 20th, 2018 at 8:00 am 
by Ron Cervenka Unless you were among those who saw him play while he was a star at the University of Georgia (from which he was drafted by the Dodgers in the eighth round in 2013), or during his six seasons in the Dodgers minor league system, you might not realize that 28-year-old Kyle Farmer is actually a catcher.
Yes, that Kyle Farmer; the guy with a propensity for coming up with impossibly huge clutch base hits – usually off the bench – and who is actually a very good catcher. (Yes, I was among the aforementioned group).
That being said, what you undoubtedly do know is that Farmer has spent much of the last two seasons on the Dodgers 40-man roster and nearly all of the 2018 season on their 25-man roster.
So why, then, with less than two months before pitchers and catchers are due to report for Spring Training 2019, are the Dodgers still claiming to be without a starting catcher while they await the development and emergence of 23-year-old top catching prospect Will Smith and 20-year-old top catching prospect Keibert Ruiz when they already have a bona fide catcher in Kyle Farmer in their midst?
Thus far and after a full season of wondering this very thing, the best I could come up with is: Who knows?
There is no disputing that the extremely polite Atlanta, Georgia native is an excelling back-up infielder. In fact, of the 32 major league games in which he appeared for the Dodgers over the past two seasons (14 in the starting line-up), 26 were as a third baseman and two as a first baseman. And even though he is still (and always has been) listed as a catcher on the Dodgers 40-man roster, he has appeared in a grand total of four games for a grand total of 9.0 innings while wearing “the tools of ignorance,” as catching gear is often referred.
During Spring Training 2018, I asked Dodgers manager Dave Roberts what he saw as Farmer’s primary role on the team for the (then) upcoming 2018 season.
“Kyle Farmer is our number three catcher,” Roberts answered, without hesitation. “And being the number three catcher on the Dodgers is a very good position to be in.”
Really?
Forgive me for not mentioning it above, but of the 24 major league games in which Farmer appeared during the entire 2018 season, only one was as the Dodgers catcher, and that was for a grand total of 2.0 innings. Not exactly what most people would consider “…a very good position to be in.”
With 2018 former Dodgers starting catcher Yasmani Grandal now a free agent, and with 2018 back-up-catcher-turned-replacement-starting-catcher Austin Barnes having finished the regular season with a dismal slash-line of .205 / .329 / .290 for a OPS of .619 with 67 strikeouts in 200 at-bats (33.5 percent) in 2018, the guy who could – and should – at least be given a chance as the Dodgers primary catcher in the upcoming 2019 season (or at least until Smith and/or Ruiz are ready) is the guy hidden in plain sight right in front of Dave Roberts’ and Andrew Friedman’s noses – Kyle Farmer.
Play Ball!
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Yeah, I have been wondering the same exact thing. I guess, the brass doesn’t think 27 yr old Farmer can handle the catching position on a regular basis.
Looking at Farmer’s minor league stats, he was always a good contact guy and as stated, the guy has a propensity for coming up with impossibly huge clutch base hits. What’s not to like and we KNOW the price is right.
It’s stuff like this that reminds me that GM Boxout7 doesn’t have a clue what’s REALLY going on.
I think this is one time that it is better for the Dodgers to WAIT a couple of months, until say, just before spring training, when there will be possibly a few FA catchers willing to accept a one year contract. This way the Dodgers could sign a major league catcher while they wait for Ruiz or Smith. Maybe they won’t have to wait even that long. Just a thought.
Dodgers didn’t think enough of Farmer to consider him for utility role in 2019, instead signing Freese to back up 1b and 3b without the ability to catch in an emergency. Look for Farmer to be traded, or with one more option to spend another season at OKC on call only if there is a significant emergency.
He was a favorite of mine right off the bat when he played in Rancho!
Like Vin has said on many occasion… ‘Ya can’t play if ya don’t play’. After the horrible and I mean HORRIBLE year Barnes had offensively, Farmer should at least be given a legitimate shot in ST. Problem is not Farmer but Freidman and his puppet named Roberts. Dodgers could concentrate on help elsewhere and allow Farmer to split time with Barnes at the very least (while Smith and Ruiz work on being ready for the MLB) if they fail to obtain another catcher from the outside. IDK but it just appears Dodgers have a knack for railroading some of their players. Farmer does not have much more to prove while in OKC and if I were him, I would ask for a trade if not given any chances and in doing so he can tell Andy and Roberts to take a flying leap!
You wonder why a team –any team– would leave a player in limbo like this. We don’t know if Farmer is a 4A player, too good for AAA but not quite major league-caliber, when they won’t give him extended playing time to find out. Even if he is a 4A player, I think his bat is probably at least as good as Austin “Designated Out” Barnes, if not better. At his age, especially, Farmer needs to go to another team.
Of course, Roberts frequently doesn’t see what’s right in front of him.
Upon further review! Farmer never had an opportunity to play the catcher position this season as neither Grandal nor Barnes were on the DL and the Dodgers did not clench the NL West until late in the season. Dodgers gave cameo innings to Gale for being a good soldier during the season knowing that he would not likely be on the roster come ST 2019. Unless the Marlins become more reasonable in its trade expectations for Realmuto look for Dodgers to acquire a solid defensive catcher who hits from left side and has remaining minor league options to compete with Farmer in ST for the backup role — assuming Farmer is not part of the trade to acquire that catcher.
I don’t see the Dodgers giving up players for a very good catcher like Realmuto, if they only intend to keep him for one year. That’s why they are better off waiting for a FA catcher to become available, in my opinion. I’d like to see Farmer get an opportunity as a third option because I don’t think he has enough major league experience to be depended upon to be one of the Dodgers two catchers for 2019.
Realmuto has 2 years of team control, so it depends on who Marlins will accept in return. Pretty certain we know who Dodgers will not trade.
If Realmuto has 2 years of team control, that’s good news to me if the Dodgers do make a deal, it could change the thinking on Keibert Ruiz and Will Smith if Realmuto has a good year. Don’t you think?
To confirm, Realmuto is not eligible for free agency until after the 2020 season. Considering Dodgers would still have Smith or Ruiz plus Barnes who is not eligible for free agency until after the 2022 season AND Conner Wong, Hunter Feducia, and Diego Cartaya as prospects, I think Dodgers are willing to part with either Smith or Ruiz. The problem appears to be the other players Marlins desire.
Thanks for the info.
I reckon the Kyle Farmer question has been answered.
Ron I’m not sure what games you saw of Farmer at Georgia but he was not a catcher at all. He was a shortstop. A senior shortstop that the Dodgers drafted in the eighth round and signed to a minimal bonus on the condition that he would be tried as a catcher. For comparison sake as a junior he was drafted in the 35th round as a shortstop and as you know in nearly all cases junior year is the time that college players of substance enter the pro ranks. Kyle as a senior was given the option to become a pro by the Dodgers but only if he was willing to try becoming a catcher. They thought his good hands as an infielder could translate to catching so they took a flier for a minimal investment. All the kudos in the world to Kyle for accomplishing what he has thus far because his baseball career was basically over after Georgia and he not only stuck in the minors he became a Big League ballplayer. It’s been fairly obvious for the last few years though that he was not a viable catching option for a team like the dodgers that places so much emphasis in a catchers receiving ability. He just doesn’t have it. I have no clue why you ignore certain facts sometimes. Friedman and Roberts both addressed this last year in Spring Training. Even some of his teammates addressed it like Utley for example if you would like an old school evaluation. I think sometimes you Way overvalue a player or coach just because they are nice to you instead of forming an unbiased opinion.
Also AJ Ellis is a non starter and will never play for the dodgers again if anyone. His bat isn’t there and he’s a horrendous pitch receiver. He lost so many strikes for his pitchers because of his bad catching. Also don’t be fooled he is not a good clubhouse guy.