December 21st, 2020 at 8:15 am 
by Ron Cervenka It is a time-tested baseball fact: You can never have too many catchers on your roster or down on the farm.
The problem, of course, is that a back-up catcher sitting on your bench – an absolute must – takes up a very valuable 25-man and 40-man roster spot; during a normal non-COVID-19 season and postseason, that is.
But roster spots notwithstanding, Dodgers President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman is keenly aware – very much so – of the value and necessity to have a stable full of backstops. In fact, just last week, he picked up veteran (and former Dodgers) catcher Tim Federowicz off of waivers and ‘reportedly’ signed him to a minor league deal. I say ‘reportedly,’ as there has yet to be an official announcement from the team, with a post on Twitter from the 33-year-old Erie, PA native as the only ‘confirmation’ of the move thus far:
But wait! There’s more! … and this one is official.
On December 10, the Dodgers lost two players in the Major League phase of the 2020 Rule-5 Draft and six players in the Minor League phase. However, Friedman and company picked up 23-year-old catcher Ryan January from the Arizona Diamondbacks, along with 21-year-old outfielder Roimer Bolivar from the Tampa Bay Rays.
(Photo credit – Jared Ravich)
Whereas the Dodgers Major and Minor League rosters are chock full of outfielders, you can, as noted above, never have too many catchers; even though the likelihood of any of them supplanting current Dodgers catchers Will Smith and Austin Barnes at the Major League level is highly unlikely; barring injuries, of course, which is exactly why Friedman snatched up FedX and January.
January was selected by the Dbacks in the eighth round of the 2016 draft out of San Jacinto College, North Campus in Houston, TX. He spent most of the 2019 season with the Hillsboro Hops of the Low Single-A Northwest League, where he posted a slash line of .253/.392/.421/.813 with three home runs and 21 RBI in the 29 games in which he appeared; most as a catcher, with a few games in right field and DH.
He finished the 2019 season appearing in three games with the Kane County Cougars of the Single-A Midwest League, where he went 3-for-11 (.273) with three singles and no RBI.
With the recent restructuring of the Minor Leagues, it is unknown where January will begin his Dodgers career, although the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes of the (now) Single-A level (as opposed to the former Advanced Single-A level) seems like a realistic starting point.
Welcome to the World Series Champion Dodgers family, Ryan!
Play Ball!
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Nothing against Rocky Gale, but I’m glad to have Tim Federowicz back in the organization. I think January may switch positions sooner than later. If he is to progress through the Dodgers organization it will almost certainly be in a different position, perhaps first base or the outfield. His scouting report indicates a very good athlete, strong arm, and power hitter with marginal catching skills. I think Steve Berman is currently on the OKC roster, Hunter Feduccia at Tulsa, or Great Lakes, and Ramon Rodriguez, Tre Todd, Jair Camargo, Diego Cartaya, and Carson Taylor (fifth round draft pick in 2020) are all ahead of January.
Agree, Jesse. I think FedX slots in behind Smith and Barnes. This is a nice problem to have.
I also agree that January is still a long ways away from The Show.
Other than the pitcher, catchers are the most engaged pitch by pitch. It’ll be interesting to see if/when we get an automated strike zone. Framing may become completely moot, but throwing out runners, blocking balls in the dirt, snagging wild throws and calling the pitches will still be quite as or more important for catchers than hitting. But the automated strike zone may raise the hitting bar for catchers a bit.
Depth is great. I can imagine Friedman trading Ruiz, but as a 3rd string guy, first up if Smith or Barnes gets hurt, you couldn’t do much better. Having a minor leaguer ready to promote at any position in the event of injury is a better form of depth than having to trade for a replacement.
Maybe Keibart would light the world on fire, and Smith could get a look at 3rd base. Too many good players is a non existent “problem”.
Love to know what the Dodgers think of Ruiz as a catcher — is he as good as being the no. 2 prospect in the teams deep and talented pool of players, or is he a trade chip to add a closer, third baseman, or second baseman? It would be great if Ruiz was good enough to platoon with Barnes at catcher and move Smith to third base, or another position where his athleticism, plus speed, and hitting would be available every game. As you can tell, Smith is one of my favorites and see him becoming a star.
The first time I laid eyes on Ruiz at Rancho, I immediately saw him as the Dodgers regular catcher for many years to come. I say that after having also seen Will Smith at Rancho. But having witnessed Smith develop as a major league catcher, I began to see Keibert as an exceptionally valuable trade chip; I’m talking exceptionally valuable and a key piece in setting up the Dodgers future.