Rene Rivera

Despite a solid spring training showing, Rivera was released by the Rays within a week of Opening Day. He ultimately signed a minor league deal with the Mets, and following an injury to starter Travis d'Arnaud, Rivera made his way up to the major league squad before the end of April and stayed there for the remainder of the season. The fact that he wasn't sent back down spoke more to fellow catcher Kevin Plawecki's struggles rather than Rivera taking the job by storm, as the 33-year-old hit just .222 and struck out in over a quarter of his plate appearances. It doesn't come as much of a surprise as he's always been viewed as more of a defensive catcher. However, there were some bright spots on the offensive side, as he mashed left-handed pitching to the tune of a .314/.429/.514 slash line, albeit in just 42 plate appearances. The Mets brought him back to be d'Arnaud's backup in 2017, so he should play once or twice a week.

One of the top assets that landed in Tampa Bay from the Wil Myers trade, Rivera entered 2015 as the Rays’ clear starting catcher. What happened after could be politely described as disaster. The 32-year-old spent zero days with his batting average above the Mendoza Line and finished the season with .178/.213/.275 line that wouldn’t be justifiable for even the most defensively skilled catchers. Rivera lost the starting job to the surging Curt Casali in August and never got it back, even when Casali had his season ended by a hamstring injury. Instead, J.P. Arencibia turned in one of the best months of his career and took the starting job for the season’s final month. Rivera wasn’t even the sole backup, as rookie Luke Maile was given nine starts. Rivera will likely hit 2016 as a favored backup behind Curt Casali, but the presence of Maile and top prospect Justin O’Conner means that Rivera’s chances at future playing time will only dwindle as long as his bat remains anemic.

Emerging from spring training as the Padres' safety net behind fellow catchers Yasmani Grandal and Nick Hundley, Rivera got the nod on Opening Night and quickly established himself as the preferred backstop of Andrew Cashner. Rivera made inroads with Tyson Ross as well, and after San Diego sent Hundley to the Orioles on May 24, Rivera more or less established an even timeshare with Grandal. As the season rolled along, Grandal was forced to man first base out of necessity due to the season-ending forearm strain suffered by Yonder Alonso in mid-August, allowing Rivera near everyday nods behind the plate. Rivera slogged through the first three-plus months in typical fashion, but after the All-Star break, he slashed a more-than-respectable .280/.354/.439 with five homers in 157 at-bats. Following an offseason trade to Tampa Bay, Rivera should see an immediate opportunity to serve as the primary catcher in his new home, where he'll presumably work ahead of Curt Casali on the depth chart.

Rivera got playing time in the majors last season with Joe Mauer missing much of the season due to injury. However, he'll likely be the main catcher at Triple-A Rochester this season. His prospects for playing time in the majors have diminished with the Twins signing Ryan Doumit and J.R. Towles, and with Drew Butera remaining on the roster.

Rivera will reprise his role as Kenji Johjima's back-up, awaiting the arrival of either Jeff Clement or Rob Johnson. Neither of those two will come this year, though. Rivera will adequately spell Johjima behind the plate and try not to kill too many Mariners rallies with his weak bat. He has no power and poor plate discipline. Rivera will give Johjima a day off once or twice a week.

Rivera hit .396/.408/.521 in 48 at-bats last season with the Mariners, but those stats are misleading. He doesn't have great plate discipline as he struck out 11 times to one walk. At Double-A San Antonio and Triple-A Tacoma he combined for 47 strikeouts and nine walks. Rivera is a good defensive catcher, but he isn't projected to be more than an average hitter. He'll likely make the team as Kenji Johjima's backup, though, as Yorvit Torrealba, Wiki Gonzalez and Miguel Ojeda were jettisoned.

A second-round pick in 2001, Rivera was a late-season call-up last season for insurances purposes more than anything else. He's considered a quality catch-and-throw prospect who could turn out to be a decent hitter eventually, but is still a couple of years away from being proficient enough with the bat.