Christian Bethancourt
This winter
What the Winter Plan does with Bethancourt: its decisions feed, the dated moves and the briefs
The plan re-signs him to a minor-league deal: the third catcher.
- ≈ Oct 21–Nov 5 Re-sign Christian Bethancourt to a minor-league deal: the third catcher, off the 40-manBefore minor-league free agency opens after the World Series. Estimate: outrighted Sep 7, 2026 with major-league time since 2013: he can elect free agency after the season. No 40-man spot or major-league salary unless he is added. If he signs elsewhere, the next options are to re-sign Jose Herrera to a minor-league deal (−$0.1M net) or tender Henry Davis and decide in spring (−$0.4M net); Rafael Flores Jr. and Derek Berg alone are 2 catchers not on an injured list, short of the three the plan needs.
- Tender or non-tender, and the third catcherdue Nov 17 · low confidence
Tender everyone except Henry Davis: shop him first, and if nothing comes, release him by Nov 17: the plan's three Rule 5 protections, filed Nov 17, need his spot, and the non-tender deadline (Nov 20) falls after the filing. First line up the third catcher: re-sign Christian Bethancourt to a minor-league deal, before ≈ Nov 5. On the owners' proposed terms the call flips only if the floor money has no other use (tender Henry Davis, decide in spring: +$2.6M); at face value re-signing Christian Bethancourt still holds (+$372K, against −$400K for tendering and deciding in spring).
Development · trends & plan
Tracked levels only. Monthly values; gaps mark the offseason. The number beside each line is its last month, with that month’s sample (faded under 50 PA or 150 pitches), not the season.
Trends · MLB
Fielding
2027 rating at every position he can play · OAA by position · range by direction · tools. Same engine as the Fielding Lab and the Winter Plan.
| Season | Pos | OAA | Range | Arm, DP | Runs | Batters |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No MLB fielding yet. | ||||||
Runs = range plus his arm and double-play runs spread over his positions by outs (Fielding Run Value, from 2023): what the rating counts.
No directional data (needs a qualified season at one position).
Tools (percentile among MLB fielders)| Season | Zone | Balls | Outs vs. exp. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Too few balls in his zone. | |||
The zone rating counts every ball hit to his part of the field while he played there, his club’s positioning included; Savant OAA uses his actual starting spot and is the better individual grade. They agree best in the outfield. See the model card.
Triple-A tracking · 2026 percentiles
vs. 461 Triple-A hitters (150+ PA) · 264 tracked PA · the share he beats, so higher is better (less chasing, fewer strikeouts)
Minor leagues
MLB Stats API · public box-score data
| SeasonLevel | Level | Team | Age | G | PA / IP | PA / IP ·Line |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026AAA | AAA | Indianapolis Indians | 34 | 72 | 266 PA | 266 PA · .259/.307/.466 · 14 HR · 21.8% K · 5.3% BB |
| 2026AAA | AAA | Scranton/ | 34 | 3 | 3.2 IP | 3.2 IP · 2.45 ERA · 4.8% K · 23.8% BB |
| 2025AAA | AAA | Buffalo Bisons | 33 | 58 | 214 PA | 214 PA · .173/.219/.332 · 7 HR · 26.2% K · 5.1% BB |
Prospect Pipeline: Perf+ 101 over his 2026 season (266 PA, mostly AAA), 8.0 years older than his level; trend +19.8 since 2025. Tag: Org depth. Prospects →