Last year, Butera was used to catch about 30 games. The 130 AB's he got didn't really come out of either Mauer or Doumit's AB's. Most of those 30 games, either Mauer or Doumit or sometimes both, were in the lineup at DH or some other position. Largely, Butera's AB's come at the expense of some other backup. While that hurts the offense, it is not nearly as much as some people suggest.

 

A second thing to keep in mind is that Butera doesn't really take catching appearances from Mauer either. Mauer is going to catch as many games as his health and productivity allow. So, since Butera's defensive appearances come at the expense of Doumit or some other 3rd catcher, the real question is this--Does Butera superior defensive skills to Doumit or some other 3rd catcher such as Herrman, make up for the rather small loss of offense you get by having Butera on the roster over some other backup?

 

I don't really know the answer to that question. Clearly, Butera is better at most catching skills than Doumit and Herrman at this stage of their careers. Whether his defense is enough better to make up for the dozen or so hits you are going lose by having Butera on the roster, is a rather interesting question.

Well said, Jim. I personally tend to think his defense doesn't make up for his horrendous bat, but the other side of that opinion has more merit than a lot of people suggest.