Houston Astros: Three reasons to target Francisco Cervelli in a trade

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Houston Astros potential trade target Francisco Cervelli (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images) /

Reason #2: A relentless thirst for improvement

Merritt Rohlfing of SB Nation’s Beyond the Score wrote this past Spring that his recent surge is predicated on him being able to hit more fly balls into to play as he had traditionally been a ground-ball type guy. Cervelli finished 2018 with a 0.93 ground ball/fly ball ratio. His fly ball percentage has increased remarkably from 27.1 percent in 2017 to 47.1 percent in 2018. He has basically added another dimension to his hitting repertoire and that’s going to increase his value even more.

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This notion is also attributed to him having a larger launch angle having gone from as little as six degrees in 2016-17 to up to 19.2 degrees — at the time of the writing — this past season. This would explain the 12 homers he crushed this season as the balls he’d hit would have more hang time to sail in the bleachers and get some extra runs on the board.

In addition, Cervelli had a 125 wRC+ for 2018 which would put him right on par with Realmuto in terms of the offensive production that he could bring to the table.

He also notched 30 extra base hits last season as well.

In regard to defense, Cervelli had eight double-plays turned as a catcher last season, good enough

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for 8th in the NL, his eight passed balls were a mark that ranked him 8th in the NL as well and his .996 fielding percentage, being 4th in the NL in that regard.

Fangraphs has measured him out at a 10.5 offensive rating along with a 9.3 defensive rating, which is, by far, the highest numbers that he’s netted over his career.

Lest we not forget the 3.3 WAR that he carried for last season, warranting his case to be an everyday, productive starter for any team that he’s on.

The only concern to signing him is that Cervelli is 32-years-old and he’s no stranger to being bit by the injury bug. In fact, Cervelli appeared in only 104 games with 404 plate appearances while tending to various maladies last season.

But with all things considered, he should be a priority to acquire if they can convince the Pirates to let him go.

But it’s time to dig into how much he’s going to cost.

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