Drew Butera

2016 was clearly the outlier in terms of rate production for the veteran backstop. Butera managed a .345 wOBA and 115 wRC+ in 133 plate appearances that season, but he's never had marks above .266 or 61 in any other year. Butera totaled just eight extra-base hits in 177 plate appearances last season (three at home), with his ISO falling more than 100 points to .092. He also fell apart late in the year with 13 strikeouts in his final 30 plate appearances. For all his offensive deficiencies, Butera is still a positive behind the plate. Salvador Perez's playing time has been trending downward as he's been banged up a bit more in recent seasons, but even so, Perez remains among the most durable and frequently-used catchers in the game. Butera will be limited to only a start or two per week so long as Perez is upright.

Butera had a career year in 2016 as the backup for All-Star catcher Salvador Perez. In 133 plate appearances, Butera slashed .285/.328/.480 while hitting four home runs and driving in 21 runs. Butera's batting average and slugging percentage were the highest of his career, but his abnormally high .373 BABIP would seem to suggest that those numbers will come down a fair amount in 2017. Butera has posted a far below average wRC+ of 49 over his career while his career FIP is over 130, indicating that his defense has been much more valuable than his offense over his career. Nonetheless, the Royals also liked him enough to sign him to a two-year deal this offseason to continue serving as a reliable backup for Perez. The 33-year-old will have a very good shot to log 100 plate appearances for the fourth straight year in 2017, even if his offensive averages regress back to the mean next season.

Butera began the year as the backup catcher for the Angels, but was sent to Kansas City after the Angels designated him for assignment in May. Between the two teams, the veteran backstop posted numbers consistent with his past: he slashed .196/.252/.252 while mustering very few starts behind Chris Iannetta in Los Angeles and the heavily-used Salvador Perez in Kansas City. The 32-year-old is a strong defensive catcher, but he packs little-to-no power and is stuck in a role that bears very little fruit for even AL-only roto players.

A knee injury forced starter A.J. Ellis out of action early in the year, creating an opening for Butera to see time, though he continued to play second fiddle to Tim Federowicz over the remainder of the first month. The Dodgers eventually soured on Federowicz, but rather than giving Butera a chance in the primary role, they turned to 35-year-old journeyman Miguel Olivo to take the reins. After Olivo too floundered, the team finally gave Butera an opportunity at regular time, but their reluctance was justified as he recorded just 14 hits (two doubles) in 64 at-bats from May 10 until June 11 (.218 average). Ellis, following another stint on the DL with an ankle issue, was able to remain relatively healthy in the second half, limiting Butera to just 54 trips after the All-Star break, and Butera did little with his chances, slashing just .143/.222/.245 in those plate appearances. The Angels acquired Butera in December to back up Chris Iannetta, where he'll likely see approximately one start per week in 2015.

Butera served as Minnesota's third catcher most of last season and will likely reprise the role again in 2013 if he sticks on the roster. He did not receive as much playing time as in 2011 since Joe Mauer stayed healthy, but Butera still showed he is one of the worst hitters in recent history in the majors as he posted career "highs" of a .198 batting average and .550 OPS last season. Butera is seen as a strong defensive catcher, but he is the rare player who is so anemic with the bat that extended playing time could really hurt a fantasy team. With both Ryan Doumit and Joe Mauer on the roster, he may spend most of the season at Triple-A.

It was always assumed that if Joe Mauer went down for a significant amount of time that the Twins would acquire another catcher rather than give Butera extended at-bats. However, Mauer missed significant time last season and often wasn't able to catch when in the lineup, and the Twins stuck with Butera. The results were predictably terrible from a hitter who had a .214 minor league batting average as Butera had the second-lowest OPS of any player in baseball with 200 or more at-bats. Butera has a strong glove (3.0 WAR as a fielder), but it's more than offset by his anemic bat. Butera enters 2012 as the third-string catcher with Mauer and Ryan Doumit ahead of him, which will reduce his playing time.

Butera won the backup job to Joe Mauer last season based on his defense, but he offers almost nothing at the plate. He hit just .197 with a .296 SLG. And there's not much upside since he never hit higher than .258 at any level in the minors. If Mauer were to get hurt for an extended period, the Twins would call up or trade for another catcher who could survive at the plate.

Butera could compete for the backup role to Joe Mauer next spring, but he's a defensive catcher with little offense for fantasy purposes. He slugged just .298 at Triple-A last season and hasn't hit over .220 the last two years in the minors, so he doesn't have the bat to stick in the majors for any significant length of time.

Butera is strictly of the good-glove, no-hit variety (.219/.308/.354 last year at Double-A), so he offers little upside for fantasy purposes.