Ryan

Hanigan

Devin Mesoraco is clearly the better talent, but Reds manager Dusty Baker tends to march to the beat of his own drum and is likely to give the veteran Hanigan far too much playing time throughout the 2012 campaign.

He’ll catch for Homer Bailey and bat eighth. A popular sleeper candidate, Mesoraco is a recommended handcuff for Ryan Hanignan owners.

“I haven’t seen enough of him,” Baker said. “He’s one of two. Eventually, he’s going to be No. 1. There are certain guys who work better with [Ryan] Hanigan than Mesoraco.” It sounds like the Reds will employ a platoon behind the plate in the early going, but Mesoraco should grab the full-time job by the end of the summer. He batted .289/.371/.484 with 15 homers and 71 RBI in 499 plate appearances last season at Triple-A Louisville.

And yet, for whatever reason, he continues to draw more playing time than the younger and more talented Devin Mesoraco. Hanigan has started 16 games at catcher this year for the Reds. Mesoraco has started only 11.

It would make sense, as the Reds are looking for outfield help and the Rays need a solution at catcher. It’s not clear at this point, though, if the moves could still possibly go down or if discussions took place but didn’t really go anywhere. If the Reds did move Hanigan, they could install Devin Mesoraco as their everyday catcher.

The Angels also may be interested in Hernandez and have been linked to the Reds’ Ryan Hanigan. Iannetta is signed for $3.55 million in 2012 while Hernandez made $3 million with Cincinnati in 2011. Hernandez is a Type B free agent. The 35-year-old backstop is coming off another solid year, hitting .283/.342/.451 with 12 homers in 293 at-bats, and figures to land a part-time role this offseason.

The Angels would likely have to pay a heavy price, as Hanigan signed a three-year, $4 million extension in February and is under team control through 2014. Rosenthal notes that the Reds could re-sign free agent catcher Ramon Hernandez, but it’s worth noting that they also have youngsters Devin Mesoraco and Yasmani Grandal in the pipeline.

Facing Shawn Camp with zero outs in the ninth inning of a 4-4 ballgame, Hanigan plated Xavier Paul for his second RBI of the afternoon. Now batting .284/.368/.358, Hanigan remains firmly entrenched ahead of the .209/.288/.348 hitting Devin Mesoraco as Cincinnati’s primary catcher.

Mesoraco usually catches Homer Bailey, so this could mean MLB has ruled on the appeal of his three-game suspension. Ryan Hanigan will start behind the dish Tuesday night and bat eighth against Cliff Lee.

Hanigan and Devin Mesoraco both struggled to get anything going offensively at the start of the season, and now both have turned it on. With the two-hit effort, Hanigan has raised his average to .311 on the season and is staking his claim to the majority of the starts behind the plate in Cincinnati. While many fantasy owners are clamoring for Mesoraco to take over as the everyday catcher, manager Dusty Baker will likely continue to ride with the veteran.