How ‘new guy’ Christian Bethancourt has made an early impression on the Miami Marlins

The first thing Tanner Scott noticed about new Miami Marlins catcher Christian Bethancourt was his arm strength.

“The dude’s got an absolute cannon,” Scott said.

The second thing Scott noticed was how in tuned Bethancourt already was with Scott’s mechanics after being around each other for just a couple weeks and how much time he was devoting to learning a new pitching staff in the early goings of spring training.

“He’s a good dude,” Scott said. “I mean, you’ll ask him questions like, ‘Hey, how was my stuff looking? How was this? What do you think about this?’ You should pick his brain because it’s me and him on the mound. You’ve got to have a strong relationship.”

Bethancourt, acquired by the Marlins this offseason in a trade with the Cleveland Guardians, entered spring training knowing how much work he had to accomplish in a short amount of time. He has a full staff of pitchers to learn, both in terms of their tendencies on the mound and their personalities off the field so that he can find common ground with them.

Trust between a pitcher and a catcher is paramount, especially on a Marlins team that prioritizes pitching and defense for its success.

So Bethancourt has jumped in from Day 1 to make sure he’s holding up his end of the deal.

“It’s more about me getting to know them,” Bethancourt said. “Obviously, they’ve been here. I’m the new guy. It’s part of my job to get to know them, have them feel comfortable with me, get familiar with them, build that relationship. There’s a lot of guys in spring training, but I’m doing my best, and I’m going to do my best to get to know all of the guys.”

He’s made a strong first impression.

Marlins manager Skip Schumaker said Bethancourt has quickly taken command of his responsibilities and his communication skills with a new pitching staff have been “exactly what we were hoping for, and maybe even better.”

“Hearing him talk in between innings, that’s what you’re looking for: A guy that is all in on every single pitch of your pitcher,” Schumaker said. “The care factor is there. ... There are just a lot of pluses so far. Our whole staff is really, really encouraged by the stuff that he brings — not only the catching part, but the communication with the pitching staff.”

That’s key with Bethancourt, 32, appearing to be an integral piece in helping the Marlins from behind the plate. He’s a defense-first catcher who has experienced the grind of being a team’s primary backstop.

After finally breaking back into the big leagues in 2022 after a four-and-a-half-year hiatus from MLB, he played in 205 games over the past two seasons with 136 starts at catcher in that span.

Bethancourt and Nick Fortes are the only catchers on Marlins’ 40-man roster after Jacob Stallings was non-tendered in November. Fortes built a strong rapport with Jesus Luzardo and Braxton Garrett last season. Bethancourt, who is bilingual, could be key to helping the likes of Eury Perez and Edward Cabrera getting more comfortable on the mound as they continue their development. While the Marlins know they need to improve on offense, keeping the pitching staff stable and on an upward trajectory — especially with ace Sandy Alcantara sidelined for the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery — is critical as well.

“I think I’m in a very good position with them as far as them getting to know me and me getting to know them,” Bethancourt said. “Still have to build that trust with them for them to be comfortable with me behind the plate. Spring training will dictate that and we’ll go from there.”

Added Luzardo, who will be the Marlins’ Opening Day starter: “He has good communication. He’s a great target, a great defensive catcher, and he’s just a good guy. Being able to talk to him a little bit and get to know him. Hopefully I get to know him a little bit more throughout the year.”

As for that cannon of an arm that Scott referenced, Bethancourt ranked tied for fourth in MLB in runners caught stealing above average per Baseball Savant.

His average pop time — the time it takes for a catcher to throw to second base from the time the ball hits his glove — of 1.87 seconds was the second-fastest in MLB last season behind only J.T. Realmuto (1.83 seconds). His average arm strength of 88 mph was also the second-best in MLB among catchers behind only Yanier Diaz (88.5 mph).