Stassi is the frontrunner to be the backup catcher to Brian McCann in 2018, Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle reports.

EDGE Analysis

The 26-year-old Stassi has served as the organization's primary catcher at the Triple-A level, first at Oklahoma City and then at Fresno. He's coming off his best season at Triple-A, hitting 12 home runs with an .856 OPS. To be generous, his major-league track record is too small of a sample size (79 at-bats), but his career numbers in the minors don't suggest a productive hitter in MLB. That could present a problem should McCann's career trajectory continue on the same path. The 33-year-old catcher, who had 349 at-bats in 2017, has seen fewer at-bats in successive seasons since 2014.