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WAR Average: Minus-0.9

To be fair to Pedro Severino, he wasn't supposed to be "the guy" behind the plate for the Washington Nationals this season. The 24-year-old was pressed into duty by way of Matt Wieters' oblique and hamstring injuries.

So, it's not the biggest shock that no catcher has been more in over his head.

Before the Nationals finally optioned him to the minors July 9, Severino put up a .171/.256/.254 slash line over 203 plate appearances. That translates to a 36 OPS+, which is by far the lowest of any catcher who's made at least 200 trips to the plate.

Severino served one purpose on defense by gunning down 34 percent of would-be base stealers. But he didn't light up defensive metrics despite that, and his teammates may not rush to debunk that notion.

According to Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post, veteran left-hander Gio Gonzalez tended to show "visible frustrations" with Severino. Other pitchers "mentioned misunderstandings" with both Severino and fellow young catcher Spencer Kieboom.

All told, Severino hasn't been much more than a warm body.