Interesting conversation I had at my workplace and looking for other opinions. It seems to be that there is a phasing out of the truly power offensive catchers of the late80's-90's. This is mostly due to the strain the catcher endures day in and day out; making it more so they will change positions before making it 'big'.

There seems to be more of an emphasis on defense now at the catcher position more than anything else. Case in point Daric Barton's move as well as Neil Walker's. The last horrible defensive but powerful offensive catcher that came up is Victor Martinez, and some say his offensive prowess is negated by his poor defense. Heck, with all the problems Mauer is having with his legs there are talks of moving him in a few years to 2B or 3B, ala Craig Biggio

So what do you all think? Are the power guys gonna be moved to different positions to preserve their hitting? Are we looking at a decade of .280/15HR types or worse with good defense? Will anyone ever challenge Mike Piazza HR record for catchers?