re: How big is the drop-off defensively from Milazzo to Travinski?

Catcher is still the one spot in baseball that you can stay in the lineup if you are elite defensively but not so much on offense. Middle defense (SS and CF) used to be that way back in the day too, you did not have to hit as much if you were a plus defender, now everybody is expected to hit well

And its not just about pop time/controlling the run game, it's about blocking balls up, no PB/WP/extra bases, and a good catcher can steal a few strikes every game with his receiving skills.