The Cardinals’ Backup Catcher Situation is… Not Ideal
Cardinals fans don’t really want to talk about a future without Yadier Molina behind the plate. However, given the backstop’s age and the way the Cardinals have historically utilized him, it is time to mentally prepare for the eventuality sooner than later. With less than a month until pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training, the Cardinals are without a backup catcher on the 40-man roster. Their top catching prospect, Carson Kelly, was shipped off to Arizona in the Goldschmidt deal and the next prospect in line, Andrew Knizner, is pegged to start at the Triple-A level. The club signed Francisco Pena to a minor league contract and is the most likely candidate to be the backup by opening day. This leaves too much pressure on Yadi to stay healthy. Removing the names from the equation highlights the bleak non-Yadi alternatives : a sub-par veteran who has not seen meaningful innings, accelerating the promotion of a young prospect who may not be ready for the MLB or go out into a soft free agent catcher market. It would be wise to go out and get a quality backup now to share more of the innings and help maintain Yadi’s longevity.
MLB organizations are placing more and more value in quality defensive catchers; The majority of the teams in the AL and NL Divisional Series had not only one but two defensive-oriented catchers on their roster. With information gathered from Baseball-Reference and Baseball Prospectus, the chart below includes each playoff team’s catchers that participated in at least 40 games at the position, along with games played and average innings per game caught. In addition, it reflects how many runs they added through their defense (FRAA_ADJ):
| ALDS Teams | Games @ C | AVG Inn/ G | FRAA_ADJ |
| Yankees (9.7 Team FRAA_ADJ) | |||
| Gary Sanchez | 76 | 8.59 | -0.09 |
| Austin Romine | 76 | 8.04 | 6.3 |
| Red Sox (22.0 Team FRAA_ADJ) | |||
| Sandy Leon | 87 | 7.88 | 12.1 |
| Christian Vazquez | 75 | 8.05 | 9.0 |
| Astros (11.1 Team FRAA_ADJ) | |||
| Max Stassi | 83 | 7.07 | 14.0 |
| Brian McCann | 62 | 7.85 | -4.5 |
| Martin Maldonado | 40 | 7.36 | *6.5 |
| Indians (21.2 Team FRAA_ADJ) | |||
| Yan Gomes | 111 | 8.54 | 9.6 |
| Roberto Perez | 58 | 8.21 | 12.1 |
| NLDS Teams | Games @ C | AVG Inn/ G | FRAA_ADJ |
| Dodgers (27.2 Team FRAA_ADJ) | |||
| Yasmani Grandal | 135 | 7.68 | 16.3 |
| Austin Barnes | 61 | 7.12 | 9.2 |
| Braves (6.5 Team FRAA_ADJ) | |||
| Kurt Suzuki | 93 | 8.05 | -6.6 |
| Tyler Flowers | 76 | 8.12 | 13.0 |
| Brewers (15.7 Team FRAA_ADJ) | |||
| Manny Pina | 92 | 8.08 | 6.3 |
| Erik Kratz | 61 | 8.05 | 11.1 |
| Rockies (9.6 Team FRAA_ADJ) | |||
| Chris Iannetta | 99 | 7.61 | 1.2 |
| Tony Wolters | 64 | 7.64 | 9.6 |
According to Baseball Prospectus’ team catching statistics, seven out of the eight teams listed were in the top ten in team FRAA_Adj. This metric accounts for framing, blocking and throwing runs added or lost for the team. The only team left out of the top ten was Atlanta who ranked eleventh in 2018, due mostly to Kurt Suzuki’s below average defense dragging them down.
The Cardinals in comparison are lagging:
| Cardinals (-2.9 Team FRAA_ADJ) | Games @ C | AVG Inn/ G | FRAA_ADJ |
| Yadier Molina | 121 | 8.41 | 3.5 |
| Francsico Pena | 56 | 5.84 | -5.2 |
| Carson Kelly | 16 | 6.25 | -1.1 |
It is clear that the Cardinals rely heavily on Molina to be in the game. Comparing the playoff teams with the Cardinals backstops, Yadi caught in the second-most games and is third in average innings per game, even while being injured for 26 contests in the middle of the season. In the past
Given the historical overuse, the Cardinals need to have a succession plan. Pena is a far inferior catcher and is no threat at the plate. It would be a tremendous asset in the long-run to give Knizner at least one more year to develop defensively and offensively in Triple-A. The Dodgers had similar cards dealt and acted by paying the rest of Russell Martin’s contract with Toronto for $3.6 million in a one-year deal. LA has two catching prospects (Keibert Ruiz and Will Smith) in the farm system that are not quite Big-League ready, so Martin can bridge that time. In addition, with Grandal going to the Brewers and Barnes already a proven defensive catcher, the Dodgers got a starter that can replace Grandal’s defensive ability within the tandem. The Cardinals need to be proactive and find another reliable catcher.
The best option now is to sign free agent Martin Maldonado for a one-year deal. Maldonado played most of his career for the Angels and was traded last year to Houston to split time with Max Stassi, while Brian McCann was sidelined from right knee surgery. He is a terrific receiver, averaging 11.8 framing runs over the past three seasons, and consistently throws out base runners at an
The Cardinals organization and fans need to get past the notion that Yadier Molina is the only option behind the plate. Teams are adding multiple, above-average defensive catchers to their roster to share the monumental task of catching 162 games. The Cardinals need to follow the trend and pay a quality catcher to share the load.
