Andrew Knizner expected to get more playing time

St. Louis Cardinals catcher Andrew Knizner will get more playing time in 2022

It would be unbelievable if it were not the last season for St. Louis Cardinals‘ future Hall of Fame catcher Yadier Molina. But, he’s apparently on board with Andrew Knizner getting more playing time in 2022.

According to reporting from Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, manager Oliver Marmol said he recently began a discussion with Molina regarding how much playing time he will have in what is believed will be his final season with the St. Louis Cardinals.

Marmol told Hummel that Knizner will get more playing time than the 43 starts he had in 2021 and Molina is, apparently, good with it.

It is hard to believe Molina would be good with less playing time. Even at 39 years old. He enjoys competing and would want to prove that he still can in his final year. One would think!

He hasn’t been great, but for spring training, Knizner has hit .125/.300/.500 with an OPS of .800. He’s hit one homer and two RBI. He’s walked twice but struck out twice, as well. For his career, Knizner has hit .191/.281/.274 with an OPS of .555. He has three homers and 20 RBI in three seasons.

This doesn’t seem great and it’s really not. One must remember, Knizner has spent his career as Yadier Molina’s backup. He has never gotten a lot of playing time. Molina arrived late to Spring Training but he is still hitting better at  .333/.333/.833 with an OPS of 1.167. He has one home run and three RBI.

When you look at these numbers, it’s obvious to see it will be a great time to get Knizner more playing time this season. He desperately needs more opportunities, and luckily, the Cardinals will have Knizner getting those opportunities with Molina still around and still playing well.

Most importantly, the Cardinals get to make sure Knizner will be completely ready to take the reins from Molina. Knizner has been working with Molina for several seasons and has a good grasp of how he works with the pitching staff. Molina will still be around to help for the season.

Prospect Ivan Herrera could be the heir apparent to Molina. Herrera is still developing in the Cardinals’ minor league system, though. And that’s fine. The organization wants him to be ready when he comes up.

So the club will use this season to make sure Knizner is ready to bridge the gap between Molina and Herrera. And, if he’s just not it, the club will have time to figure out their next steps. The Cards will have several weeks to figure this out.

While getting Knizner more in-game time with the pitching staff, Marmol will get Knizner time to gain consistency at the plate. Looking at his numbers, consistency at the plate is desperately needed for Knizner, and the Cardinals, to be successful.