Cardinals' former catcher of the future gets another shot at redemption with Giants

Nowadays, the St. Louis Cardinals are absolutely overloaded with catching depth. Iván Herrera, Jimmy Crooks, and Pedro Pagés are all on the active roster, while top prospects Leo Bernal and Rainiel Rodriguez are waiting in the wings at the highest levels of the minor leagues. No matter what transpires over the next few years, the Redbirds all set up to excel behind the plate for the foreseeable future.

Of course, this wasn't always the case. Yadier Molina displayed impossible longevity for a catcher, but there was never a real succession plan in place as he was winding down the final chapters of his career. The closest the Cardinals ever got to that was former top prospect Andrew Knizner, who had earned some "catcher of the future" buzz around the early 2020s.

That never wound up working out, as the 2016 seventh-round pick posted a meager .621 OPS over five years (255 games) with the Cardinals. He's become a journeyman since parting ways with the franchise in 2023, and opportunity has come knocking again for Knizner to make his mark in the big leagues.

Andrew Knizner's post-Cardinals journeyman career has landed him back in the perfect spot

Knizner never really got a true chance to stake his claim as Molina's heir in St. Louis. The closest he got was in 2022 (when Yadi was on his last legs) and 2023 (the year Willson Contreras had signed). He was a fine backup, earning 1.7 WAR over 166 games in that two-year span, but he never hit well enough to emerge as a starting catcher.

That led to a disastrous stint with the Rangers in 2024 and a ton of minor-league stints across the league. He's actually had some big success in Triple-A this year, hitting .294/.393/.552 between the Rockies and Red Sox systems.

However, it was a 2025 audition in San Francisco where he truly impressed some folks (mostly with his glove), and he's now back with the Giants after signing a one-year deal for the remainder of the 2026 season.

It's unclear exactly how frequently he'll play for a team in the midst of a lost season down the stretch, but the Giants' catching corps has been anything but stable this year. The surprise trade of Patrick Bailey earlier in the season opened the door for a group of rookies to see time behind the plate (namely Daniel Susac, Jesús Rodríguez and Drew Cavanaugh), but injuries and poor performances have forced them to keep switching guys in and out.

Knizner will be a welcome veteran presence on the roster, especially for a rotation that features established stars (Logan Webb) and top prospects (Carson Whisenhunt) alike. If he can carry forward some of the offensive gains he made in Triple-A this year, perhaps he can still carve out a nice role in the big leagues for years to come.

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