Home › The Cardinal Nation Forums › Open Forum › Matt Wieters free agent thread
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December 10, 2019 at 9:44 pm #116420
#Cardinals would like to re-sign Matt Wieters to be Yadier Molina's backup, Girsch confirms. They'd like to add a veteran backup for the role so that Andrew Knizner plays regularly at Class AAA. A lot of that you already knew. #stlcards #MLB
— Derrick S. Goold (@dgoold) December 11, 2019
The A’s are also interested.
December 10, 2019 at 9:56 pm #116422I like this move.
December 10, 2019 at 10:13 pm #116425Why even have Knizner then? Wieters wasn’t that good last year. His defense was largely meh and the only thing he did well was prevent base stealers. Just give the job to Knizner or just trade him like you did Kelly. Knizner has nothing left to prove in Memphis and cutting a guy on the 40-man roster for Wieters is laughable.
December 10, 2019 at 10:24 pm #116427Anne Rogers’ version is they want a backup “like they did with Wieters”.
Girsch said today that the #STLCards were interested in signing a veteran backup catcher like they did with Wieters this past year. The deal worked out for both sides, and now Wieters is getting interest elsewhere. https://t.co/oj3g3pwPHq
— Anne Rogers (@anne__rogers) December 11, 2019
December 11, 2019 at 8:03 am #116455I prefer Weiters as the backup, but it does keep Knizner at AAA for the most part, barring injuries to Molina or Weiters. But I like the lefty hitting Weiters brings, plus the veteran presence.
December 11, 2019 at 8:50 am #116456I would like to see Knizner as the 26th man if Weiters is resigned. It is time to tell Yadi that he is no longer the Charles Atlas of catchers and that a backup needs some major league time. Knizer has a decent bat and, if I heard right, has played the infield in the past. Wieters had his moments and is well respected but I think he will be taken before Spring Training anyway.
January 11, 2020 at 3:00 pm #119128Update… Cards still interested… And so are the As. Same as last month (see 1st post)…
Free-agent catcher Matt Wieters drawing interest from #Athletics and #STLCards, sources tell The Athletic.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) January 11, 2020
January 11, 2020 at 3:06 pm #119132I’m kinda over Wieters. He really wasn’t that good. He had one hot streak early when Yadi was out. But after that and off the bench he wasn’t very dangerous.
I’d rather look elsewhere and give Knizmwr the reins of Yadi goes down.
I’d look for a few minor league invite backup catchers and see who sticks. Or better trade for a backup with some position flexibility.
January 11, 2020 at 3:18 pm #119134Boy do I hope the A’s step up with an offer. I so do not want Wieters back for 2020.
January 11, 2020 at 4:11 pm #119140I do.
January 11, 2020 at 4:21 pm #119143I think many fans expectations for the backup catcher are too high.
No one that plays once a week is going to hit well.
Thinking the Cardinals will sit a healthy Molina half (or even a third of) the time is unrealistic. Not only because of their respect for Molina, but also because of the pitching staff’s desire to pitch to Molina.
If he is only going to play once a week, a good young catcher is better off, in the long run, playing almost everyday in AAA than sitting on the bench.
To me the Cardinals looking for a veteran catcher in no way diminishes their interest in Kinzer as Molina’s successor. On the contrary, it may be proof that they want Kinzer to be ready to play (almost) everyday should Molina get hurt during the year or retire (not get an extension) after the season. It is not about Knizer having anything to prove at AAA, it is about being in the best condition to play regularly for STL.
January 11, 2020 at 5:03 pm #119152I’m fine with Wieters coming back. Are there that many experienced catchers out there willing to play second violin?
January 11, 2020 at 5:16 pm #119158Wieters was ok but Knizer needs to be in the big leagues, period. I am pulling for Billy Beane on this one.
January 11, 2020 at 5:28 pm #119161I like Weiters because he is a switch hitter. If Yadi is going to catch all the time Knizner needs to be playing at Memphis.
January 11, 2020 at 6:57 pm #119180<If he is only going to play once a week, a good young catcher is better off, in the long run, playing almost everyday in AAA than sitting on the bench. >
I have seen this a lot and at one time I was also a believer. Now I am not so sure. Playing everyday has its advantages but you are not seeing the hitters you will see in the majors, at least not in any large amount, so when you do finally come up you have to do a lot of homework to catch up on MLB batters. Tony Cruz was an excellent backup. He did not play much nor was he asked to but he went to every meeting with Yadi and looked darned efficient behind the plate when he got his chance. The big problem is unless Yadi is throttled back at least a bit we will never develop a backup catcher who can takeover when Yadi is gone. Most teams have two catchers and tend to rotate them fairly evenly. Not the Cards. It was put out very clearly by owner, FO and manager that whatever Yadi wants, Yadi gets and that means you check with Yadi to see if he is playing today (he is). That is the first thing that has to change at least a bit – others have noted some decrease in Yadi’s efficiency and he is getting to the point of having permanent injuries (thumb, knees). His injury to his junque was very serious and I was really surprised to see him return so early but IMHO the FO has to change their policy on getting a backup catcher in action more oftern.
January 11, 2020 at 8:15 pm #119186Since Knizner is currently the replacement for when Yadi is gone, I would rather see him playing everyday in Memphis. Maybe he could be called up to the majors for interleague games. That would be a time where he could get some major league ABs to acclimate some more. He needs to work some more on his defense so the minors would be a good place to do that. When he comes up the majors, he can learn from Yadi and work on things when he goes back down.
That said, I would like to see Wieters re-signed. He did a VERY good job as the backup catcher. Some people may not realize that the pitching staff had a lower ERA with Wieters catching than with Yadi catching. (The pitching staff had an ERA a full run higher with Knizner behind the plate.) It can’t be called a small sample size either as Wieters caught 386 innings and Yadi caught 939 innings. Wieters also threw out 8 would-be base stealers, the same as Yadi. While the attempt rate would be higher with Wieters behind the plate, he still threw out 42%.
January 12, 2020 at 11:42 am #119236I am in total agreement with what MM3 wrote there.
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