Could Andrew Knapp Be the Phillies Starting Catcher in 2021?
If Andrew Knapp is the Phillies starting catcher going into 2021, Phillies fans have a right to be disappointed. I’m sure I don’t have to explain why.
Unfortunately, there’s a legitimate chance that Andrew Knapp will be behind the dish come opening day. According to Phillies beat reporter Todd Zolecki, the team is “not optimistic that [JT] Realmuto will return.” James McCann is the next best catcher available, but as with Realmuto, the market for McCann will be competitive.
After those two, the market gets quite thin. Other options include Yadier Molina, who will surely re-sign with the Cardinals; Robinson Chirinos, who is 36 years old and coming off the worst season of his career; and former Phillie Wilson Ramos, whose defense at catcher is extremely questionable.
While all of those guys are likely to play better than Andrew Knapp next season, they will also command significantly more money. Andrew Knapp will earn only about $1 million in arbitration next season. With the exception of Realmuto and McCann, none of the free-agent catchers available would improve the team enough to be worth the extra millions they would cost. The Phillies have many holes to fill, and they would be better served spending their money elsewhere, especially if the team is as strapped for cash as they claim.
Thus, it’s a real possibility that Andrew Knapp will be the Phillies’ primary catcher next season.
As I’ve already said, this would make the fanbase extremely disappointed. In fact, that’s probably an understatement. If Realmuto doesn’t return, Knapp will surely have to deal with a taunting and boo-ing crowd all year long.
That makes me feel bad for poor Andrew. He doesn’t deserve those boos. While he isn’t a great ballplayer, he is a perfectly serviceable backup. No, he can’t really hit. But neither can most catchers! JT Realmuto has spoiled us.
It’s not Knapp’s fault that he might be replacing the best catcher in baseball.
If the Phillies front office chooses to make him the starter next season, they will be putting him in a position to fail. (In other words, the front office had better re-sign JT.)
So here is my plea for Phillies fans: please take it easy on Andrew Knapp next season. He may not be very good. But the blame for his failures should be placed solely on the Phillies front office.
And if you need some help mustering up any positive feelings about Andrew Knapp, just check out this list.
- Andrew Knapp is very well-liked by the Phillies pitchers and coaching staff. In particular, he’s often praised for his game-calling ability, a highly valuable attribute that is hard to quantify statistically.
- He’s the longest-tenured position player on the Phillies, has been with the team since opening day 2017. Want to get a sense of just how long Andrew Knapp has been here? The pitcher he caught in his major league debut was Clay Buchholz, and he hit sixth in the batting order, right in between Michael Saunders and Brock Stassi.
- Moustache.
- He has an excellent batter’s eye. Since his debut, he has the third-highest walk rate and fifth-lowest pop-up rate (min. 500 PA) among NL catchers. He also has the third-highest strikeout rate but, uh, don’t think about that.
- He’s a switch hitter! That’s pretty cool, I think.
- The first result when I google Andrew Knapp is this dog photographer. That’s fun!
Any other positives about Andrew Knapp that I should add to my list? Let me know on Twitter: @morgensternmlb
Okay, so maybe this list got a little weak towards the end. But I think you get my point.
Andrew Knapp shouldn’t be the starting catcher on a team with playoff aspirations. But if he is, he’s not the one to blame.
Featured Image: Bill Streicher/USA TODAY Sports
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