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St. Louis Cardinals: Evaluating All the Catchers in This Year’s Camp

By Patrick Karraker

Feb 28, 2014; Jupiter, FL, USA; St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina (4) connects for a base hit against the Miami Marlins during a spring training game at Roger Dean Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 28, 2014; Jupiter, FL, USA; St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina (4) connects for a base hit against the Miami Marlins during a spring training game at Roger Dean Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports /
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Brayan Pena St. Louis Cardinals
May 17, 2015; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Cincinnati Reds catcher Brayan Pena (29) slides safely into this base against the San Francisco Giants in the eighth inning at Great American Ball Park. The Giants won 9-8. Mandatory Credit: David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports /

Safe and Sound

Yadier Molina, Brayan Pena

Assuming that Molina is healthy to begin the season, the Cardinals will have one of the best catching duos in the major leagues. The 34-year-old Pena, signed as a free agent this past offseason, has played over 100 games in each of the past two seasons for the Cincinnati Reds, hitting a combined .263/.313/.339. That’s a more-than-respectable slash line for a player that’s been a journeyman backup for most of his career.

Even if Molina is healthy in 2016, it’s likely that his workload will be limited much more than it ever has been before, as the Cardinals want to protect him from the injuries that have limited him for the past three seasons; that’s why they invested in such an established backup in Pena. If Molina should go down again, Pena will know what to do, as he carried the load for Cincinnati in 2015 following Devin Mesoraco’s season-ending injury.

Next: On the Bubble

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