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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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Eric Fryer St. Louis Cardinals
Jul 31, 2014; Kansas City, MO, USA; Minnesota Twins catcher Eric Fryer (26) cannot make the tag as Kansas City Royals third baseman Mike Moustakas (8) scores in the seventh inning at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports /

On the Bubble

Eric Fryer

Fryer has virtually no chance to make the Cardinals’ Opening Day roster if both Yadier Molina and Brayan Pena begin the season healthy. With that said, Molina just had his cast removed following a pair of offseason thumb surgeries, and despite the fact that he’s hoping for an Opening Day return, there’s still a decent chance that his injury will cause him to miss some regular season time.

In that case, the 30-year-old Fryer looks poised to serve as Brayan Pena’s backup at the big-league level. Fryer, who’s played 65 major-league games over five seasons for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Minnesota Twins, seems to clearly be entrenched as the Cardinals’ third catcher following the departure of Tony Cruz, Cody Stanley, Ed Easley, and Travis Tartamella, all of whom saw big-league action in 2015, this offseason. 29-year-old Alberto Rosario (56 games at Triple-A over four seasons) is the only other catcher in the organization with any experience above Double-A, so it would likely take an acquisition during spring training to block Fryer’s path to the majors.

Next: Not Likely

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