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

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Jun 26, 2016; Seattle, WA, USA; St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher Matt Bowman (67) celebrates with catcher Eric Fryer (59) after defeating the Seattle Mariners 11-6 at Safeco Field. Mandatory Credit: Jennifer Buchanan-USA TODAY Sports /

Yadier Molina is extremely secure as the Cardinals’ starting catcher, but will his backup be Carson Kelly or Eric Fryer?

As has been the case every year since 2005, Yadier Molina will enter spring training as the St. Louis Cardinals’ starting catcher, and he’s once again very secure in that role. But for the first time in a long while, the Cardinals enter the spring without a definite backup in place for the veteran catcher.

After a 2016 campaign in which free agent signee Brayan Peña was limited to just nine games due to injury, forcing the Cardinals to utilize four other catchers as backups to Molina, they’ll be looking for more stability in the backup role heading into the 2017 season. They were able to reunite with one of those backups from last season, Eric Fryer, on a minor-league deal after he was lost on a waiver claim to the Pittsburgh Pirates last June but then non-tendered in December. Fryer’s considered the most likely candidate to open the season as Molina’s backup, but prospect Carson Kelly is also a possibility.

As spring training gets underway, we’ll take a look at how the Cardinals’ catching corps figure to shape up during the 2017 season:

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