Rangers' Andrew Knizner: Swats second spring homer
Rotowire
Knizner went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in Saturday's spring game against Arizona.
Knizner swatted his second Cactus League home run and is 6-for-23 (.261) with four extra-base hits and 10 RBI over eight spring games. He entered the game in the fourth inning as the designated hitter, but Knizner's shaping up to be the primary backup at catcher to Jonah Heim.
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Rangers' Andrew Knizner: Lands deal with Rangers
Rotowire
Knizner signed a one-year, $1.8 million contract with the Rangers on Thursday, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports.
Knizner was non-tendered by the Cardinals this offseason but managed to land a relatively substantial major-league deal with Texas. It's unclear how he'll fit in on a depth chart that also includes Jonah Heim, Sam Huff and Andrew Knapp, though Knizner should have the chance to win the backup role behind Heim in spring training.
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Andrew Knizner: Non-tendered by Cardinals
Rotowire
Knizner became a free agent Friday after being non-tendered by the Cardinals.
Knizner had been projected to earn about $2 million in 2024 via salary arbitration and St. Louis deemed that too high of a price for a backup catcher. The 28-year-old has a career .216/.290/.331 slash line in 255 games at the major-league level, though he showed improvement at the plate in 2023.
Knizner went 1-for-3 with one RBI and a stolen base in Sunday's 7-1 loss to the Reds.
Knizner's RBI single in the fourth inning was the only hit for the Cardinals in the contest. The catcher had gone 0-for-17 across his previous five games, dating back to Aug. 25. He's slashing .242/.287/.442 with 10 home runs, 30 RBI, 27 runs scored and two steals over 203 plate appearances. Knizner's playing time is likely to remain limited as he works in a backup role to Willson Contreras.
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Cardinals' Andrew Knizner: Accounts for lone run in loss
Rotowire
Knizner went 1-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk in Monday's 11-1 loss to the Pirates.
Knizner's fifth-inning blast was all the offense the Cardinals could put on the board. He reached the 10-homer mark for the first time in his career, and five of them have come in 17 games since the All-Star break, a span in which he's hitting .345 (19-for-55). The catcher has added 28 RBI, 26 runs scored, eight doubles, one stolen base and a .267/.313/.497 slash line over 52 contests this year.
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Cardinals' Andrew Knizner: Swats ninth homer
Rotowire
Knizner went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run in Thursday's 5-2 victory versus the Rays.
Knizner got the scoring started in the contest, belting a two-run shot in the fourth inning. He added a single for his fourth multi-hit effort over his past seven games. Knizner has been red-hot during that stretch, notching at least one hit in each contest and posting a .444 batting average along with four homers, nine RBI and five runs.
Knizner went 2-for-4 with two home runs and three RBI in Thursday's loss to the Cubs.
After replacing Willson Contreras (head) in the first inning, Knizner provided a lone bright spot for St. Louis in a lopsided 10-3 loss, driving in all three runs with a pair of homers. The 28-year-old catcher has three home runs in his last two games, giving him a career high of eight for the season. He's now slashing .234/.258/.469 with 23 RBI and 21 runs scored across 133 plate appearances this year. Contreras is expected to be ready to rejoin the Cardinals lineup Friday, though Knizner has certainly made a case for an expanded role.
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Cardinals' Andrew Knizner: Drives in three in win
Rotowire
Knizner went 2-for-4 with a home run, three RBI and two runs scored in Wednesday's 11-7 win over the Diamondbacks.
Knizner put the Cardinals ahead with an RBI single in the seventh inning, then added a two-run homer an inning later. The backup catcher has gone 3-for-14 with five RBI and three runs scored over four games since he returned from a groin injury July 16. Ivan Herrera is back with Triple-A Memphis, but Knizner is still likely to be limited to one or two games a week behind Willson Contreras. For the season, Knizner has a .226/.250/.419 slash line with a career-high six homers, 20 RBI, 19 runs scored and a stolen base through 129 plate appearances.
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Cardinals' Andrew Knizner: Activated, starting Sunday
Rotowire
Knizner (groin) was activated from the 10-day injured list and will start Sunday's game against the Nationals, John Denton of MLB.com reports.
The Cardinals will roll with three catchers for the time being, as Ivan Herrera remains on the roster despite Knizner's return. Knizner has popped a career-high five home runs, but even so his performance has graded out as replacement level across 35 games so far this season. He has negative fWAR for his career.
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Cardinals' Andrew Knizner: Won't return Saturday
Rotowire
Knizner (groin) will not be activated from the injured list Saturday, Katie Woo of The Athletic reports.
Despite being cleared to return Friday, Knizner will remain on the injured list through Saturday as the Cardinals contemplate keeping three catchers on the active roster. With Willson Contreras firmly in the starting spot, a decision to cut down to two backstops would send either Knizner or Ivan Herrera down to Triple-A Memphis. Knizner is slashing .227/.254/.418 through 115 plate appearances this season.
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Cardinals' Andrew Knizner: Cleared to return
Rotowire
Knizner (groin) has been cleared to return to action, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.
Knizner is eligible for activation Saturday and it sounds like he should be back on the active roster that day. He's missed the last week and a half after taking a foul ball to the groin.
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Cardinals' Andrew Knizner: No structural damage in groin
Rotowire
Knizner has no structural damage in his groin, Jim Hayes of Bally Sports Midwest reports.
Knizner was placed on the 10-day injured list Wednesday after taking a foul ball to the groin in the fourth inning of Tuesday's blowout loss to the Marlins, but it sounds like he'll be able to return to the Cardinals' active roster shortly after the All-Star break. Ivan Herrera will serve as the backup to Willson Contreras in the meantime.
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Cardinals' Andrew Knizner: Placed on 10-day IL
Rotowire
Knizner (groin) was placed on the 10-day injured list Wednesday.
Knizner fouled a ball off his groin Tuesday versus the Marlins and he will now be unavailable for at least 10 days while recovering. Ivan Herrera was called up from Triple-A Memphis on Wednesday and will serve as the Cardinals' backup catcher behind Willson Contreras.
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Cardinals' Andrew Knizner: Evaluated for groin injury
Rotowire
Knizner left Tuesday's game against the Marlins due to a groin injury, John Denton of MLB.com reports.
Knizner took a foul ball to the groin and was sent to a local hospital in Miami to be evaluated, which suggests that there is significant concern. Ivan Herrera or Tres Barrera could get the call from Triple-A Memphis if the Cardinals need a new backup catcher.
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Cardinals' Andrew Knizner: Goes deep in loss
Rotowire
Knizner went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Sunday's 2-1 loss to the Pirates.
Knizner provided the Cardinals' lone run with a seventh-inning blast off Pirates starter Rich Hill. While playing time is once again scarce for Knizner, he's homered in each of his last two games and hit safely in four of his last five contests. He's at a .232/.259/.476 slash line with five homers, 12 RBI, 12 runs scored and a stolen base over 86 plate appearances -- solid numbers for a backup catcher.
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Cardinals' Andrew Knizner: Hits homer in loss
Rotowire
Knizner went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Sunday's 4-3 loss to the Guardians.
Knizner went 4-for-11 (.364) with two extra-base hits over four games last week. He's still good for one or two starts a week as backup to Willson Contreras, but there's not a clear path to consistent at-bats for Knizner. For the season, he's slashing .231/.259/.449 with four homers, 11 RBI, 11 runs scored, a stolen base and five doubles over 92 plate appearances.
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Cardinals' Andrew Knizner: Picks up steal in win
Rotowire
Knizner went 2-for-4 with a double and a stolen base in Thursday's 2-1 win over the Reds.
Miles Mikolas and Luke Weaver traded zeroes for the bulk of seven innings, making for a low-event game. Knizner was the only Cardinal with multiple hits, his fourth such effort in May. He also logged a steal in the ninth inning, his first since 2019. Knizner had a run of playing time when Willson Contreras was moved to designated hitter earlier in the month, but Knizner's been on the bench for much of the last week. He's slashing .230/.260/.419 with three home runs, 10 RBI and 10 runs scored over 78 plate appearances, and he's unlikely to see more than a backup role as long as Contreras remains healthy.
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Cardinals' Andrew Knizner: Hits grand slam Monday
Rotowire
Knizner went 1-for-1 with a grand slam and two total runs in Monday's 18-1 rout of Milwaukee.
Knizner began the game on the bench, but he came in to pinch run for Paul Goldschmidt with St. Louis up by eight runs in the eighth inning. He came around to score when Nolan Gorman homered four pitches later, and Knizner then got a turn at the plate when St. Louis batted around to get back to Goldschmidt's original spot. Knizner delivered a grand slam off position player Mike Brosseau, putting the icing on a huge 10-run frame. It was the second straight game with a homer for Knizner, who went deep just once over his first 56 at-bats of the season. Though Knizner has been swinging a hot bat of late and recently completed a streak of nine consecutive starts, his playing time is expected to take a hit moving forward with the Cardinals having recommitted to Willson Contreras as their primary catcher.
