Pittsburgh Pirates: Three Catchers to Target

Andrew Knapp

30-year-old Andrew Knapp spent the first five years of his MLB career with the cross-state Philadelphia Phillies. Earlier this offseason Knapp became a free agent after the Phillies outrighted him off of their roster.

The past five seasons Knapp accumulated 827 PAs in 309 games played with the Phillies. Knapp has hit for a .214/.314/.322 slash line to go with a 72 wRC+ in his 827 PAs. While he is not much of a power threat with a lifetime .108 ISO and 5.7% extra base hit rate, he has value with his ability to get on-base as evident by his lifetime 11.9% walk rate.

Defensively, Knapp is not nearly as strong as Perez or Gomes. His lifetime DRS is -30 while his framing rate via FanGraphs is -10.9. That said, Knapp is well respected for his ability to build relationships with his pitching staff. That could be vital while working with young pitchers.

While Knapp could be the least likely of the three for the Pittsburgh Pirates to pursue he is still a name to watch as a potential to replace Stallings. Regardless of what the Pirates look to do it could very possibly happen in the next 24 hours. It is hard to envision the Pirates entering the lockout without a catcher on the 40-man roster.