Categories: Opinion

A third catcher on the Phillies roster?

Photo by Keith Allison

It’s time to predict the 25-man roster. My prediction comes tomorrow. Matt Gelb of Philly.com and the Inquirer dropped his today.

And it’s relatively obvious … until you get to catcher:

CATCHER (3)
Cameron Rupp
Andrew Knapp
Ryan Hanigan

Gelb thinks the Phils want Hanigan on the roster for a veteran presence (it could also be Bryan Holaday) while Knapp learns both catcher and first base. It makes sense, since Knapp is a bat-first player who could spell Tommy Joseph at the corner, and having a more defensively inclined backstop doesn’t hurt.

But it’s odd. Most teams never carry three catchers. I can’t remember the last time the Phils had three catchers (who primarily played catcher) on the 25-man roster (pre Sept. 1). Possibly mid-season 2007, when the Phils employed Carlos Ruiz, Rod Barajas and Chris Coste on the 25-man.

But what do you think? Should the Phils go with three catchers to open the season?

Tim Malcolm

Tim first found the Phillies as a little infant at Veteran’s Stadium, cheering on a Juan Samuel game-winning home run in his very first game. With the pinstripes in his blood, he witnessed Terry Mulholland’s 1990 no-hitter, “Steve Carlton Night” at the Vet, game three of the 1993 World Series, countless games during the charmed 2008 championship season and various road excursions. Since November 2007 Tim’s been writing about them daily at Phillies Nation, becoming one of the world’s most popular Phillies scribes. You can catch him on Twitter and Facebook, as well. When he’s not talking about the Phils he’s relaxing with a St. Bernardus ABT 12 or one of his many favored brews.