Nationals' Andrew Knizner: Starting 2025 in Triple-A
Rotowire
The Nationals reassigned Knizner to Triple-A Rochester on Wednesday.
Knizner landed a minor-league contract with the Nationals on Jan. 17. That contract included an invitation to spring training, though he struggled to a .120/.214/.120 slash line across 28 plate appearances. Knizner will begin the 2025 regular season in Triple-A, but he could get a call-up to the majors if Keibert Ruiz or Riley Adams miss time.
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Nationals' Andrew Knizner: Latches on with Nats
Rotowire
Knizner signed a minor-league contract with the Nationals on Friday and received an invitation to spring training, Andrew Golden of The Washington Post reports.
Knizner spent the majority of last season with the Rangers, slashing just .167/.183/.211 over 93 plate appearances before being DFA'd in August. He posted a .743 OPS with the Diamondbacks' Triple-A affiliate to close the season and will likely report to Triple-A Rochester to begin the 2025 campaign.
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Diamondbacks' Andrew Knizner: Outrighted to Triple-A
Rotowire
The Diamondbacks outrighted Knizner to Triple-A Reno on Tuesday.
Knizner cleared waivers after being removed from the 40-man roster over the weekend, but he will remain in the organization for the time being. The veteran catcher is a career .210/.279/.317 hitter over parts of six major-league seasons.
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Diamondbacks' Andrew Knizner: Removed from 40-man roster
Rotowire
The Diamondbacks designated Knizner for assignment Saturday.
Knizner has remained in the minors throughout the duration of his time in the D-backs organization, slashing .274/.357/.397 with 12 RBI across 84 plate appearances. He'll now be stripped of his spot on the 40-man roster, which will be handed to Brandon Hughes, and the 29-year-old Knizner may attract interest on the waiver wire from other teams in need of depth behind the plate.
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Diamondbacks' Andrew Knizner: Claimed by Snakes
Rotowire
The Diamondbacks claimed Knizner off waivers from the Rangers on Thursday and optioned him to Triple-A Reno.
Knizner was DFA'd by Texas on Tuesday after posting a .394 OPS in 93 big-league plate appearances. He'll now join the Diamondbacks organization and serve as an organizational depth piece at Triple-A Reno in the wake of Gabriel Moreno's groin injury. Luis Frias was designated for assignment in a corresponding move.
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Rangers' Andrew Knizner: Removed from 40-man roster
Rotowire
The Rangers designated Knizner for assignment Tuesday.
After being dropped from the 26-man roster July 29, Knizner was removed from the 40-man roster Tuesday. The move opens a slot on the 40-man roster for Tyler Mahle (elbow), who was reinstated from the 60-day injured list. Knizner slashed .167/.183/.211 in 93 plate appearances for the Rangers and could garner some interest on waivers from catcher-needy teams.
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Rangers' Andrew Knizner: Demoted to Triple-A
Rotowire
The Rangers optioned Knizner to Triple-A Round Rock on Monday.
Knizner lost his spot on the 26-man active roster after the Rangers acquired Carson Kelly from the Tigers on Sunday to serve as the new No. 2 catcher behind Jonah Heim. Knizner has slashed a lowly .167/.183/.211 with one home run and nine RBI across 93 plate appearances in the big leagues this season.
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Rangers' Andrew Knizner: Playing second fiddle to Heim
Rotowire
Knizner is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Orioles.
Knizner will be back on the bench for the series finale after he started behind the dish in Saturday's 8-4 loss while going 1-for-3 with two RBI. He remains the Rangers' clear No. 2 backstop behind Jonah Heim.
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Rangers' Andrew Knizner: Back on bench Monday
Rotowire
Knizner is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Mets.
Sam Huff will step in behind the dish in the series opener after Knizner started at catcher in all three of the Rangers' games in Seattle over the weekend while going 1-for-9. Top backstop Jonah Heim (personal) is on track to return from the paternity list Tuesday, so Knizner will soon move back to second on the depth chart and see his playing time trend toward.
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Rangers' Andrew Knizner: Getting third straight start
Rotowire
Knizner will start at catcher and bat ninth in Sunday's game against the Mariners.
Knizner will be making his third consecutive start, but his time as the Rangers' No. 1 catcher should be short-lived. Jonah Heim (personal) was placed on the paternity list Saturday and will rejoin the team no later than Tuesday.
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Rangers' Andrew Knizner: Heading back to bench Sunday
Rotowire
Knizner is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Marlins.
Knizner will be back on the bench after he started at catcher in Saturday's 7-0 win, finishing 1-for-3 with an RBI and a run. The start was just his second in the Rangers' last 11 games, as Knizner continues to receive limited playing time behind No. 1 backstop Jonah Heim.
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Rangers' Andrew Knizner: Provides spark in comeback win
Rotowire
Knizner went 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBI in Sunday's 6-4 win over Atlanta.
Knizner's three-run blast in the fourth inning helped erase Atlanta's early 3-0 lead. It was his first home run of the season and just his second hit. Knizner started for a second straight game and is filling in for Jonah Heim, who is currently on the bereavement list.
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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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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.
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Cardinals' Andrew Knizner: Homers twice Thursday
Rotowire
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.
