Phillies Add Organizational Catching Depth with Bryan Holaday Signing
Catcher is the one area where the Phillies have plenty of depth, but you can never have enough going into a long season
With Cameron Rupp and Andrew Knapp expected to start the season with the Phillies, Jorge Alfaro will have the opportunity to be the every day catcher in Lehigh Valley.
Once past the three young backstops, the Phillies had no veteran who could fill in should someone go down for an extended period of time.
Phillies general manager Matt Klentak hinted at the possibility of adding depth if the opportunity presented itself, and it appears it has so.
Former Red Sox Bryan Holaday has signed a minor-league contract with Philadelphia, which includes an invitation to spring training.
Sep 13, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Phillies catcher Jorge Alfaro (38) in action against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Citizens Bank Park. The Pittsburgh Pirates won 5-3. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Entering his sixth major league season, Holaday has a career batting average of .245 between stints with Boston, Detroit, and Texas.
Defensively Holaday has committed 10 errors in 136 games behind the plate. He’s also mowed down 28-of-71 runners from behind the plate.
Holaday will compete with Knapp for the major league back up job, but will most likely play behind Alfaro in Lehigh Valley.
A sixth-round pick by Boston out of TCU in the 2010 MLB amateur draft, Holaday has amounted to nothing more than a professional back-up.
Should Rupp go down with an injury at some point during the season, the Phillies would prefer to let Knapp start and Holaday back him up than have both Knapp and Alfaro on the same roster.
If Holaday’s services in Philadelphia are needed, a corresponding move on the 40-man roster would be required.
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