Phillies' Former Catcher Signs With WS Champs

The Philadelphia Phillies are very happy with their current catcher situation.

J.T. Realmuto is considered to one of the best, if not the best, player at his position in all of baseball and Garrett Stubbs is one of the best clubhouse guys on their roster.

But, once upon a time, the Phillies thought they landed a future star when they selected Andrew Knapp with their second round pick in the 2013 MLB Draft.

He immediately was considered one of their best prospects, being ranked 13th by MLB Pipeline as early as 2014.

Knapp impressed early on in his minor league career, winning the Paul Owens Award that's given to the best player in Philadelphia's farm system after posting a slash line of .308/.385/.491 with 13 home runs and 84 RBI in 2015.

The young, rising star made the Phillies' Opening Day roster in 2017 and primarily served as the backup catcher. That continued to be his role with the Major League team, which was solidified when they acquired Realmuto in 2019.

After posting his worst hitting season in 2021 with a slash line of .152/.215/.214 with two home runs and 11 RBI across 62 games.

Philadelphia decided to outright him after the year and he became a free agent where he signed with the Cincinnati Reds prior to the 2022 season.

Knapp has struggled to catch on after leaving the Phillies, never playing for the Reds, appearing in 11 games for the Pittsburgh Pirates, two for the Seattle Mariners and two with the San Francisco Giants.

The former highly-touted catcher spent 2023 within the Detroit Tigers and Houston Astros organizations, but never appeared in a Major League game with either team.

Now, Knapp has signed another minor league contract with the defending World Series champion Texas Rangers this offseason, where he hopes he can get his once promising career back on track at 32 years old.