Veteran SF Giants catcher can revamp career with prime opportunity

In 2023, it looked like Andrew Knizner was on the verge of a breakout. Two years later, he joins the San Francisco Giants in a last-ditch effort to revive his career as the team tries to figure out how to best use their backup catching spot.

Knizner spent five years as the backup catcher for the St. Louis Cardinals. From 2019 until 2022, he backed up Yadier Molina. In 2023, after Molina's retirement, the Cardinals brought in another veteran catcher in Willson Contreras. Knizner responded by having the best year of his career, posting a .712 OPS and 1.0 bWAR. He even temporarily became the starter when Contreras was moved to first base.

Andrew Knizner has a chance for a career revival with SF Giants

Last season, Knizner signed with the Texas Rangers, hoping to build off his previous success. Instead, he slashed .167/.183/.211, posting an OPS+ of 14 in 35 games.

Since then, the backstop has been bouncing around minor league systems and looking for a new home. He's found one, at least for now, in San Francisco. The Giants need help at the position with Patrick Bailey now on the injured list, and Knizner has arrived with some interesting connections to both Bailey and Buster Posey.

How can the long-time backup catcher find his groove again in San Francisco? He needs to get back to his 2023 levels when it comes to his quality of contact.

In 2023, he barrelled up 7.9% of the pitches he saw, according to Statcast. That number was slashed nearly in half, as he carried a 4.3% barrel rate in 2024. Knizner's average exit velocity also fell from 89.6 miles per hour to 87.3 miles per hour across the past two seasons. That resulted in his hard hit rate also dropping by over six percent, from 40.9% to 34.8%.

Knizner's plate discipline also fell off a cliff in 2024. He walked just 1.1% of the time, well below his career average of 7.1%.

For Knizner to bounce back and find a home in the Bay Area, he is going to need to hit the ball harder and more often. He has shown he's capable of it in 2023, but is it too late for the thirty-year-old to jolt his career? Hopefully not, for the Giants' sake, because until Bailey returns, they need Knizner to contribute.