Nearly a week after trading top prospect and presumed backup catcher Harry Ford, the Seattle Mariners are reportedly targeting a catcher to back up Cal Raleigh.
MassLive.com Red Sox beat reporter Chris Cotillo reported Friday that the Mariners were in talks on a potential deal with veteran backstop Andrew Knizner. The Seattle Times’ Adam Jude later reported the two sides were closing in on a deal.
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Knizner, 30, spent last season with the San Francisco Giants and has played in 323 games across seven seasons with San Francisco, the St. Louis Cardinals and the Texas Rangers.
In 33 games with the Giants after being promoted from Triple-A in June, he slashed .221/.299/.299 (.598 OPS) with one home run, five RBIs, seven walks and 10 strikeouts over 88 plate appearances.
Knizner has a career .211/.281/.316 slash line with 19 home runs and 90 RBIs. His best season offensively came when he played 70 games for the Cardinals in 2023, hitting .241 with a .712 OPS, 10 homers and 31 RBIs.
Knizner has been a solid pitch framer in his limited action over the past two seasons with a combined plus-three catcher framing runs over 68 games with the Giants and Rangers, per Baseball Savant.
If Knizner does sign with the M’s, he would be in line back up Raleigh, who finished as the runner-up in American League MVP voting following a 60-homer season. On top of sending Ford to the Washington Nationals in a deal for left-handed reliever Jose Ferrer last Saturday, 2025 backup catcher Mitch Garver is a free agent.
More Seattle Mariners offseason coverage
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• Why Nolan Arenado could make sense as a Mariners trade target
• Mariners pick two, lose one in minor league phase of Rule 5 draft
• With a tweak, Jose Ferrer could be special in Mariners’ bullpen
• Mariners’ Jerry Dipoto named Baseball America Executive of the Year
