Although the Cardinals are hopeful that a situation where they would be used behind the dish never presents itself, infielders Pete Kozma and Greg Garcia, who are both fighting for one of the final spots on the club’s roster, are being prepped to potentially serve as the team’s emergency catcher, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. From Goold’s article:

In the past, the Cardinals have had Matt Carpenter familiarize himself with the gear and the role, and last year Daniel Descalso was the Cardinals’ emergency catcher. Matheny said both got experience at the position during spring.

Kozma and Garcia may not see time in bullpens at catcher. But, Matheny said Sunday morning, they will be participating in drills with the catchers.

Kozma is out of options, meaning that if he doesn’t make the big-league club out of Spring Training he could potentially be scooped up by any of the other 29 teams. Much of Kozma’s value to the team comes from the fact that he’s one of the organization’s few natural shortstops that could potentially take over in the event that Jhonny Peralta were to go down. So as Goold put it, “Being able to catch is just another way for him to the catch on.”

Read Goold’s full article from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

 

Feature image used under Creative Commons from Keith Allison. No changes made. Image License.