Andrew Knizner
C SF
Sat 7/15/23 12:43 PM

Knizner (groin) will not be activated from the injured list Saturday, Katie Woo of The Athletic reports.
EDGE Analysis
Despite being cleared to return Friday, Knizner will remain on the injured list through Saturday as the Cardinals contemplate keeping three catchers on the active roster. With Willson Contreras firmly in the starting spot, a decision to cut down to two backstops would send either Knizner or Ivan Herrera down to Triple-A Memphis. Knizner is slashing .227/.254/.418 through 115 plate appearances this season.

Andrew Knizner
C SF
Fri 7/14/23 4:43 PM

Knizner (groin) has been cleared to return to action, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.
EDGE Analysis
Knizner is eligible for activation Saturday and it sounds like he should be back on the active roster that day. He's missed the last week-and-a-half after taking a foul ball to the groin.

Andrew Knizner
C SF
Wed 7/5/23 6:26 PM

Knizner has no structural damage in his groin, Jim Hayes of Bally Sports Midwest reports.
EDGE Analysis
Knizner was placed on the 10-day injured list Wednesday after taking a foul ball to the groin in the fourth inning of Tuesday's blowout loss to the Marlins, but it sounds like he'll be able to return to the Cardinals' active roster shortly after the All-Star break. Ivan Herrera will serve as the backup to Willson Contreras in the meantime.

Andrew Knizner
C SF
Wed 7/5/23 12:13 PM

Knizner (groin) was placed on the 10-day injured list Wednesday.
EDGE Analysis
Knizner fouled a ball off his groin Tuesday versus the Marlins and he will now be unavailable for at least 10 days while recovering. Ivan Herrera was called up from Triple-A Memphis on Wednesday and will serve as the Cardinals' backup catcher behind Willson Contreras.

Andrew Knizner
C SF
Tue 7/4/23 4:33 PM

Knizner left Tuesday's game against the Marlins due to a groin injury, John Denton of MLB.com reports.
EDGE Analysis
Knizner took a foul ball to the groin and was sent to a local hospital in Miami to be evaluated, which suggests that there is significant concern. Ivan Herrera or Tres Barrera could get the call from Triple-A Memphis if the Cardinals need a new backup catcher.

Andrew Knizner
C SF
Sun 6/4/23 7:46 PM

Knizner went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Sunday's 2-1 loss to the Pirates.
EDGE Analysis
Knizner provided the Cardinals' lone run with a seventh-inning blast off Pirates starter Rich Hill. While playing time is once again scarce for Knizner, he's homered in each of his last two games and hit safely in four of his last five contests. He's at a .232/.259/.476 slash line with five homers, 12 RBI, 12 runs scored and a stolen base over 86 plate appearances -- solid numbers for a backup catcher.

Andrew Knizner
C SF
Mon 5/29/23 12:54 PM

Knizner went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Sunday's 4-3 loss to the Guardians.
EDGE Analysis
Knizner went 4-for-11 (.364) with two extra-base hits over four games last week. He's still good for one or two starts a week as backup to Willson Contreras, but there's not a clear path to consistent at-bats for Knizner. For the season, he's slashing .231/.259/.449 with four homers, 11 RBI, 11 runs scored, a stolen base and five doubles over 92 plate appearances.

Andrew Knizner
C SF
Thu 5/25/23 11:01 PM

Knizner went 2-for-4 with a double and a stolen base in Thursday's 2-1 win over the Reds.
EDGE Analysis
Miles Mikolas and Luke Weaver traded zeroes for the bulk of seven innings, making for a low-event game. Knizner was the only Cardinal with multiple hits, his fourth such effort in May. He also logged a steal in the ninth inning, his first since 2019. Knizner had a run of playing time when Willson Contreras was moved to designated hitter earlier in the month, but Knizner's been on the bench for much of the last week. He's slashing .230/.260/.419 with three home runs, 10 RBI and 10 runs scored over 78 plate appearances, and he's unlikely to see more than a backup role as long as Contreras remains healthy.

Andrew Knizner
C SF
Tue 5/16/23 1:05 AM

Knizner went 1-for-1 with a grand slam and two total runs in Monday's 18-1 rout of Milwaukee.
EDGE Analysis
Knizner began the game on the bench, but he came in to pinch run for Paul Goldschmidt with St. Louis up by eight runs in the eighth inning. He came around to score when Nolan Gorman homered four pitches later, and Knizner then got a turn at the plate when St. Louis batted around to get back to Goldschmidt's original spot. Knizner delivered a grand slam off position player Mike Brosseau, putting the icing on a huge 10-run frame. It was the second straight game with a homer for Knizner, who went deep just once over his first 56 at-bats of the season.

Andrew Knizner
C SF
Mon 5/15/23 5:01 PM

Knizner is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Brewers.
EDGE Analysis
With Willson Contreras back behind the plate Monday for the first time since May 4, Knizner will retreat to the bench, ending a stretch of nine consecutive starts for the 28-year-old backstop. Despite Contreras' struggles with adapting to the St. Louis pitching staff in his first season with the team, the Cardinals have seemingly reaffirmed their commitment to him as their primary catcher. With that in mind, Knizner is expected to see his playing time take a big hit, even though he held his own defensively and at the plate (.281 average, six extra-base hits) during his nine-game starting run.