The Phillies have created a very interesting situation at one of the most important positions on the field.
For the first time in a decade, the Philadelphia Phillies will open a season without one of the most important pieces to the team’s success. Carlos Ruiz will be all the way across the nation playing with Seattle when Spring Training begins in ten days. Now, to be fair, the job was not his last season, but the idea of not having Chooch in the clubhouse is a difficult pill to swallow.
With the starting job all but sealed, the Phillies do have a nice amount of depth at the catcher position. Thanks to some creativity this offseason, the Phils will have five catchers with a legitimate shot at the big-leagues this camp. While teams normally only bring two backstops up north with them to start the season, the Phils very well could decide to bring three back to Philadelphia.
As the preseason is set to get underway in just under ten days, the catching situation is still a blurred line. While it seems the starting position is locked down, there are many questions that will soon be answered.