ANDREW KNIZNER NEWS

Cardinals place Adam Wainwright, Andrew Knizner on injured list

The St. Louis Cardinals placed right-hander Adam Wainwright and catcher Andrew Knizner on the injured list ahead of Wednesday’s game against the Miami Marlins

JULY 5, 2023 • ASSOCIATED PRESS

Placed on 10-day IL Knizner (groin) was placed on the 10-day injured list Wednesday.

Impact Knizner fouled a ball off of 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' second catcher on their major-league roster.

JULY 5, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Evaluated for groin injury Knizner left Tuesday's game against the Marlins due to a groin injury, John Denton of MLB.com reports.

Impact Knizner 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.

JULY 4, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Goes deep in loss Knizner went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Sunday's 2-1 loss to the Pirates.

Impact 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.

JUNE 4, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Hits homer in loss Knizner went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Sunday's 4-3 loss to the Guardians.

Impact 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.

MAY 29, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Picks up steal in win Knizner went 2-for-4 with a double and a stolen base in Thursday's 2-1 win over the Reds.

Impact 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.

MAY 26, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Hits grand slam Monday Knizner went 1-for-1 with a grand slam and two total runs in Monday's 18-1 rout of Milwaukee.

Impact 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.

MAY 16, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Andrew Knizner's grand slam caps scoring as Cards clobber Brewers Nolan Gorman and Nolan Arenado hit three-run homers and combined for nine RBIs to power the St. Louis Cardinals past the visiting Milwaukee...

MAY 16, 2023 • DEADSPIN.COM

Back to bench role Knizner is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Brewers.

Impact 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.

MAY 15, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Homers in blowout win Knizner went 2-for-5 with a two-run home run and an additional run scored in Sunday's 9-1 win over the Red Sox.

Impact Knizner got a short run as the Cardinals' primary catcher over the last week, and he went 7-for-26 (.269) with a homer, four doubles, four RBI and five runs scored over the last seven games. Willson Contreras is expected to resume catching duties Monday, so Knizner's playing time is likely to drop off a bit again. The veteran backup has a .213/.238/.377 slash line with two homers, six RBI, eight runs scored and four doubles through 64 plate appearances this year.

MAY 15, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Knocks two doubles in win Knizner went 2-for-4 with two doubles, two runs scored and an RBI in Sunday's 12-6 win over the Tigers.

Impact Knizner posted his first multi-hit game of the year Sunday. He doubled home a run and scored in the sixth and then doubled and scored yet again in the eighth. The 28-year-old raised his slash line to .205/.244/.333 and has just one homer, three RBI, five runs and a 2:15 BB:K over 42 plate appearances this year.

MAY 8, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Temporarily starting behind plate Knizner will serve as the Cardinals' top catcher for the next few weeks while Willson Contreras spends time at designated hitter and in the outfield, John Denton of MLB.com reports...

Impact Contreras has looked good offensively, but the Cardinals are unhappy with his performance on the defensive side and aren't going to use him much if at all at catcher for the near future. That opens up considerably more playing time for Knizner, but he's unlikely to do enough with it to have much fantasy value. In 197 career major-league games, he's hit .201/.287/.285 with eight homers.

MAY 6, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Hits first homer Knizner went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in Friday's 5-4 loss to the Tigers.

Impact Knizner got the Cardinals on the board in the third inning with his solo shot, which was his first homer and fifth hit of the season. He's supplied his two RBI over his last two games, and he's also added three runs scored while hitting .156 across 35 plate appearances. With Willson Contreras getting most of the starts behind the dish, it's tough to see Knizner getting consistent playing time.

MAY 6, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Will open as backup catcher Knizner will open the season as the Cardinals' backup catcher, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Impact Knizner has gone just 4-for-42 (.095) through 14 games this spring in the Grapefruit League, but he still managed to fend off a challenge from Tres Barrera. It probably came down to experience in the end, as Knizner was the locked-in backup to Yadier Molina the last two years. He'll now fill the same role behind offseason addition Willson Contreras.

MARCH 23, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Not assured of backup job Cardinals manager Oli Marmol noted Tuesday that Knizner is not assured of the team's backup catcher role, John Denton of MLB.com reports.

Impact Knizner served as the primary understudy to Yadier Molina over the last two seasons, but he holds just a .204/.292/.288 career batting line in 553 plate appearances at the major-league level. Tres Barrera has impressed the Cardinals' coaches and pitchers this spring, per Denton, and might emerge as the No. 2 option behind Willson Contreras.

MARCH 7, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Reaches deal with St. Louis Knizner agreed to a one-year, $1.1 million contract with the Cardinals on Friday to avoid arbitration, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Impact Knizner appeared in a career-high 97 games last season and had a .215/.301/.300 slash line with four home runs and 25 RBI. He'll remain the No. 2 catcher despite the retirement of Yadier Molina after the Cardinals signed Willson Contreras in free agency.

JANUARY 13, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Cardinals’ Wainwright back in 2023; coaching staff to change

Adam Wainwright will pitch for the St. Louis Cardinals in 2023, choosing to return for an 18th season with the club.

OCTOBER 26, 2022

Cardinals' Wainwright back in 2023; coaching staff to change

Adam Wainwright will pitch for the St. Louis Cardinals next season, choosing to return for an 18th with the franchise while longtime teammates Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina head...

OCTOBER 26, 2022 • ASSOCIATED PRESS

Cardinals face future without Pujols, Molina wearing red

Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina have played their final games with the Cardinals, who were eliminated by the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League wild-card series

OCTOBER 9, 2022 • ASSOCIATED PRESS

Cardinals closer Helsley OK for wild-card round vs Phillies

Hard-throwing closer Ryan Helsley is available for the St. Louis Cardinals for the wild-card series against the Phillies

OCTOBER 7, 2022 • ASSOCIATED PRESS

Pujols has 2 more RBIs, Cardinals beat Pirates 8-7 in 10

Albert Pujols drove in two more runs and the St. Louis Cardinals went on to beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 8-7 in 10 innings Tuesday night

OCTOBER 5, 2022 • ASSOCIATED PRESS

Homers in second straight game Knizner went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in Wednesday's loss against the Brewers.

Impact Knizner led off the seventh inning with a homer off righty reliever Matt Bush to cut the Cardinals' deficit to one. The catcher's last 14 games have been abysmal at the plate as he's recorded a .098 average and .268 slugging percentage over 41 at-bats. After an 0-for-19 stretch over five games, the 27-year-old has homered in back-to-back contests.

SEPTEMBER 29, 2022 • ROTOWIRE

Brewers boost playoff hopes with 5-1 victory over Cardinals

Brandon Woodruff struck out 10 over six scoreless innings and Devin Williams delivered four big outs late to boost the Milwaukee Brewers’ playoff hopes with a 5-1 victory over the...

SEPTEMBER 29, 2022 • ASSOCIATED PRESS

Goes deep in victory Knizner went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run in Tuesday's win over the Brewers.

Impact Knizner connected for a two-run shot off Brent Suter in the top of the fourth frame, extending the Cardinals' lead to 4-0. The homer was his third of the season and first since Aug. 27. Since the beginning of September, Knizner has gone 2-for-36 with a home run, a double, two RBI and two runs scored while striking out 10 times.

SEPTEMBER 28, 2022 • ROTOWIRE

Cardinals clinch NL Central title by beating Brewers 6-2

Andrew Knizner hit a two-run homer, Miles Mikolas pitched six strong innings and the St. Louis Cardinals clinched the NL Central title with a 6-2 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers

SEPTEMBER 28, 2022 • ASSOCIATED PRESS