I think if he can show any kind of progress at AAA they should promote him. LaRue is beyond bad and anything would be better than him. The only arguments against are starting his major league clock and not getting him enough at bats. I think he could get enough at bats subbing with Molina and coming off the bench to pinch hit. This would help solve our lack of pop off the bench as well. We would just need someone that can play Catcher in a serious pinch that is on the roster.

granted, this is a big if…but if the cardinals take kyle skipworth in the first round this year…then anderson beomes imminently tradeable…and if we could get a legit major league ss for anderson…then we have to pull the trigger…tyler greene is not gonna make it to the majors, and kozma is at least 3-4 years away…so we need a shortstop for the future…and we have a pretty good catcher locked up for the next few years

so if we take a catcher in the draft that looks like a player(legit prospect)...i say trade anderson for a ss if we can get someone to take the offer

I don’t understand the conventional wisdom that Anderson is “blocked” by Molina. Sure, Molina is locked up as the starting catcher for years. However, a backup catcher isn’t “blocked” the way a backup, say, first baseman is. Anderson could easily come to the bigs and start 50 games at catcher and pick up 200+ at bats. Last year, Molina started only 101 games; Stinnett and Bennett had 237 AB’s between them (to Molina’s 353). Even recognizing that Molina did some DL time last year, I fully believe that Anderson would get a lot of exposure as a backup. I also recognize that Molina is relatively fragile and should start no more than 105 or 110 games a year, just to protect his health. If a truly skilled catcher backed him up, a manager could feel a lot better giving him an off day.

Anybody who thinks he’d be “stuck” as a backup catcher needs to remember that a backup catcher doesn’t have to comply with the Bennett/LaRue/Stinnett model, who are offensive and defensive inferiors to Molina. Imagine the role a backup catcher could take if we played him because he would help the team, not just because we had no alternative.

I don’t think it’s realistic to expect that Anderson will convert to a GG 2d baseman, but I do think it’s reasonable to give him the Chris Duncan crash course in shagging fly balls, so that he can get a few more AB’s in the bigs (I don’t know what kind of speed he’s got, but MiLB has him at 200 lbs. and 6’1”—I imagine he could manage a corner OF spot). That would give him the flexibility to play backup catcher/5th OF and a credible pinch hitter.

I recognize, of course, that his best value to the club may ultimately be in a trade. Even his value in getting 250 AB’s for the Cards as a backup may not be as much as what we could get in a trade. I do think that some people talk about him as if he must either be traded or forced to convert to another spot entirely, as if backing up for a time is unreasonable. Forcing him to convert from the most defensively challenging position on the field to become an infielder seems like taking the bed off your dump truck and commuting to work in it. We shouldn’t just assume that backup catchers should hit .200 because that’s what most backups do. If we have a truly talented defensive catcher with real offensive skills who is under club control, that’s a gold mine in baseball.