New York Yankees Get New Catcher, Raise Questions

The Yankees acquired catcher Chris Stewart from the Chicago White Sox for a player to be named later earlier this week, and it has created lots of speculation as to what exactly that means for the team and its minor league affiliates.

At the major league level, the Yankees have Jorge Posada and Jose Molina, but obvious questions remain regarding Posada’s shoulder.

So far, manager Joe Girardi has not committed to carrying two or three catchers and it looked like if they did carry three, it would be Kevin Cash as the third guy. That is not so certain anymore.

Because of this deal, it seems like the Yankees are leaning toward using three catchers. Most likely they would do that so they could rest Posada late in games, while bringing in Molina with Cash or Stewart as insurance.

If they did that, then the move makes sense. They could keep three catchers in the majors and either Stewart or Cash, whoever isn’t in the Bronx, would be the Triple-A Scranton starter. That would leave PJ Pilittere as the backup.

Francisco Cervelli was expected to be the Double-A Trenton starting catcher and this doesn’t do much to change that thinking. Kyle Anson appears to be his backup.

If the Yankees don’t carry three catchers this season, it changes things at every level. Now Cash and Stewart are the Triple-A guys. I have no idea which would be the starter, but Stewart has some pretty decent defensive numbers.

Cervelli probably remains the starter at Double-A, but it is uncertain who his backup would be between Pilittere and Anson.

They could carry both, or one of them could turn out to be the player to be named later and shipped to Chicago to complete the Stewart deal.

Either way, this looks like an insurance move the Yankees have made to give themselves options behind the plate. I guess it’s better to have too many players than not enough.

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