Baltimore Orioles Roster – 10 Items for the Next 10 Days

Mar 16, 2014; Dunedin, FL, USA; Toronto Blue Jays first baseman

Edwin Encarnacion

(10) slides safely into home plate as Baltimore Orioles catcher

Steve Clevenger

(45) attempted to tag him out during the fourth inning at Florida Auto Exchange Park. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Who will be the backup catcher?

At first glance, given the assigning of Johnny Monell to AAA Norfoll, that Steve Clevenger has won this competition. Caleb Joseph is still in the camp, though he is not on the 40-man roster.

There has been talk of someone outside the organization perhaps being brought in. This seems more than unnecessary to me, though, perhaps there is an incredible deal out there.

Monell performed well in every way on both sides of the ball. Even so, Clevenger has been better, with 12 hits in 22 at bats.

Every discussion of this role contains the caveat that, from the beginning, each was told that the position would be won on defense. Both have performed well, and Caleb Joseph has demonstrated great improvement in this part of his game also. There is no doubt that Joseph can hit, but the poor guy has been stuck in a sort of “Groundhog Day” of waking up in Bowie every game day for four seasons.

The organization has come a long way in building catching depth, and with Wieters as a Boris client, this demonstrates good foresight.