Former NC State catcher Andrew Knizner has been signed by the Nationals

The Nationals signed former NC State catcher, Andrew Knizner on a minor league deal, but has been invited to the big league spring training.

Knizner played for the St. Louis Cardinals for 5 seasons before playing last season with the Texas Rangers. He was designated for assignment last year around the trade deadline, when the Rangers added another catcher. Knizner batted .167 last year, the worst of his career.. He was picked up by the Diamondbacks but was assigned to AAA Reno (where he hit .270)

The Washington Nationals signed C Andrew Knizner to a minor league contract. pic.twitter.com/ZSwVYbdf0a

— MLB Roster Moves (@Roster_Moves) January 18, 2025

Knizner batted over .300 in his NC State career and hit 15 homers over his 3 seasons in Raleigh. He was drafted in the 7th round by the Cardinals.

The Nationals have Keibert Ruiz penciled in to start this season. He’s only 26 and is a career .250 hitter with decent pop (he hit 31 homers over the past 2 seasons.) Backing him up, right now, is Drew Millas, who is also 26. He’s only played 83 total MLB games, but he’s actually put up decent offensive numbers. He’s batted .249 over that span, after being a .270 hitter in the minors.

The Nationals aren’t going to really compete this season, so they might want to get as much experience as they can for their catchers. However, if for some reason they start to find themselves in contention, they might want a little more experience behind the plate, and that’s where Knizner may come in.

We’ll have to wait and see how it plays out. But no matter what, it’s good to see Andrew back in the bigs.