Arizona Diamondbacks Spring Training Roster Report: Catchers

Backup

Feb 11, 2014; Scottsdale, AZ, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks catcher

(54) stretches during camp at Salt River Fields. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports

Tuffy Gosewisch

For those unaware of Gosewisch, he’s a 30-year-old career minor leaguer who had a cup of coffee with the Diamondbacks in 2013. He’s a local product, as he went to Horizon High School in Scottsdale, then attended Arizona State University. To say that he’s not known as much of an offensive player would be wholly accurate.

Tuffy hit .178 in his 47 plate appearances in 2013 after hitting .284 at AAA affiliate Reno. He’s a career .239 hitter in the minors, so don’t expect much from him at the plate. He’s a defensive-minded catcher who will give Montero a rest when needed (and Montero has needed it). Gosewisch had no passed balls and threw out 52 percent of would-be base stealers in 2013 at Reno.

The backup catcher spot is important, as Montero hasn’t surpassed 500 at-bats in any season in his career. The catcher spot is demanding and it’s easy to get beat up. Unfortunately, Montero has had his fair share of missed time. If Gosewisch can perform well defensively, he’ll make the team, but it’s really hard to have two virtual sure outs at the No. 8 and No. 9 (pitcher) spot in the batting order.