Mariners $1M catcher casualty gets a fresh start with MLB's worst team

They say a week is a long time in show business, so we would contend the duration of spring training must feel like a lifetime. And while we literally just made that up, Andrew Knizner would likely still agree with the sentiment after what's happened to him during the past few months.

After signing a $1 million Major League deal with the Mariners back in December, Knizner entered spring training earmarked as the backup catcher to Cal Raleigh for the 2026 season. Now, he's on the worst team in baseball and finds himself playing in Albuquerque rather than Seattle.

That's because Knizner has signed a minor league deal with the Rockies, who propped up the majors last season with a pitiful 43-119 record as one of the worst teams in league history. (And are again predicted to be bad in 2026.) The team didn't officially announce the move, but he played for their Triple-A affiliate on Wednesday night as the starting catcher, going 0-for-2 with a walk and one strikeout.

As much as the 31-year-old didn't expect to end up where he is, we're sure he's still grateful that he was able to sign a deal with another organization. And at least he gets to keep the $1 million the Mariners signed him for, with it being fully guaranteed and now being taken on as dead money on the 2026 payroll in Seattle.

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In some respects though it must still all be a bit of a shock for Knizner. He must have thought he was going to have a cushy Major League job behind the most durable catcher in the game, only to be blindsided by a metaphorical foul ball with a move which caught most people by surprise.

Unfortunately for Knizner, he was doomed once Mitch Garver officially won the backup catcher job. As such, after clearing waivers he rejected an outright to Triple-a Tacoma and decided to instead become a free agent in his quest to find a Major League role elsewhere.

While Knizner has still found himself ending up in Triple-A anyway, he figures to have a chance to play for the Rockies at some stage this season due to their lack of stability at the catcher position. And as much as he's had little offensive success in seven years of Major League action with a .211 batting average and .596 OPS, if you're ever going to hit anywhere, it surely has to be in the rarefied high altitude of Denver, Colorado.

From our perspective there's certainly no ill will towards the 2016 seventh-round draft pick and if anything, we feel a little bad for the guy, not that he wants or needs our sympathy. As such, all we will say is good luck in Colorado... or Albuquerque in the meantime.