CLEARWATER, Fla. — And on the fourth day, Carlos Ruiz was behind the plate …
He might not be there for four more days.
Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg, already on record as saying he will closely monitor Chase Utley’s playing time this season, will also keep an eye on Ruiz’ time behind the plate. Like Utley, Ruiz is 36. He is the oldest regular catcher in the majors and has spent time on the disabled list each of the last six seasons.
Sandberg is already closely watching Ruiz’s time behind the plate. Ruiz started at catcher for the first time this spring Friday, in the Phils’ fourth game. He did not play the previous two days and was the designated hitter in the Grapefruit League opener.
It wasn’t surprising that Sandberg picked Friday’s game (a 4-1 loss to the Yankees) to use Ruiz behind the plate as it allowed him to pair his No. 1 catcher with ace Cole Hamels, who pitched two scoreless innings in his spring debut (see story). Ruiz caught five innings.
“I’m going to get him behind the plate as needed the first half of spring training here,” Sandberg said. “I’ll get him to DH the other games. We kind of have a program like that for him. We’ll also have a chance to get him some at-bats when they start playing games (in the minor-league camp).”
Sandberg said Ruiz would catch “maybe once every four days, five days, something like that,” for most of the camp. “We want him to get his work, but also preserve himself a little bit and have him on a schedule that has him ready for opening day. But not really getting too much time behind the plate,” Sandberg said.
MLB
The Phillies’ handling of Ruiz shows how important the backup catcher’s job will be on this team.
“We’re looking for someone who can support us 50, 60, 70 games,” general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said. “The guy will get plenty of playing time, no doubt.”
Cameron Rupp, Koyie Hill, John Hester and Rene Garcia are all in camp, vying for the backup job. Tommy Joseph is also in camp, but he probably needs reps in the minors after missing valuable playing time the last two seasons with a concussion and a wrist injury.
It’s also quite possible that the backup catcher will come from outside the organization. Amaro has been open in admitting that his scouts are looking for possible backups in other camps. One name to keep an eye on is Austin Romine of the Yankees. He ranks third on the Yankees’ catching depth chart — behind Brian McCann and John Ryan Murphy — and could become available for a trade because he is out of minor-league options.
Romine, 26, has spent parts of three seasons in the majors with the Yankees and is considered a sound defender.