Ex-Cardinals Fan-Favorite Available After Surprising Release

One former St. Louis Cardinals fan-favorite is hitting the open market after a surprising release.

Former Cardinals catcher Andrew Knizner has been in the Washington Nationals' farm system this year. He appeared in 23 games in Triple-A and slashed .382/.516/.500 with one homer and 11 RBIs before the team cut ties with him on Saturday as shared by the Washington Post’s Andrew Golden and MLB Trade Rumors' Mark Polishuk.

"The Nationals are set to release catcher Andrew Knizner, the Washington Post’s Andrew Golden reports," Polishuk shared. "The transaction comes in advance of an opt-out date in Knizner’s minor league contract this weekend, and the Nats have chosen to move on from the 30-year-old backstop rather than overwrite his opt-out by adding him to the big league roster.

"It’s hard to say that Knizner could’ve gone any more to merit a call-up, as he is hitting .382/.516/.500 over 91 plate appearances with Triple-A Rochester. This eye-popping slash line is obviously a huge improvement over Knizner’s much more modest career numbers in the minors, as well as his .210/.279/.317 slash line over 887 career PA in the majors with the Cardinals and Rangers from 2019-24."

Knizner is just 30 years old and spent parts of five seasons at the big league level for St. Louis. He spent time with the Texas Rangers in 2024 but hasn't appeared in any games at the big league level yet. What's next for the former Cardinal?