With the 2015-18 Cleveland Indians being the exception, nobody really cares about backup catchers. Usually you see them on Sundays and getaway days, giving the starter a chance to rest his knees, usually batting eighth or ninth and typically just sort of being a person that plays baseball. If ever there was a way to succinctly describe Kevin Plawecki, that’s it. For 418 innings this year he spelled starter Roberto Pérez, and was fine.
When the Indians traded for Plawecki last January, he’s what you would call a “known quantity”, which is a good and a bad thing.