JUPITER, Fla. • A week ago, two years to the day after he agreed to a two-year, $21-million contract with Washington that came tricked-out with all the latest gadgets — a player option and deferred money — Matt Wieters went back to his college, just another alum looking for a job.
A former first-round draft pick and switch-hitter with four All-Star nods and two Gold Glove awards at catcher, Wieters waited and waited through this past offseason before becoming the rarest of arrivals in Cardinals camp. Wieters, not yet 33, agreed to compete for a role that guarantees scarce playing time and uncertain future earnings as Yadier Molina’s backup.