The Phillies enter spring training with a severe lack of depth behind starting catcher Carlos Ruiz, who is 36 and could be trade bait to a contender at the July deadline, reports Philly.com. "We're short there," general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. admitted.
Cameron Rupp is the current backup. He batted .183 in 60 at-bats last year.
Tommy Joseph is the only other catcher on the 40-man roster. The highly-touted 23-year-old prospect is coming back from August wrist surgery and might start the season at Double-A. He took his first batting practice a couple weeks ago.
“We’d be in trouble if Chooch goes down, so we have to continue to keep an eye on that,” Amaro said recently. “We’ve had some dialogue with some clubs about possible trades to add depth there, too. We’ll see. I think that may be something that gets more resolved in spring training than anything else.”