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Top Eric Fryer News
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Eric Fryer: Decides to retire
Fryer has retired, Chris Cotillo of SB Nation reports.
The veteran catcher had signed a minor-league deal with the Phillies in December and could have provided some organizational depth, though he wasn't likely to play a significant role this season. Fryer's retirement ends a seven-year major-league career in which he was a third or fourth catcher for the Pirates, Twins and Cardinals. He'll retire with a .232/.320/.300 line in 374 career plate appearances.
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Phillies' Eric Fryer: Inks NRI deal with Phillies
Fryer signed a minor-league contract with the Phillies on Monday that includes an invite to spring training, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.
Fryer will head to camp clearly behind Jorge Alfaro, Cameron Rupp and Andrew Knapp on the organizational depth chart, so he should begin the year at Triple-A. The 32-year-old backstop saw time in the big leagues with the Cardinals in 2017. He has a career .232/.320/.300 slash line in 374 MLB plate appearances.
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Eric Fryer: Heads to open market
Fryer cleared waivers and elected free agency Monday.
Rather than accepting an outright assignment to Triple-A, the 31-year-old backstop will head to the open market to test free agency. His career .232/.320/.300 slash line certainly doesn't open too many eyes, although Fryer's experience in the majors could help him land at least a minor-league contract before season's end.
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Cardinals' Eric Fryer: Designated for assignment
Fryer was designated for assignment by the Cardinals on Friday.
Fryer was handed the DFA prior to the rivalry series against Chicago, while the club recalled top catching prospect Carson Kelly from Triple-A Memphis. During 34 games with the team, Fryer went just 11-for-71 from the plate, and wasn't able to hang onto his job through defensive ability alone as the Cardinals look to remain relevant in the playoff race.
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Cardinals' Eric Fryer: Struggling at plate in 2017
Fryer is slashing .154/.276/.200 in 76 plate appearances this season.
The veteran backstop has also roped three doubles and driven in three runs while drawing 10 walks. Fryer has never hit below .213 in any major-league stop, and he managed a .368/.415/.421 line in 41 plate appearances for the Cardinals last season. However, his current offensive struggles aren't of particular concern, as the majority of his value is derived from his ability to provide solid defense behind the dish while giving Yadier Molina the occasional day off.
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Cardinals' Eric Fryer: Draws third straight start
Fryer will start at catcher and bat eighth Sunday against the Phillies.
Fryer is making his third consecutive start with Yadier Molina (back) still recovering from an injury. The Cardinals remain optimistic that with a scheduled off day Monday, Molina will be ready to go for the series opener Tuesday with the Brewers, so Fryer's stint in the starting nine could be short lived. The backstop went 1-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored Saturday.
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Cardinals' Eric Fryer: Smacks two hits in rare start Sunday
Fryer went 2-for-4 with a double in Sunday's 8-4 loss to the Rockies.
The backup catcher got a rare start with Yadier Molina sitting and was able to rope his third extra-base hit of the season. It was also Fryer's first multi-hit effort of the season, although it's worth noting that he's seen just 32 at-bats to date.
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Cardinals' Eric Fryer: Minimal playing time
Fryer has one hit in only seven at-bats in the month of May.
Playing time was always going to be scarce as Yadier Molina's backup, but Fryer has only a single at-bat since May 8. The 31-year-old catcher's .185/.267/.259 slash line in 27 at-bats this season is providing the Cardinals little reason to give Molina more rest.
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Cardinals' Eric Fryer: Pinch-hit double Sunday
Fryer smacked a double and scored a run in his only plate appearance during Sunday's 9-3 loss to the Yankees.
The backup catcher pinch hit for Yadier Molina to open the ninth and promptly smacked a two-bagger to right field off Yankees reliever Dellin Betances, eventually coming around to score his second run of the season on Randal Grichuk's fielder's choice. Fryer has logged only eight at-bats and one start on the season, and he's projected for sporadic playing time given Molina's iron-man reputation behind the plate.
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Cardinals' Eric Fryer: Contract purchased from Triple-A
Fryer's contract was purchased from Triple-A Memphis on Wednesday.
Fryer was a shoo-in to open the year as the Cardinals' backup catcher, as the team's top catching prospect, Carson Kelly, will be sent to Triple-A to get everyday at-bats to further his development. If anything should happen to Molina, however, Kelly, not Fryer, would be the likely option to come up and take over the everyday duties. This makes Fryer pretty unappealing, even in very deep leagues.
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Cardinals' Eric Fryer: Drives in two in win
Fryer went 2-for-3 with a pair of singles, two RBI and two runs in Friday's 7-1 Grapefruit League win over the Nationals.
The reserve backstop drove in his first runs since Feb. 27 with a fourth-inning single that plated Jose Martinez and Tommy Pham. Given his solid contact rate and above-average defense behind the dish, Fryer looks like a viable option when 34-year-old Yadier Molina is given days off this season.
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Cardinals' Eric Fryer: Two-RBI day in Sunday Grapefruit League win
Fryer went 2-for-2 with a two-RBI single, triple and two runs in Sunday's 7-4 Grapefruit League win over the Marlins.
The reserve backstop singled in Randal Grichuk and Tommy Pham to open the scoring for the Cardinals in the second. He added a three-bagger in the fourth and subsequently scored on an Aledmys Diaz sacrifice fly. Fryer, back with the team after being lost on a waiver claim to the Pirates last season, is expected to serve as Yadier Molina's backup in the coming campaign.
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Cardinals' Eric Fryer: Signs minor league deal with Cardinals
Fryer signed a minor league contract with the Cardinals on Monday that includes an invitation to spring training.
The 31-year-old backstop is a solid defensive option, but has a career 85 wRC+ and just two home runs in 291 career plate appearances in the big leagues. He may start the year as Yadier Molina's backup, but rookie Carson Kelly has much more potential in that role, and should eventually overtake Fryer on the organizational depth chart.
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Eric Fryer: Non-tendered by Pirates
Fryer was non-tendered by the Pirates on Friday and is now a free agent.
Fryer holds a .254/.332/.328 line in 291 career plate appearances and will go looking for a team in need of backup catcher. His fantasy value remains negligible, but there should be a team that values him as decent catching depth.
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Pirates' Eric Fryer: Reinstated from paternity list
Fryer was reinstated from the paternity list on Tuesday, Adam Berry of MLB.com reports.
Fryer will return to his backup catcher role with the Pirates as Elias Diaz was optioned back to Triple-A Indianapolis. Over his past 10 games with the Pirates, Fryer is hitting .320 with five RBI in 25 at-bats. He will be available on Tuesday at the Pirates host the Mariners.
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Pirates' Eric Fryer: Placed on paternity list
Fryer was placed on the paternity list Saturday, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Stephen Nesbitt reports.
Fryer's wife just had twins, so he will leave the team to be with his family and will be eligible to return in a few days. Elias Diaz was recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis to serve as the backup catcher in the short term.
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Pirates' Eric Fryer: Regular day off Sunday
Fryer is out of the lineup Sunday against the Nationals.
Fryer has started the first two games of the series, and four straight dating back to before the All-Star break, but will get the day off Sunday in favor of Erik Kratz behind the plate.
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Pirates' Eric Fryer: Doubles, drives in three runs against Cardinals
Fryer doubled and knocked in three runs in a 2-for-4 game Tuesday against the Cardinals.
Including his 24 games with St. Louis this season, Fryer is hitting a robust .381/.422/.452. With Francisco Cervelli and Chris Stewart hurt, Fryer is likely to get plenty of at-bats for the Pirates, especially considering his competition Erik Kratz is hitting just .080 (6-for-75) this season.
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Player Bio
| HT/WT: 6-2, 215 lbs |
| Birthplace: Columbus, OH |
| Age: 39 |
| School: Ohio State |
| Experience: 7 |
| Bats/Throws: R, R |