Carlos Ruiz enjoys a Philly homecoming with Mariners

The beloved 'Chooch' returned to a rousing ovation from the Philly fans

For parts of 11 seasons, Seattle Mariners catcher Carlos Ruiz was a member of the Philadelphia Phillies. He would grow to become one of the most beloved athletes in recent decades among the rabid sports fans in the City of Brotherly Love.

As part of the Phillies rebuilding program, Ruiz was dealt away last August 25 to the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Phils received catcher A.J. Ellis in what was essentially a swap of veteran backup catchers.

After being eliminated from the playoffs, the Dodgers swapped Ruiz out to the Mariners in early November in exchange for pitcher Vidal Nuno.

This week, Ruiz returned to Philadelphia for the first time as an opposing player. As anticipated, the now 38-year old was greeted with affection by both his former teammates and by the Philly fans.

Prior to the start of what is a quick two-game stop for Seattle at Citizens Bank Park, Ruiz hosted a few of those former teammates in a get-together at his home in South Jersey.

Phillies Appear Committed to Andrew Knapp as Backup Catcher

Coming into the 2016 season, the Philadelphia Phillies appeared to be gearing up for a battle. The particular battle that I’m referring to here was for their catcher of the future.

The position was being manned at the big league level at the time by Cameron Rupp, who had never distinguished himself. 

The backup was going to be veteran Carlos Ruiz, who was surely going to be dealt before the season was over.

Either a poor performance by Rupp, or a trade of Ruiz, or some combination of the two was going to open up an opportunity in Philadelphia. One of two prospect catchers would be racing for the chance to step in if that happened.

Unfortunately for those two backstop prospects, Rupp performed well in the 2016 season. That performance solidified his hold on the catcher position in the short term.

As for the beloved “Chooch”, he was indeed traded away – but in return for another veteran catcher, A.J. Ellis.

Philadelphia Phillies 2016 Grades: Catchers

Entering the 2016 MLB regular season, the catching position appeared to be one in which the Phillies were in a holding pattern at the big league level while the organization waited for a pair of top prospects to develop further.

The likely starter was going to be Cameron Rupp, with longtime veteran Carlos Ruizserving as the backup until such time as he was traded away to some contender.

At that point, if not sooner, catching prospect Andrew Knapp would be promoted to the Phillies to begin his own big league career.

Knapp had been one of the 2015 Phillies organizational Paul Owens Award winners, the top hitting prospect in the club’s minor league system last season.

Also down in the minor leagues, one of the pieces obtained from Texas in last year’s big Cole Hamels trade was catcher Jorge Alfaro, who was seen by many as even more talented than Knapp, though further away developmentally.

Rupp wasn’t seen by most as much more than a backup catcher at the Major League level, hitting for just a .233/.301/.374 slash line across 299 plate appearances a year ago in his first significant, regular playing time.

As could be expected, these last six months since the club was sorting it all out back at spring training in Clearwater have been a mixed bag where those catching expectations are concerned.