Chris Stewart

Stewart hits for a punchless high batting average among catching backups, which might not actually be a bad thing. In 2015, he batted .289 in 172 plate appearances, only five points below his 2014 mark. The backstop is still looking for his first homer since 2013, when he went deep four times for the Yankees. He threw out 24 percent of runners last summer and served as Gerrit Cole’s personal catcher at times. In fact, Pirates pitchers averaged a 2.52 ERA with Stewart catching and 3.50 ERA with starter Francisco Cervelli behind the plate. Accordingly, Stewart is one player whose defense and intangibles mean more than his offensive production.

Despite batting a career-best .294 in 2014, Stewart accumulated just five extra-base knocks among his 40 hits. A career .228 hitter, he failed to make up for his offensive shortcomings with strong defense last season, catching just 23 percent of would-be basestealers (the league average was 28 percent). Stewart's success has revolved around his pitch-framing skills, but that's of little interest to most fantasy players. Still, he's in the mix for playing time following Russell Martin's departure and with Francisco Cervelli's inability to stay healthy throughout his career.

Stewart did a great job behind the plate for the Yankees, but was a total liability as a hitter, including a 6-for-51 stretch to close out the year. Even if Stewart's quality defense him getting starts, his terrible offensive numbers won't help in even the deepest of fantasy leagues. He will serve as the backup behind Russell Martin after being traded to Pittsburgh during the offseason.

Stewart was a solid backup catcher for the Yankees in 2012, providing very little at the plate, but playing excellent defense and handling the pitching staff well. He should find himself in a similar role in 2013 even with the departure of Russell Martin. It seems unlikely the Yankees would be content with Stewart's bat in the lineup every day, so they would probably bring up Austin Romine or find an external option. Stewart won't be worth a pickup even if he found some sort of extended playing time.

Stewart was thrust into action at the big league level unexpectedly last year after Buster Posey suffered a season-ending knee injury, and he predictably responded with a .204/.283/.309 line. The 30-year-old had previously seen just 48 at-bats in the majors during his career, although he did post an 18:16 K:BB ratio over 162 at-bats. Stewart owns a .689 OPS over 10 minor league seasons, and he’ll enter spring training battling Hector Sanchez to be the team’s backup catcher.