MESA, Ariz. — The Indians already know Carlos Santana will be their starting catcher when the season opens April 1 against the Chicago White Sox at Progressive Field.
Who will back him up is still in doubt and most likely will remain that way until the final days of camp.
“That one is probably going to go to the last week,” said Indians manager Manny Acta of the competition between Lou Marson, Luke Carlin and Paul Phillips.
Marson, who was Cleveland’s starter behind the plate last year prior to the arrival of Santana, would appear to be the favorite. But the thought is that Marson, 24, will benefit from regular at-bats at Triple-A Columbus.
Acta qualified that a bit Thursday, saying those at-bats might be available at the big league level.
“Carlos (Santana) is going to be playing first base and DH-ing on occasion,” he said. “If we have enough at-bats and if he proves he is the guy, that could make us change our mind.”
Marson acquitted himself well behind the plate in 87 games for the Indians last year. He led the American League in throwing out runners attempting to steal with a 38.3 percentage (26-of-77).
It was at the plate where Marson encountered problems, batting just .195 with three home runs and 22 RBIs. Based largely on his offensive inefficiency, he was sent down and didn’t fare much better at Columbus, where he batted just .202 with four homers and 14 RBIs in 37 games.
Marson hadn’t been an offensive liability until last year. He owns a career .269 batting average in the minors, winning the Phillies’ minor league player of the year award in 2008 after batting .314 with five homers and 46 RBIs for Double-A Reading.
“This guy has hit before,” Acta said. “He had a tough year last year but it’s not easy to hit up here. He was not the player of the year in Double-A because he could catch and throw.
“We know he has more in him than we saw last year.”
Though he is batting just .182 (2-for-11) with one RBI in six exhibition games, Acta said he has already seen positive strides from Marson this spring.
“He’s swung the bat better than last year,” Acta said. “He’s driving the ball better. You can see it even in the cages.”
If the Indians decide to start Marson in Columbus, it would be a mild surprise if Carlin didn’t get the nod to back up Santana.
Carlin, 30, acquired last offseason in a trade with the Pirates, spent a brief stint in Cleveland last year, hitting .357 (5-for-14) with two homers and three RBIs in six games.
Phillips, 33, is a three-year big league veteran that the Indians signed to a minor league free agent contract this offseason. A career .273 hitter in the minors, Phillips batted .217 (5-for-23) in 12 games for the Rockies in 2010.
Contact Chris Assenheimer at 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com.
