TAMPA -- For much of the winter, Kevin Plawecki seemed a lock to win the job as the backup to catcher Christian Vazquez.
But the arrival of Jonathan Lucroy changed all of that.
Now, the two are in competition for the No. 2 catcher's spot, with Lucroy -- by virtue of his offensive capability and his past experience playing for interim manager Ron Roenicke -- the heavy favorite.
"The tough thing is you're going to have to make a decision at the end and that's going to be a hard thing,'' said Roenicke, "because I like both of them. Plawecki's at-bats right now are fantastic. It's a simple swing, he's going (to the opposite field), he's pulling the ball. His at-bats are really great at this time of camp.
"And Luke (Lucroy) is getting his hits, but he still trying to find his timing. As I know, he's a really good offensive player who has not shown that offense the last few years. So, he's still trying to figure out timing and all that. But it's great competition.''
Roenicke was asked what he valued most for the backup catcher's spot.
"I think for every team it seems to be a little bit different,'' said Roenicke. "The last two years, we had Sandy (Leon) who was a fantastic defensive catcher. But there's a point where you have to have enough offense to carry that great defense. So we made the change this year and so far we're seeing really great offense and defense. I can't tell you what I prefer. It probably depends on how many games your starting catcher is going to go. If he's catching 130, maybe that defense is more important. But if he's catching 100, you'd better have a little bit of offense in there too.''
______________________
______________________