Catcher Conversion: Inside Carter Trice’s Transition to a New Position
April 16, 2024 by Sam Weiderhaft Being a professional comes with challenges. Increased competition, adjusting to new routines, and playing with a new organization. For Carter Trice, those challenges have been increased with an adjustment to an entirely new position. Trice was drafted in the 12th round of the 2023
April 16, 2024 by Sam Weiderhaft
Being a professional comes with challenges. Increased competition, adjusting to new routines, and playing with a new organization. For Carter Trice, those challenges have been increased with an adjustment to an entirely new position.
Trice was drafted in the 12th round of the 2023 MLB Draft by the Chicago Cubs. He was coming off a 2023 season at NC State where he played 41 games- mainly in the outfield. He spent his first two seasons at Old Dominion, breaking on the scene with a stellar freshman season where he was named the Conference USA Freshman of the Year and a Second-Team All-American.
His freshman season was spent mainly in the infield, starting 54 games at second before moving to an outfielder in 2022. Throughout his college career, he spent time at almost every position besides catcher.
Once he was drafted, the Cubs saw a potential for him behind the plate. He caught two games in the Arizona Complex League before spending time in the prestigious Arizona Fall League, mainly catching bullpens for other pitchers.
“A lot of early work, a lot of late work,” Trice said about the work he’s put in to learning a new position. “Having good coaches around me, other catchers also, they’ve all helped me out a lot.”
Through spring training, Trice worked with former Pelicans’ catchers Casey Opitz (2021) and Ethan Hearn (2021-2022) to grasp the entirely new spot on the field. Current Birds David Avitia and Wally Soto have also given him instruction during the early season.
The catcher position comes with entirely new responsibilities. Connecting with the pitching staff, commanding the infield, and being an overall leader of the team are all things that come with being a backstop.
“What helped me with that is watching the other guys,” Trice said. “I’m not really used to it, it’s kind of a learning curve being a leader on the field. But watching the other guys have really helped me a lot.”
Through the first few weeks of 2024, Trice has caught three games and caught three runners trying to steal while also spending time at first and third base. Currently, he’s one of three catchers on the roster.
“I love baseball, I like to play,” Trice said. “Showing up to the yard every day is going to be the best thing.”