Cardinals reliever Jason Motte was putting on the gear and readying to revisit his roots as a catcher late in Sunday’s game when rookie David Freese volunteered that he had played a few games behind the plate in his career.

His college career, that is.

Freese, a third baseman by trade, swapped in his glove and borrowed Matt Pagnozzi’s pads to handle the 10th inning behind the plate, his professional debut at the position and the cap to a wild ending to a season he saved from wreckage. Freese drove in three runs, tied the game with an eighth-inning single and made a falling-down, pad-clattering catch behind the plate Sunday in the final regular-season game of the Cardinals season.

“He’s a keeper,” manager Tony La Russa said.

He meant long-term. But the phrase applies short-term, too.

Freese, a Lafayette High grad, will travel with the Cardinals and stick with them throughout the postseason. He is still in the mix for a spot on the postseason roster — though his only way on is trickier than others’. On Sunday morning, a Cardinals official said Troy Glaus will be on the active roster for the National League Division Series. Glaus spent the first five months of the year on the disabled list after shoulder surgery, and because he was there on Aug. 31 he’s eligible for the postseason roster.

For Freese to placed on the roster, one of the players eligible for the playoffs must be injured, either before the start of the NLDS or during it if the Cardinals should advance.
Active or just present, the October experience has value, La Russa said.

“It will be priceless,” La Russa said. “For guys like him, they’ve got two shots. They had the excitement of their Triple-A shot at the postseason, and now a terrific opportunity to be with us.”

As the Cardinals’ Class AAA affiliate claimed the Pacific Coast League, it was Freese who had solo home runs in consecutive 1-0 playoff victories. He carried that momentum into sporadic appearances with the major-league club, culminating in Sunday’s 2-for-3 day. Freese had an RBI single in the seventh, and he followed with a two-run single in the eighth that tied the score, 6-6.

In all six of his games since a September promotion, the third baseman has at least a hit. That raised his major-league average to .323 in 31 at-bats. It’s a significant recovery for Freese, who was on the Opening Day roster before a heel injury slowed him. Eventually it stopped him, and midseason surgery was required.

“Now I don’t have my ankle in the back of my head every time I take a step,” Freese said of his return engagement in the majors. “It’s a good feeling, to say the least. I can just focus on the game, not my foot.”

In the bottom of the ninth, La Russa opted to pinch-hit for Pagnozzi, meaning all three of his catchers had been used and removed from the game. Motte, who began his pro career as a catcher before discovering he’d move faster and higher with his fastball, was ready until Class AAA manager Chris Maloney checked with Freese. The third baseman spent a month in 2007 with San Diego playing catcher during instructional league play. He last played the position in a game back in April 2006 — for South Alabama.

Freese donned the gear and ran through the signs with pitcher Todd Wellemeyer. The righty suggested Freese call pitches “you don’t want to be pitched” as a hitter. In the top of the inning, Freese quelled Milwaukee’s winning rally by catching a popup behind the plate, falling down as a he did so.

He said his legs were “toast” and wobbly as he positioned for the catch.

His footing is more solid as he positions for 2010.

Or sooner.

“David showed earlier this year when he was here — he took some tough pinch-hits, drove in runs, and had a big time helping the Memphis team with the championship,” La Russa said. “He’s show he can rebound from some really tough breaks. I think he’s a keeper, a good productive winning player for this organization.”