The Giants were 2-12 in 14 games leading up to the trade deadline, and that lackluster status convinced the team to move some of their impending free agents (i.e. Tyler Rogers, Mike Yastrzemski) and controllable assets Camilo Doval. The Giants also “briefly considered” the possibility of trading another notable player under long-term control, catcher, the San Francisco Chronicle’s Scheana Rubin reports. Patrick Bailey.
The way Rubin expressed the club’s thought process could mean the Giants front office is simply doing its due diligence in evaluating trade chips before the deadline, or perhaps another team makes an offer that’s interesting enough to at least get Buster Posey and companies are considering the idea. Rubin wrote that “Bailey has no strong incentive to be traded,” which makes sense given Bailey’s stellar defense and pre-arbitration status.
Bailey is the 13th overall pick in 2020. His emergence and Joey Bart’s struggles led the Giants to select Bailey as the team’s proverbial “catcher of the future.” In three seasons in the MLB, Bailey hit just .230/.287/.340 in 1,253 games, but he won the last two Gold Glove Awards and the Fielding Bible Award for his outstanding glove skills. In addition to the latest Fielding Bible Award, Sports Info Solutions named Bailey the Defensive Player of the Year in all of baseball for the 2025 season.
Bailey is just days away from Super Two status and an extra year of arbitration eligibility. As a result, his first arbitration proceeding won’t come until next winter, and he won’t be eligible to become a free agent until the 2029-30 offseason. San Francisco is in no rush to move the 26-year-old, and trading Bailey would leave the Giants trying to find a new back in a thin market.
Creating a new roster need may not hold much appeal for the Giants, whose offseason to-do list includes focusing on starting and relief pitching, as well as right field or second base as areas of concern around the diamond. Still, Rubin said the upcoming automated batting challenge system could give teams some reason to move Bailey before implementing the ABS system next season. While Bailey is a strong all-around defensive catcher, his excellent framing skills are his bread and butter, and Bailey’s framing (and snapping) abilities can be hampered by allowing opponents to challenge referee calls.
How the ABS system will impact day-to-day play in the major leagues remains to be seen, although we have seen the system in use at the Triple-A level for the past four seasons, and major league players got a taste of it during spring training and the All-Star Game last year. The impact on Bailey or other elite framers is likely to be relatively minor, although it could be argued that anything that reduces his glove work would have a huge impact on his overall value since Bailey offers nothing at the plate.
Regardless, San Francisco’s lead this winter should raise some eyebrows, as the team may not bid Andrew Kniznercreating the need for new backups. The Giants may bring in a veteran or two to compete for spring training jobs, plus Jesus Rodriguez Be an internal candidate for this position. Rodriguez was one of four prospects the Yankees brought in for Doval, and Rubin noted that Rodriguez would have made his MLB debut with the Giants last year if Rodriguez hadn’t been set back by a shoulder injury.
