Bailey reflects on time with Giants in 1st bout vs. former team

CLEVELAND -- The Giants were one of the most active teams at this year’s Trade Deadline, pulling off five deals in the final 24 hours that dislodged six big leaguers off their 26-man roster.

But it’s worth noting that their first big shakeup actually happened three months earlier.

On May 9, the Giants shipped two-time Gold Glove-winning catcher Patrick Bailey to the Guardians in exchange for left-handed pitching prospect Matt Wilkinson and the 29th overall pick of the 2026 MLB Draft.

It was a stunning move considering Bailey hadn’t even hit arbitration yet and was under team control through 2029. But the 27-year-old had an inkling that a change could be coming, especially once he started losing playing time amid a brutal slump to start the year.

“I think at the end there, I kind of saw the writing on the wall a little bit,” Bailey said. “But I was definitely surprised. It’s definitely not the story I had written for this season, but I’m so grateful for Cleveland and the organization. I’m just trusting God's hand in all this.”

Bailey got to face off against his old club for the first time on Tuesday, when the Giants and Guardians kicked off a three-game Interleague series at Progressive Field. He started behind the plate and helped guide Cleveland left-hander Foster Griffin through six innings of one-run ball, resulting in an 8-1 loss for San Francisco (51-74).

“I’m excited to obviously see some familiar faces,” Bailey said before the game. “It should be a fun series.”

The intrigue will continue on Wednesday, when Wilkinson is expected to be called up to start for the Giants and make his Major League debut against his former organization, creating a full-circle moment for both sides.

The trade has worked out well for Bailey, who joined a Guardians (61-65) club that’s in the thick of the American League Wild Card race and now gets to play much closer to his family’s home in North Carolina. But he’ll always look back fondly on his time with the Giants.

“It's where it all started,” said Bailey, who was taken with the 13th overall pick of the 2020 Draft before debuting in San Francisco in ‘23. “I'm incredibly grateful for the Giants organization and the fans and the players, and all the staff members that I've had there. I played my first big league game there. Looking back at it now, I’m just so grateful for San Francisco and the Giants. I really enjoyed my time there.”

Bailey was a well below-average hitter (74 OPS+) over his four seasons with the Giants, but he delivered several highlight-reel moments, including a walk-off grand slam against the Dodgers and a walk-off inside-the-park homer against the Phillies last year. He said the dramatic slam against Los Angeles will go down as one of his favorite memories as a Giant, along with catching Blake Snell’s no-hitter against the Reds in 2024.

“They're definitely going to be some of the best memories of my career,” Bailey said. “Hopefully I have plenty more as we go forward, but no doubt Giants baseball is a big part of my life."

Bailey’s departure left the Giants without one of the most valuable defensive players in the Majors and forced them to churn through five other backstops this year, but the organization still feels good about the state of its catching depth moving forward.

Rule 5 Draft pick Daniel Susac is likely out for the year after suffering a left knee patella fracture earlier this month, but he graded out well defensively behind the plate during his rookie season and should be the frontrunner to serve as the Giants’ starting catcher in 2027. San Francisco also feels it has two other promising young options in Drew Cavanaugh and Jesus Rodriguez.

The 24-year-old Cavanaugh is currently splitting catching duties with veteran Andrew Knizner, but Rodriguez could slide back into the mix once he works his way back from the bout of right elbow neuritis that has sidelined him since July 31. Rodriguez, 24, is currently throwing out to 110 feet and could begin a rehab assignment by the end of the week, spurring optimism that he could return from the injured list relatively soon.

“People talk about, 'Hey, it’s a year we tried to break in two young catchers,'” Giants manager Tony Vitello said. “But I always correct everybody and say three with Jesus involved. Injuries are tough to predict. You don’t know who or when they’re going to happen. But if you do have all three of those guys healthy -- which obviously, we don’t -- I think it becomes a pretty dang good problem.

“How do you insert all three of those guys and get them equal playing time? Because I think they can help behind the plate a ton, but I think you get a good at-bat out of everybody, too.”