SAN FRANCISCO -- Buster Posey has made several bold strokes since taking over as the Giants’ president of baseball operations in September 2024.
His latest bombshell revolved around a player who was once viewed as his long-term successor behind the plate.
The Giants announced Saturday that they’ve traded catcher Patrick Bailey to the Guardians in exchange for left-handed pitching prospect Matt Wilkinson and the 29th overall pick of the 2026 Draft.
Bailey, 26, had been the Giants’ starting catcher since breaking into the Majors in 2023 and became the first backstop in franchise history to win back-to-back Gold Glove Awards last year. But his elite defense wasn’t enough to make up for his lack of production at the plate.
TRADE DETAILS
Giants get: LHP Matt Wilkinson, No. 29 pick in 2026 Draft
Guardians get: C Patrick Bailey
The switch-hitting Bailey has batted only .146 with a .396 OPS, one homer and five RBIs over 30 games this year, a miserable stretch that became harder for the Giants to absorb given their collective offensive futility this season.
San Francisco (15-23) entered Saturday ranked last in the Majors in runs, homers and walks, prompting the club to promote rookie catcher Jesus Rodriguez from Triple-A Sacramento as part of a roster shakeup on Monday. Rodriguez, the Giants’ No. 18 prospect, started behind the plate in three of his first four games for San Francisco, going 5-for-11 (.455) with one home run and two RBIs while pushing Bailey into more of a backup role.
With fellow rookie catcher Daniel Susac also nearing a return from the injured list, Bailey looked in danger of losing even more playing time, which compelled the Giants to move on from their 2020 first-round Draft pick. Posey preferred not to disclose details of how the trade came together, though he said Bailey garnered “a lot of interest” from across the Majors.
“I think it’s more the confidence that we have in Jesus Rodriguez and Daniel Susac, and just the strides that we feel like as an organization they’ve made defensively,” Posey said. “Both of them are swinging the bat well. It’s not necessarily only Patty who’s been off to a slow start offensively this year. But just as a whole, we’re trying to find ways to get more runs on the board.”
Logan Webb’s reaction to seeing his longtime batterymate traded?
“It stinks,” said Webb, who also landed on the 15-day IL with right knee bursitis on Saturday. “I've gotten real close with Patty [since] ‘23 when he first came up. He’s pretty much the only guy I've thrown to except a couple different guys here and there. But it's been me and Patty for a long time. Obviously, I'm going to miss him. I’m going to miss him more as a friend, but I'm excited for him. He gets to be a little closer to home.
“I think it's going to be a good opportunity. I think it's a really good team. Patty's a fantastic talent in this game, and I think he's going to keep proving that. I think he'll only be better.”
Bailey enjoyed his fair share of highlights over parts of four seasons in San Francisco, including a walk-off grand slam against the Dodgers and a walk-off inside-the-parker against the Phillies last year. But Bailey remained a below-average hitter throughout his Giants tenure, batting only .224 with a .611 OPS and a 74 OPS+ over 383 career games.
Still, Bailey’s Gold Glove defense will be hard to replace. Since 2023, Bailey leads the Majors with a +85 fielding run value and ranks first among backstops in catcher framing runs (+69) and caught stealing above average (+27).
Third baseman Matt Chapman admitted he was “surprised” to see Bailey moved, but expressed confidence that the more offensively minded Rodriguez and Susac will be able to handle the bulk of the catching duties moving forward.
“I think that they both are definitely inexperienced when it comes to playing in the big leagues, but sometimes that can be used to your advantage,” Chapman said. “Maybe they're not going to overthink anything. I think the biggest thing they can do is lean on some of our pitchers. I think the biggest thing for them is going to be game-planning and pitch-calling, and understanding how to navigate lineups and how to call pitches in certain situations. They're both smart. They're both hard-working, so I fully expect them to get used to it.”
Susac is working his way back from a right elbow injury, but he could be activated off the IL when the Giants begin their 10-game road trip to Los Angeles, West Sacramento and Arizona next week. San Francisco still has an experienced catching option in Eric Haase, who remains on the 26-man roster along with Logan Porter, who was selected from Triple-A Sacramento on Saturday.
Wilkinson, 23, was taken by Cleveland in the 10th round of the 2023 Draft. He's gone 1-2 with a 1.59 ERA over six starts at Double-A Akron this year, posting a 0.92 WHIP while striking out 36 over 28 1/3 innings. The 6-foot-1 hurler is nicknamed “Tugboat” and is known for his "Invisi-ball" fastball.
The 29th overall selection -- a Competitive Balance pick -- also comes with a $3,270,200 slot value, bringing the Giants’ total pool to $17.35 million, the fourth-highest in the 2026 Draft. That should allow them to access even more talent in their upcoming Draft class, which will be headlined by the fourth overall pick.