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Giants, Rene Rivera Agree To Minor League Deal

By Steve Adams | February 8, 2019 at 9:42am CDT

The Giants and free-agent catcher Rene Rivera are in agreement on a minor league contract, reports MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (via Twitter). A client of MDR Sports Management, Rivera will head to Major League Spring Training and compete for reserve role behind Buster Posey, who is currently recovering from hip surgery.

Rene Rivera | Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Rivera, 35, was limited to 33 games and 91 plate appearances by a right knee injury. When healthy, he connected on four homers and four doubles with a .233/.275/.419 slash — a step back from the solid .252/.305/.431 slash he notched in 74 games between the Mets and Cubs a year prior.

While the veteran Rivera has a bit of pop in his bat (.147 ISO over the past five seasons), he’s known more for his glove than his bat. Rivera boasts an outstanding 37 percent caught-stealing rate in his career and routinely draws excellent framing numbers from Baseball Prospectus.

With Posey on the mend and young Aramis Garcia as the only other primary option on the 40-man roster, catching depth has been a point of emphasis for the Giants this winter. The additions of Rivera and Cameron Rupp (who signed a minor league deal with San Francisco earlier this winter) don’t necessarily rule out the possibility of the Giants adding another backstop option, but they don’t bode well for the prospects of a reunion with Nick Hundley.

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San Francisco Giants Transactions Rene Rivera

Minor MLB Transactions: 2/7/19
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Ryan Tepera, Kyle Barraclough Lose Arbitration Cases
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25 Comments

  1. nuschler22

    6 years ago

    When Todd Hundley is too expensive.

    4
    Reply
    • gmenfan

      6 years ago

      With some uncertainty around how Posey will come back from surgery, and the desire to lessen his time behind the plate already, I would have much preferred simply bringing back Hundley as well.

      Reply
      • nuschler22

        6 years ago

        Between Aramis Garcia and Cameron Rupp, I would think the Rivera move rules out a major league deal for Hundley. I think there is value in a catcher knowing the staff, especially with younger pitchers and rebound candidates. Oh well.

        4
        Reply
    • AidanVega123

      6 years ago

      Wrong Hundley

      4
      Reply
      • swinging wood

        6 years ago

        Randy?

        1
        Reply
    • ReverieDays

      6 years ago

      Well, Todd hasn’t played since 2003 so its understandable.

      1
      Reply
    • nuschler22

      6 years ago

      Argh, Nick!
      I guess Todd might strap on the chess protector. At age 50 in May.

      1
      Reply
    • Jean Matrac

      6 years ago

      It’s not about how expensive Hundley is. It’s about his sub-par work behind the plate. And what a catcher does with the glove and pitching staff is vastly more important than what he does with the bat.

      2
      Reply
      • imgman09

        6 years ago

        On the mark Tad although Hundley had some Fire and had some big hits but to many Past Balls and bad throws,good luck Nick

        Reply
  2. bleacherbum

    6 years ago

    That’s Orlando Arcia not Rene Rivera.

    Reply
    • SFGiants74

      6 years ago

      What?

      Reply
  3. snotrocket

    6 years ago

    Cameron Rupp is shaking in his boots.

    Reply
  4. jekporkins

    6 years ago

    Man, when they hired Zaidi I knew they were going to be more conservative with their signings, but I’ve never heard of some of these guys. I think one of them is dead.

    2
    Reply
    • lowtalker1

      6 years ago

      Then cross him off the list

      8
      Reply
    • trussell

      6 years ago

      Lol! They’ve all been driving for 20 or so years!

      Reply
  5. lowtalker1

    6 years ago

    Rene is sneaky good. He calls a really good game behind the dish and with enough playing time, his bat came to life while with San Diego.

    5
    Reply
  6. Brett Hamilton

    6 years ago

    alright now that Rene Rivera has signed, lets the floodgates open and watch Harper and Machado sign now.

    Reply
  7. joepanikatthedisco

    6 years ago

    Been in the Majors since 2004, played for 8 teams, and hasn’t had 300 at bats in a single season. Gotta respect the commitment.

    2
    Reply
    • stephaniebpetagno

      6 years ago

      Plenty of guys make decent careers as back up catchers. They’re all pretty interchangeable. That he’s lasted eight years suggests he’s better than average at what he does.

      1
      Reply
  8. Deke

    6 years ago

    I’m confused as to why SF haven’t just re-signed Nick Hundley? He had pretty good hitting numbers as a part time player. WAY better than anyone would expect. I’m not sure about his defensive metrics but I feel like he would have a starting job on a lot of other teams.

    Reply
    • antibelt

      6 years ago

      Give Aramis an opportunity. He stepped up last season.

      Reply
    • disadvantage

      6 years ago

      “I’m not sure about his defensive metrics.”

      And that is the answer to why Hundley hasn’t been resigned. Great hitting backup catcher, and great clubhouse guy. But terrible fielder.

      1
      Reply
  9. milkman

    6 years ago

    Joey Bart straight to the bigs. Let’s go.

    1
    Reply
  10. groundhog5150

    6 years ago

    A solid insurance policy for 2019. Having Bart and Garca is a nice problem to have when Posey moves to 1st. Even a better problem if the NL goes to the DH in 2020.

    Reply
  11. Zerbs63

    6 years ago

    The big move for the Giants this offseason

    Reply

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