May 1: The Dodgers have now made this official, with Rojas recalled and Wynns designated for assignment in a corresponding move.
April 30: The Dodgers have designated catcher Austin Wynns for assignment, J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group reports (via Twitter). Wynns was signed to a Major League contract a little over two weeks ago, as the Dodgers were looking to add some catching depth while Will Smith was on the concussion-related injured list.
With Smith now back in action, the Dodgers were in need of roster space, since Miguel Rojas will probably be activated from the 10-day injured list on Monday and prospect Gavin Stone is being called up (and added to the 40-man roster) in advance of a scheduled start on Wednesday. That makes Wynns the odd man out, as Los Angeles will return to its usual catching tandem of Smith and Austin Barnes now that Smith has been fully cleared for catching duty. Wynns ended up appearing in five games in his brief time on the Dodgers’ active roster, with a .523 OPS over 12 plate appearances.
The veteran backstop has already appeared for two different teams in under a month of the 2023 season, as Wynns’ minor league contract was selected by the Giants for a single game before he was DFA’ed earlier this month. Since Wynns has been outrighted off a 40-man roster multiple times in his career, he had the opportunity to elect free agency rather than accept an outright assignment from San Francisco, and he indeed took the option of re-entering the open market.
Assuming Wynns clears waivers, he might again opt for free agency rather than remain in the Dodgers organization, considering that (when healthy) Smith and Barnes are a stable duo behind the plate. If Wynns did accept an outright assignment, David Freitas and Patrick Mazeika are also on hand as MLB-experienced catching depth options at the Dodgers’ Triple-A affiliate, and Hunter Feduccia is also seeing action behind the plate. The fact that Los Angeles signed Wynns at the time of Smith’s injury could indicate their preference for a more seasoned catcher over their other Triple-A candidates, or Wynns might prefer to test the market again in search of a less-crowded depth chart.
Wynns has appeared in five MLB seasons, gaining most of his playing time in a part-time capacity with the Orioles in 2018 and 2021, and with the Giants last season. Wynns has hit only .229/.273/.334 over 522 career plate appearances, but the 32-year-old has a good reputation for his defense and ability to handle pitchers. With this in mind, it certainly seems possible that Wynns might catch on elsewhere, given how clubs are constantly on the lookout for help behind the plate.
He shall never been forgiven
Pretty sure that’s how he feels about the giants front office. Was sick of the rubber banding roster. Hopefully there’s still some good feelings because they sure do need another catcher, Sanchez has been terrible in triple a doubt he’ll get called up since tomorrow is his last day (watch I’ll be wrong in a few hours). They put Bailey up to triple a my guess was because they were gonna lose Sanchez and wynns likely not happy with his time there hence not staying in the organization.
@5TUNT1N – Actually Bart’s been doing great. But Sabol sucks behind the dish, so yeah… We might need a new backup
Glad I’m not the only one who thinks Sabol sucks as a catcher. It’s actually embarassing to watch. I understand he’s got some power but his catching is pathetic. He has 4 catcher interference violations already which is inexcuseable at this level. Always turning his glove the wrong way causing many pass balls. As a pitcher I would hate throwing to him. Major Leagues is not the place to “learn” how to catch. Bart is much better defensively but can’t hit at all and probably never will. Waaay too much swing and miss. Giants catching has been abysmal. Please let Sanchez go bye bye. At the very least Wynns can play the position without hurting his pitchers and the team. We’ll see what happens.
I mean for a rookie rule 5 guy – he is a bat first backup guy. He could very well become trade bait for someone that needs a catcher now or if he lasts they year get sent down afterwards but honestly would I rather have sabol or wynns back I would rather have sabol because he provides an above average (for catchers) bat – though if bailey can make his case that role gets filled by him. I think this is really why you don’t normally see guys take rule 5 catchers – often when you are filling out the catchers you need to be able to send guys up and down in the backup position because it is such an injury prone position.
@mab51357 – You’re completely right, except for about Bart’s hitting. Strikeouts have been an issue for the entire team, last year and this year. Clearly it’s a coaching issue. And Bart has every bit as much, or more power, than Sabol. Why is Kapler batting power hitters in the 8/9 slot, with no protection behind them?
You’re right about letting Sanchez go.
@bag o ballz – Actually Bart’s has a much better batting average than Sabol this year. Statistically speaking Sabol has been about the worst contact hitter in MLB this year. You can look that up. Bart has the potential to be a superstar, if Kapler would stop sabotaging him.
Also it’s very telling to see players speaking up now, about being mistreated in the Giants organization under Farhan Zaidi.
I also see Mauricio Dubon who helped beat the Giants last night is saying he wasn’t treated right either. What I do remember about him was he was a decent bat but made horrendous mental mistakes, mainly on the bases and Kapler kept giving him chances. He wasn’t a very smart player at the time. I wouldn’t have kept him around as long as they did. For him to say he wasn’t treated right is funny to me. But we also don’t know what goes on behind the scenes, so you might be right. I’m not a Zaidi fan either and it seems like they’ll stick with Sabol come hell or high water so Zaidi makes himself look good. As far as Bart goes they should probably play him as much as possible and see what he can do over a full season. Maybe it’ll be similar to back when Matt Williams took awhile to live up to the hype. I know I really like Bart’s defense, arm and attitude. Would really love to see him pan out at some point.
There are many good reasons for keeping Sabol around, not the least of which is he’s a LH catcher AND an outfielder with pop and speed. Also a very good bunter. He’s in development as a catcher defensively, but I don’t see that he and Bart are an “either or.” Both look good on the roster.
I was always a big Dubon fan, but he did not have a great bat, he did make many mental errors, and he got plenty of chances. As much as I like the guy, I don’t buy his sour grapes.
5TUNT1N — If Giants get another shot at Wynns, they’ll pick him up. Sanchez is useless. Bailey might be a late-season addition if he keeps playing like he is now.
This one’s on Farhan. You can’t blame the players for him not treating them right.
yeah remember when farhan did the same to hector sanchez, treveor brown, andrew susac, aramis garcia, chris stewart….. oh yeah none of those guys were under farhan and were sent back and forth in exactly the same way. It is the nature of the position – the only difference being that there is no buster posey to anchor the position
Players, especially fringe players, will sign wherever they think they have an opportunity to keep playing and maybe stick around for a while. I don’t blame them, I’d do the same.
“.523 OPS over 12 plate appearances.”
Dodgers have to improve Austin’s Power.
Hopefully, he catches on elsewhere, amirite?
Wynns is a good dude and pitchers like throwing to him. All the best Austin!
Good catch n throw Cs R always en vogue even if it’s just on fringes of MLB, he’ll keep doin what he does until he prob accepts cchn position 4sum1, ol Cs nvr die they just become cchs
Thanks dudes dog. I’m convinced.
Wynns is one of four current players from Poway High School. That is unless Alex Dickerson is still playing, then it would be five.
Should change that high school name to Richway.
Any chance the Mets sign him and then send Alvarez back to AAA?
Thanks kid. Hope you catch on with another team.
has glove, has travelled, will continue to
He is New York bound!