The Giants were 2-12 in the 14 games leading up to the trade deadline, a cold stretch that convinced the team to deal away some impending free agents (i.e. Tyler Rogers, Mike Yastrzemski) and a controllable asset in Camilo Doval. According to Shayna Rubin of the San Francisco Chronicle, the Giants also “briefly considered” the possibility of trading another notable player under longer-term control — catcher Patrick Bailey.
The way Rubin phrases the club’s thought process could mean that the Giants front office was simply doing due diligence in assessing its trade chips heading into the deadline, or perhaps another team made an interesting enough offer to at least get Buster Posey and company mulling the idea. “There isn’t a strong motivation to trade” Bailey, Rubin writes, which makes sense given Bailey’s defensive excellence and pre-arbitration status.
Bailey was the 13th overall pick of the 2020 draft, and his emergence and Joey Bart’s struggles led the Giants to opt for Bailey as the team’s proverbial “catcher of the future.” Through three Major League seasons, Bailey has hit only .230/.287/.340 over 1253 plate appearances, but he has won the last two Gold Gloves and Fielding Bible Awards for his superb glovework. In addition to his latest Fielding Bible Award, Sports Info Solutions also named Bailey the defensive player of the year in all of baseball for the 2025 season.
Bailey fell just a couple of days short of Super Two status and an extra year of arbitration eligibility. As a result, his first trip through the arb process won’t come until next winter, and he isn’t eligible for free agency until the 2029-30 offseason. There’s no rush for San Francisco to move the 26-year-old, and trading Bailey would then leave the Giants trying to find a new backstop within a thin catching market.
Creating a new roster need probably doesn’t appeal too much to the Giants, whose offseason to-do lists includes a focus on both starting and relief pitching, plus right field or second base as areas of concern around the diamond. That said, Rubin suggests the incoming Automated Ball-Strike challenge system might give the team some reason to move Bailey before the ABS system is implemented next season. While Bailey is a strong all-around defensive catcher, his elite framing skills are his bread-and-butter, and Bailey’s ability to frame pitches (and steal strikes) could be hampered now that opponents are allowed to challenge umpire calls.
It remains to be seen exactly how the ABS system will impact day-to-day play in the majors, though we’ve already seen the system in use at the Triple-A level over the last four seasons, and big leaguers got a taste at last year’s Spring Training and in the All-Star Game. It may be that the effect on Bailey or other excellent framers will be relatively minimal, though it could be argued that anything that diminishes his glovework has an outsized impact on his overall value, since Bailey isn’t providing anything at the plate.
San Francisco’s catching position should get some attention anyway this winter since the team might non-tender Andrew Knizner, creating the need for a new backup. The Giants are likely to bring in a veteran or two to compete for the job in Spring Training, plus Jesus Rodriguez is an internal candidate for the role. Rodriguez was one of the four prospects acquired from the Yankees for Doval, and Rubin notes that Rodriguez would’ve made his MLB debut with the Giants last year if Rodriguez hasn’t been set back by a shoulder injury.
