With Posey retired, is it time for an extended look at Bart?
SAN FRANCISCO >> Buster Posey’s cleats are far too large to fill, but the San Francisco Giants will need to start compiling a list of catchers for the 2022 roster.
In the wake of Posey’s retirement announcement on Thursday, Farhan Zaidi, president of baseball operations, joked of pacing the gate at SFO hoping to delay the inevitable.
Not only will the Giants lose a franchise player but Zaidi will be tasked with replacing a pillar on a team riding expectations off a 107-win season.
Posey sat out the 2020 season to spend time with his family, including two newborn twin girls. Zaidi said his absence wasn’t really felt until Posey returned in 2021 to not only add his .889 OPS, but also his irreplaceable leadership behind the plate with a whole new pitching staff. The veteran leadership still exists on this Giants team — Brandon Crawford, for one, signed an extension this summer to remain with his hometown team.
But Posey brought another level of experience, advice and expertise.
“You kind of hope with the season we had, we were able to carry some of that into the future,” Zaidi said. “They will miss the person and his subtle ability to pick people up when they need it. And just the gravitas he has. For a pitcher to get a pat on the back from him meant a lot. Those things will be missed, but
we have a veteran team and they’ll be prepared.”
The Giants’ new everyday catcher may be a transaction away. And the Giants have the king of transactions in Zaidi in their front office. But they also have a host of catchers in their system, and some who could be ready to step up.
After Posey’s retirement announcement, Zaidi indicated the time may be right for Joey Bart to get full-time reps as the Giants’ starting catcher for the 2022 season.
“We’re fortunate to have one of the best catching prospects in baseball who has a full season of Triple-A under his belt which he didn’t two years ago,” Zaidi said. “I think we’ll go through the process, but we’re also excited for Joey to get this opportunity.”
Bart, 24, is ranked as the No. 16 overall prospect in baseball, per MLB’s ranks, and the Giants’ No. 2 prospect overall behind
20-year-old infielder Marco Luciano. Bart’s minor league career has been plagued by injury, but he put together a strong, full season with the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats in 2021.
The No. 2 overall pick in the 2018 draft hit .295 with 10 home runs in 67 games with Sacramento last season. He had a .358 on-base percentage and .472 slugging. In limited time with the big league team over the last two seasons, Bart batted .239 with eight RBI in 35 games.
The biggest hurdle for Bart from minor league to everyday big league catcher may come defensively, but Zaidi saw Bart take positive strides in that category last year.
“He had a really nice season in Triple-A,” Zaidi said. “He did come up a couple of times and as we mentioned, unfortunately, the timing of the need for catcher coincided with a couple of injuries that he had that precluded calling him up. He had some really good maturity when he came up. I think (manager Gabe Kapler) and our staff talked about the game calling, the awareness was better. He really executed game plans well the couple of games he started for us. The game slowed down for him a bit and it’s a shame in one respect he didn’t get more of an opportunity, but it was great to get the experience he did.”
The Giants have depth beyond Bart in their system, too, in Patrick Bailey. But Bailey may be a ways away from big league time with just one full professional season under his belt.
Bailey, the Giants No. 13 overall pick in the 2020 draft, batted .322 with a .415 on-base percentage and .531 slugging with the Single-A San Jose Giants this year. The 22-year-old could be another longterm solution at backstop, though that term may not begin in the near future. He’s ranked as the Giants’ No. 8 overall prospect, per MLB.
In the Giants system, too, is international prospect Ricardo Genoves, who batted .275 with 14 home runs with Triple-A Sacramento last season. Genoves, 22, is the Giants’ No. 18 overall prospect.
Of course, the Giants should have a veteran catcher on the roster to back-up Bart as he gets his extended look. Unless Zaidi wants to spin the wheel, Curt Casali could return. He is cost-controlled, arbitration-eligible in 2022.