San Francisco Giants v Detroit Tigers | Duane Burleson/GettyImages
SF Giants president of baseball operations Buster Posey joined the Murph and Markus Show on Thursday to answer a number of questions about the team. He was asked about struggling catcher Patrick Bailey, and Posey expressed a vote of confidence in the Gold Glove backstop.
Bailey has been in the midst of a brutal slump that extends from the second half of last season. Overall, he has registered a .183/.242/.268 line (43 wRC+) with one home run, 15 RBI, and 15 runs in 158 plate appearances. His strikeout rate remains high at 32.9 percent.
Teams often make the tradeoff between offense and defense at catcher. If a catcher can frame, block, and throw, then the team will tolerate below-average offensive production. Bailey’s struggles at the plate test that idea, as he has been one of the worst hitters in baseball this season.
Despite that, Posey was asked about what his takeaways were from Bailey this season. Posey credited Bailey’s attitude and work ethic as positives, and thinks the switch-hitter has more to offer.
“Patty’s [Bailey] an instrumental part of our success as far as pitching and defense goes… He’s shown over the course of his career, whether it is in the minors or at the major league level, that there is more offensively than what he has shown right now… He’s our catcher.”
Buster Posey
As a whole, the Giants’ lineup struggled badly in May. They averaged just 3.77 runs per game while putting up a 13-14 record. On the other hand, the pitching staff was the best in baseball with a 2.64 ERA last month.
When a team struggles like this at the plate, the calls for change become louder and louder with each game. Usually, the soft spots in the lineup are magnified, and Bailey’s production has just not been good enough.
With the trade deadline just two months away, the Giants could look to add a bat-first catcher. However, there are not many options. Perhaps, one of the best options in Matt Thaiss was just traded to the Tampa Bay Rays, and he has a career 86 wRC+ across seven major league seasons. Teams are not too keen on the idea of trading catchers. If they have a good one, they are not going to be motivated to make a deal. The catchers that might be available have a similar glove-first profile to Bailey.
In the meantime, the Giants hope that the 26-year-old hitter can turn it around. While he posted a .441 OPS in April, that number did jump to a .597 OPS in 71 plate appearances last month. That is still not good, but it is a small step in the right direction.
