SF Giants: Three players who will not be back in 2021

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 25: Jeff Samardzija #29 of the San Francisco Giants pitches against the San Diego Padres in the first inning of game two of their double header at Oracle Park on September 25, 2020 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /

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Tyler Heineman #43 of the SF Giants looks on against the Oakland Athletics at Oracle Park on August 16, 2020. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /

SF Giants Player Who Won’t Be Back: Tyler Heineman

With Buster Posey opting out of the 2020 season, it became clear that Tyler Heineman was going to have a big opportunity with the Giants catching corps this season. In the end, he failed to take advantage of it.

To be fair to Heineman, he was thrown into a tough situation. He had never played in the big leagues for an extended amount of time before 2020 and had to familiarize himself with an entire staff of pitchers in a short amount of time.

So that explains in part why he struggled so much in 2020. Many will remember Heineman for his three catcher’s interference calls, but those could have been ignored if his bat had picked up the slack. In 50 plate appearances, Heineman slashed a meager .192/.292/.214 triple-slash.

With Posey likely returning, top prospect Joey Bart not going anywhere, and Aramis Garcia returning alongside Chadwick Tromp, there simply may not be room for Heineman in the organization.

Even though Heineman was eventually optioned to make room for Bart, he still showed grace to the top prospect. He was a big Giants cheerleader via Twitter and seemed like a good teammate. Hopefully, he can find a backup job somewhere in 2021.