SF Giants: Who will be the starting catcher in 2022?

Nick San Miguel has recently examined who the first baseman and shortstop could be for the SF Giants in 2022. Now, he turns his attention behind the plate.

It is difficult to say it, but it’s now become almost impossible to envision Buster Posey playing his entire career with the SF Giants. With a $22 million club option in his contract for the 2022 season, the Giants are almost guaranteed to let their franchise cornerstone hit the free-agent market. The reality is, 2021 could easily be Posey’s last season in San Francisco.

It would be nearly unthinkable to see Posey wear any other team’s jersey. However, as fans prepare for that reality, they know he will be forever tied to the franchise and the city of San Francisco regardless of how the rest of his career goes. Still, it will hurt to see someone so beloved by Giants fans play somewhere else.

Who could step in to fill the shoes of one of the greatest players in franchise history? We know that the Giants have two young catching prospects in the form of Joey Bart and Patrick Bailey. The former, of course, has long been advertised as the heir to Posey behind the dish.

After last year’s abysmal big-league performance from Bart, some fans may want to pump the brakes on making Bart the starting catcher. However, president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi and GM Scott Harris, may feel it is time to move on from Posey. If that’s the case, where else could they go?

With all that context hanging over the coming year, let’s dive into the various different paths the organization could go with the position and the potential justifications behind each move.