SF Giants minor league catcher becomes free agent, immediately joins New York Mets

Earlier this week, SF Giants minor league catcher Logan Porter trigged his opt-out clause, meaning that the Giants had the decision to add him to the 40-man roster or let him walk in free agency. The Giants opted to let him become a free agent where he immediately joined the New York Mets on Thursday.

SF Giants minor league catcher becomes free agent, immediately joins New York Mets

The Giants added Porter in a trade with the Kansas City Royals in June. This felt like a much-needed depth move given that San Francisco nearly ran out of catchers in May. In fact, the Giants went out and added veteran catcher Curt Casali on a major league deal while both Patrick Bailey and Tom Murphy were on the injured list.

For a stretch of games in May, Jakson Reetz and Blake Sabol were handling catching duties. Casali was playing for the Chicago Cubs' Triple-A affiliate before he was released to pursue an opportunity with San Francisco. You just never know when catching depth will be tested.

So, the Giants went out and acquired Porter. The 29-year-old had a really good track record at the plate in the minors, posting a .277/.401/.466 line across six seasons. He did earn a brief opportunity with the Royals last season, but he struggled to the tune of a .647 OPS in 38 plate appearances.

In the offseason, the Royals designated Porter for assignment, but he went unclaimed and elected free agency. However, he returned on a minor league deal for this season. The right-handed bat posted a 1.003 OPS with six home runs and 22 RBI in 138 plate appearances with Kansas City's Triple-A affiliate before the trade.

Porter's time with the Sacramento River Cats was short, but he tallied a .716 OPS with two home runs and six RBI in 85 plate appearances. In the field, he split time evenly between catcher and first base.

Porter now joins a Mets team on a major league deal. The Mets are in a good position for the Wild Card with a 49-46 overall record. For the time being, the veteran backstop will go to Triple-A but could be an option for New York soon enough.