SF Giants promote multi-position catching prospect to Sacramento

The SF Giants bolstered Sacramento's roster on Friday. Multi-positional catcher Brett Auerbach was moved up to Triple-A according to the team's transaction log. Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle was the first to report it.

SF Giants promote multi-position catching prospect to Sacramento

The River Cats' roster has been depleted over the past week with a bunch of everyday contributors being sent to San Francisco. This includes Blake Sabol, Jakson Reetz, Heliot Ramos, and Casey Schmitt. Of course, this has been due to necessity given the spate of injuries on the major league roster.

The Giants did not begin the season with a lot of catching depth in the upper minors. That depth has quickly been tested with Cooper Hummel and Joey Bart being moved to the Houston Astros and Pittsburgh Pirates, respectively. Plus, Patrick Bailey was on the concussion list, whereas veteran backstop Tom Murphy landed on the injured list with a knee sprain.

Since Sabol and Reetz have been with the Giants, Sacramento has had to rely on Brandon Martorano and Drew Cavanaugh at catcher. Martorano has some experience in the upper minors, whereas Cavanaugh was facing off against college pitchers at this point last season.

The addition of Auerbach should give them another option at the position. Plus, he can play all over the diamond. There are a lot of ways to get him into the lineup.

Auerbach had a very strong season in 2021, posting a .907 OPS with 17 home runs split between Low-A and High-A. He received a promotion to Double-A in 2022 and put up a respectable .220/.311/.398 line with 17 home runs in 425 plate appearances. The Eastern League is a tough environment for hitters, so it was not terribly surprising to see him numbers take a step back.

Since then, Auerbach's power has nearly disappeared. In fact, he was even sent back to High-A to finish last season. The right-handed bat returned to Richmond this season and tallied a .619 OPS with zero home runs in 74 plate appearances.

With that being said, Auerbach has experience at just about every position. His playing time at catcher has declined in recent seasons, but he continues to see ample time in the infield and outfield. Sacramento needs that type of versatility and coverage given their recent losses.