SF Giants reunite with veteran catcher on a major league deal

The SF Giants made a roster move ahead of the three-game series against the Seattle Mariners over the weekend. Veteran catcher Andrew Knapp has reunited with the club on a major league deal with Jakson Reetz being designated for assignment in a corresponding roster move according to the team's transaction log.

SF Giants reunite with veteran catcher on a major league deal

With Patrick Bailey on the injured list with an oblique strain, the Giants are extremely light on catching depth. The club remains hopeful that Bailey will miss minimal time.

Curt Casali is the de facto starting catcher now, but the backup is pretty much a toss-up at this point. Blake Sabol and Reetz (previously) occupy spots on the 40-man roster. Perhaps, it is a bit alarming for how the Giants view Sabol's progress defensively at catcher that they recalled Reetz instead. As a left-handed bat, Sabol would have been a natural platoon complement to the right-handed-hitting Casali.

It is fair to say that the Giants do not feel comfortable having to rely on either Sabol or Reetz if the need arose. Reetz was recalled earlier this week but he did not get into a game before being placed on waivers.

Veteran backstop Andrew Knapp will take over. He has a good bit of experience in the majors, appearing in parts of six seasons, most notably with the Philadelphia Phillies. In that time, he has posted a .209/.310/.313 (69 wRC+) with an 11.8 percent walk rate, 31.4 percent strikeout rate, and .104 ISO.

This includes a very brief stint with San Francisco near the end of the 2022 season. He recorded one hit and two RBI in four at-bats before clearing waivers and accepting a Triple-A assignment to finish the year. Similar to Casali, Knapp does not offer much with the bat, but he will see a lot of pitches and make the pitcher work.

The switch-hitter joined the Texas Rangers organization for the 2024 season on a minors pact. He did not appear with the major league team, but he posted a solid .840 OPS with nine home runs and 44 RBI in 345 plate appearances before he was released on Thursday. Presumably, that was done to pursue an opportunity with the Giants.