The SF Giants have completely mismanaged the catcher position in 2024

The SF Giants let go of Joey Bart earlier this year. The writing was on the wall after the Giants signed Tom Murphy in the offseason, but with the recent struggles and injuries at the catcher position it is hard not to think that mistakes have been made.

After last season, it seemed clear that Patrick Bailey was the catcher of the future for the Giants. Even though his offense was dismal basically after June, he provided so much value defensively that it was clear he was going to be their main guy going forward.

However, what was less clear was who their backup catcher was going to be. Blake Sabol was pretty clearly not suited to be a reliable backup catcher. Joey Bart had been given ample opportunities in the big leagues and had failed to capitalize on them. Therefore, you can understand the rationale that led the front office to sign Murphy in the offseason who had a track record as a backup catcher who could hit.

He also had a pretty extensive injury history which proved itself yet again with the knee injury he sustained back in May that effectively ended his season as he has not returned since then and has just begun hitting and running.

Meanwhile, Patrick Bailey has been basically the same player as last year. He has been absolutely elite defensively but his offense has taken a nosedive as the season has worn on just like last season. Bailey says this is not due to fatigue like last year, but instead he was simply going through a really bad cold streak. Now he is on the IL with an oblique injury. It sure would be nice to have a backup catcher who was hitting really well, wouldn't it?

Former Giant Joey Bart has been raking for the Pirates

That brings us to Joey Bart who is having a breakout year for the Pittsburgh Pirates this season. He is currently slashing .273/.348/.508 with 12 home runs and 37 RBI. He is potentially establishing himself as the catcher of the future for the team.

Now, there is a fair argument to be made that Bart would not have had this kind of success if he remained in San Francisco. There was simply too much baggage and too many expectations for him to overcome. Perhaps a fresh start is exactly what he needed.

On the other hand, it is hard not to second guess the decision especially with the current catcher situation for the Giants. With Bailey's second half offensive tailspin last year, the Giants needed to make sure they had a guy who they could rely upon to give Bailey some rest every now and then. He provides so much value defensively that it is hard to not have him out there behind the dish, but you cannot afford to wear him down to the point where he becomes completely ineffective with the bat.

Now, there was no indication that this resurgence from Bart was coming. Sure, he had a strong Spring Training but we had seen that before from Bart and it did not translate to big league success.

We can understand the decisions the front office made and agree that they were not without logic and at the same time acknowledge that they have not panned out. There was no way to foresee that Murphy would be completely ineffectual as a hitter before getting injured early in the season the same way that there was no way to predict Bart would break out this season.

Sometimes things just do not work out and that's how it goes. Now, the Giants will be in the same situation this offseason where they are going to have to figure out a backup catcher situation that takes some of the pressure off of Bailey and allows him to be effective offensively through the entire season, not just the first half.