SF Giants backup catcher's sizzling debut may spell trouble for Patrick Bailey

The SF Giants got a great performance from backup catcher Daniel Susac in his first career MLB start on Thursday night against the New York Mets. While Susac’s great night made his nephew quite upset, his performance also likely spells trouble for the team’s usual starting catcher Patrick Bailey.

SF Giants backup catcher Daniel Susac could take away AB's from Patrick Bailey

Susac had three hits on the night and all three of them came against left-handed pitching. Going forward, it seems obvious that Susac will get starts when the team faces lefties especially since Bailey typically struggles against lefties.

In 2025 Bailey hit .212/.256/.310 against lefties with one homer and 15 runs batted in. That one homer was a memorable one as it was a walk-off grand slam against the Los Angeles Dodgers, but overall he was not able to do much against southpaws.

That applies to the entire team as a whole. After Opening Night against Max Fried it looked like 2026 was going to be a repeat of 2025 against lefties, but thankfully the Giants finally broke through on Thursday and scored seven runs against left-handed pitching.

Don’t expect Susac to be the everyday starter behind the plate anytime soon. Bailey is still an absolute force defensively back there so he is still going to get the lion’s share of the playing time at catcher.

Still, if Susac’s hot debut ends up being more than just a feel-good story at the start of the year, then there may be legitimate questions about who the Giants want back there.

There was chatter in the offseason about the Giants wanting to upgrade offensively at catcher and if the offense is scuttling, maybe the team would be willing to give Susac some at-bats against right-handed pitching especially if Bailey is cold at the dish.

Manager Tony Vitello sounded bullish on Susac after the game, saying, “I don't like saying stuff just to say it, that guy can be a weapon for us...I wouldn't say that if I didn't believe it." 

Bailey is off to a cold start at the plate as he has just two hits in 18 at-bats so far. That’s too small of a sample size to say that 2026 is going to be a repeat of Bailey’s poor offensive showing in 2025, but if the trend continues then things may get interesting.

Would Vitello pinch hit for Bailey late in a game with Susac if a lefty was on the mound? These are going to be intriguing things to follow going forward after Susac’s big game and could spell trouble for Bailey if these small sample sizes turn into large trends.