SF Giants could be nearing a shakeup at catcher with deadline looming

The SF Giants made a bit of a surprise move last week, adding veteran backstop Andrew Knizner on a minor league deal. The move felt like a precursor to an organizational shakeup at catcher, as Max Stassi has an opt-out looming.

SF Giants could be nearing a shakeup at catcher with deadline looming

Stassi finished last season on the White Sox's 40-man roster. When he signed a minor league deal with the Giants this offseason, it came with three automatic opt-out dates. The first two dates have passed, but the third one is coming up on June 1.

Stassi has appeared in three games with the Sacramento River Cats since returning from the injured list last week. While he was on the injured list, Logan Porter took over as the primary catcher while Drew Cavanaugh was called up from the San Jose Giants.

Cavanuagh has returned to San Jose. Stassi is now joined by Porter and experienced backstop Andrew Knizner on the River Cats' roster. Catching depth is never a bad thing, but having three catchers on a Triple-A roster feels like one too many.

On the major league roster, the Giants have a pair of catchers in Patrick Bailey and Sam Huff. Bailey continues to be an excellent defensive catcher and has even shown improvement in terms of blocking. However, there has been a steep decline in his offensive production. It is fair to wonder how much of a tradeoff the Giants can make between elite defensive ability and a total lack of offensive contribution.

Huff has served as Bailey's backup. He offers some occasional power and adequate defense behind the plate. Backup catcher tends to be one of those roles with a low ceiling, and not worth replacing if he is not losing the team any games.

However, Stassi's opt-out may force the Giants to make a change at that role. The veteran backstop is not too dissimilar to Bailey in that he does not offer much with the bat, but he has generally been rated as an above-average catcher.

While Stassi's .656 career OPS does not sound like much, it would be a substantial improvement over the .519 OPS that Giants catchers have recorded this year.