SF Giants' handling of Stockton native rookie catcher Zach Morgan makes no sense

It’s been a weird year at catcher for the SF Giants. They began the year with Patrick Bailey behind the plate but traded him once it became clear his defense wasn’t quite making up for how bad he was at the plate. Since then, they have largely gone with a contingent of rookie catchers to fill the void, but one rookie didn’t even get a shot.

Stockton native Zach Morgan grew up a Giants fan and has even said he was at Game 1 of the 2012 World Series but he hasn’t been afforded an opportunity to appear in a game for his favorite team. He’s had two separate stints with the Giants this year but hasn’t made an appearance either offensively or defensively.

It’s understandable why he didn’t appear during the first stint because it was more of an emergency move after Daniel Susac fractured his kneecap. There weren’t any other healthy options so they promoted him to the big league club for a day before signing veteran Andrew Knizner to provide more depth at the big league level. 

Yet, Morgan was part of San Francisco’s September call-ups and he was with the team from September 1 until September 8 and did not enter a single game during that time before he got sent down in favor of infielder Brett Harris.

The Giants couldn’t have gotten him into at least one game? Not one at-bat? What about on September 4 when they were down 9-2 to the New York Mets after the sixth inning? They chose to pinch hit Knizner for Drew Cavanaugh which is an opportunity that would have been perfect for Morgan to get at least a little bit of playing time.

Giants should be playing Zach Morgan over Andrew Knizner

Really, one could make the case that Morgan should be on the roster instead of Knizner. While there can be value in having a veteran catcher like Knizner on the team, he is hitting .146/.222/.268 on the season with one home run which is also his only run batted in. Morgan hasn't lit it up at the plate in the minors as he's hit .248/.346/.341 between Richmond and Sacramento.

Still, the chances that Knizner is on next year’s team are quite low whereas Morgan could be a depth option they need to lean upon if they suffer an injury at catcher next year to either Susac or Cavanaugh.

It just doesn’t make sense that he didn’t get any opportunities especially when Knizner is getting chances over him. The Giants are only watchable right now because their young guys are getting to play so it really feels like a missed opportunity that they didn’t give Morgan a shot especially given the fact he grew up a Giants fan in Northern California.

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