SF Giants release 11-year veteran and former Los Angeles Dodgers backstop

The SF Giants bolstered organizational depth, especially in the upper minors, at the MLB trade deadline. Due to the number of incoming players, they had to trim minor league headcount, with veteran catcher Austin Barnes being released, per the team's transaction log.

SF Giants release 11-year veteran and former Los Angeles Dodgers backstop

The Giants have built up some quality catching depth in the upper minors. Sam Huff, Logan Porter, and now Jesus Rodriguez will share catching duties with the Sacramento River Cats. Veteran backstop Max Stassi remains on the injured list.

Adrián Sugastey and Onil Perez are splitting time behind the plate in Double-A, with the former seeing the bulk of the time.

The Giants have ran out of catching depth in recent seasons, leading to them calling up other organizations for assistance. From a planning standpoint, that is not a great look and something the Giants have avoided this year.

Despite the number of catching options, no one has separated himself in a way that would make him a candidate to be added to the major league roster. For now, Patrick Bailey and Andrew Knizner have handled the catching duties with the Giants.

The River Cats had too many options behind the plate. Sam Huff is an experienced catcher, but Logan Porter and Jesus Rodriguez are closer to being multi-positional catchers rather than true backups. The Giants hope that Rodriguez can improve with more reps, as they like his offensive profile, which includes a line-drive swing and above-average contact skills.

This led to one experienced option being pushed off of the roster in Austin Barnes. The Giants signed the 11-year veteran to a minor league contract at the end of June. He spent all 11 seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers before his run came to an end earlier in the year.

Barnes often served as a personal catcher to Clayton Kershaw. He never offered much offensive upside, as he has a .660 OPS throughout his career. This does include a solid 11.2 walk rate, so he generally reached base at a decent clip.

During Barnes' brief time with the Giants organization, he posted a .509 OPS in 37 plate appearances with the River Cats. He is now free to sign with any team.