SF Giants reportedly reunite with veteran minor league catcher after brief stint in 2024
The SF Giants reportedly bolstered catching depth with the general manager meetings in full swing. Veteran minor league catcher Logan Porter has agreed to terms on a minor league deal with a camp invite according to Ari Alexander of KRPC2 News.
SF Giants reportedly reunite with veteran minor league catcher after brief stint in 2024
For Porter, he returns to familiar territory as he briefly spent time with the organization in 2024. The Giants swung a trade to acquire Porter in June from the Kansas City Royals.
Catching depth in the upper minors was beginning to dry up, so they brought in the veteran backstop to address that. At the time, the righty bat was slashing .319/.428/.575 with six home runs and 22 RBI in 138 plate appearances with the Royals' Triple-A club.
Porter had a pretty solid track record of success in Triple-A at the time of the deal. And, it represented a chance for him to return to the majors.
Porter collected 38 plate appearances with the Royals in 2023 but he was buried on the organizational depth chart behind Salvador Pérez and Freddy Fermín. With the injuries to Tom Murphy (knee) and Patrick Bailey (concussion), the Giants needed to have reinforcements.
The opportunity did not come for Porter as he posted a .716 OPS with two home runs and seven RBI in 85 plate appearances with the Sacramento River Cats.
Near the end of July, Porter triggered an opt-out in his contract. The Giants had an opportunity to add him to the 40-man roster but decided against that. He became a free agent and immediately signed a major league deal with the New York Mets. Similar to his stint with the Giants, the Mets did not recall him to the major league roster.
The 29-year-old catcher finished the season with the Mets' Triple-A affiliate and elected free agency. He noew joins a Giants organization that has a clear top option at catcher in Patrick Bailey.
Tom Murphy and Blake Sabol are also on the 40-man roster. That said, it remains to be seen if Murphy can continue to handle the rigors of catching, whereas the organization no longer view Sabol as a catcher going forward.