SF Giants rookie backstop has slumped at the plate since returning from the injured list

The SF Giants created an opening at catcher when they shipped Patrick Bailey to the Cleveland Guardians. However, Daniel Susac has not taken advantage of the opportunity, as he has slumped since returning from the injured list.

The Giants added Susac in an offseason trade with the Minnesota Twins. He had been selected away from the A’s in the Rule 5 draft, and is still bound to those restrictions.

Teams rarely find role players through this channel, but there are exceptions to the rule. Longtime outfielder Mark Canha is an example of one of those exceptions.

The A’s could have protected Susac from the Rule 5 draft by adding him to the 40-man roster. Despite investing a first-round pick in him and only having Shea Langeliers and Austin Wynns as the catchers on the 40-man roster at the time, this felt like a low-risk and easy to make. However, they did not protect him, and that looked like an egregious oversight at first.

Rookie SF Giants catcher has seen his overall production dip over the past month

The right-handed bat got off to an incredible start on both sides of the ball. He posted a 1.152 OPS in 24 plate appearances before landing on the injured list with an elbow ailment. This was held up by an unsustainable .550 babip.

The Giants were hoping that they had found their solution at catcher, especially one who could bring more offense to the table. They felt comfortable shipping away Patrick Bailey to open up playing time for Susac. Was that a short-sighted move? Only time will tell, but the early returns are unfavorable.

Since returning from the injured list, the rookie catcher has put up .508 OPS in 89 plate appearances. This comes with a .281 babip. Unfortunately, that babip has predictably come down.

Overall, he has a respectable .267/.315/.337 line (85 wRC+) line in 113 plate appearances. This includes a 5.3 percent walk rate, 23.0 percent strikeout rate, and .069 ISO. His offensive value right now is tied entirely to his batting average, as he is not walking much nor is he hitting for power.

Not much has seemingly changed for Susac at the plate. He displayed good pitch selection earlier in the year, but how he is being pitched to has changed. Those middle-middle locations have disappeared, as pitchers want to get him to expand the strike zone. That was a trait during his time with the A’s organization.

On a positive note, he still grades out as an above-average defender behind the plate. That said, the Patrick Bailey trade has led to some bumps along the way with the pitching staff. According to Evan Webeck of The California Post, they are starting to call their own pitches, as they have not quite developed a comfortable rapport with Susac and Eric Haase.

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