SF Giants seemingly pivoting off of two-time Gold Glove winner

Patrick Bailey has not started in three straight games. This could be a sign that the SF Giants are moving on from the two-time Gold Glove winner.

SF Giants seemingly pivoting off of two-time Gold Glove winner

That could change down the road. That said, the Giants are seemingly exploring other options on the roster. The current options include Eric Haase and Jesús Rodríguez. Haase started on Sunday, and
Rodríguez has started the past two games.

Haase has posted a .725 OPS against left-handed pitchers throughout his nine-year career, so he does bring some degree of platoon leverage. That just so happens to be an area where the Giants continue to struggle. Whether it is at catcher, DH, or another position, his name should be in the lineup against southpaw pitchers for now.

The Giants like Rodríguez's bat and recognize that his defense behind the plate is a work in progress. Giving him the nod over Bailey could be viewed as a sign of Bailey's increasingly tenuous hold on a roster spot.

Of course, Daniel Susac provided a spark before landing on the injured list. If this trend continues, Susac might be in line to see an uptick in playing time.

There is no denying that he brings value at catcher. However, he has slumped badly for nearly two years. The Giants are also desperate to get more out of the lineup, and Bailey's spot is one of the few areas they can realistically look for improvement.

Nearly half of the lineup is under long-term deals. This includes Rafael Devers, Matt Chapman, Willy Adames, and Jung Hoo Lee. Lee has cooled off recently, but the other three have been disappointments so far in 2026. The Giants do not have any options other than to let this play out and hope they all rebound.

Catcher is one of the few positions that they can tinker with to try and generate more offense. Bailey has not produced at all this season. In fairness, his quality of contact metrics suggests that he has underperformed his topline numbers.

Since July 1 of 2024, Bailey is hitting just .204/.261/.288 (56 wRC+) with a 6.9 percent walk rate, 27.4 percent strikeout rate, and .083 ISO. That is a healthy sample of extremely poor production at the plate.

With glove-first players, it is usually a balancing act with respect to offense. How little production can a team accept to justify getting regular at-bats? For the Giants, they have seemingly reached that breaking point.

While Bailey's production at the plate has been off to a rough start, it bears mentioning that the Giants did not expect much from him in the first place. The offensive struggles extend well beyond one player. However, when a team struggles at the plate, they look to every corner of the roster to try and find improvement. The Giants are seemingly surveying their own options to try and find an upgrade over Bailey.

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