SF Giants set up dream Patrick Bailey showdown with call-up ahead of Guardians series

There’s not much for SF Giants fans to root for the rest of this dismal season, but a “Tugboat” sighting is certainly a welcome development as San Francisco has reportedly called up left-handed pitcher Matt “Tugboat” Wilkinson ahead of the team’s series in Cleveland against the Guardians beginning on Tuesday night.

This just so happens to be perfect timing as the Giants acquired Wilkinson in the trade that sent catcher Patrick Bailey to Cleveland. How perfect would it be for those two to square off against each other at least once over the course of the next three games?

Wilkinson has pitched quite well in the minors overall this season. He has a 3.40 ERA on the season in 20 starts and 90 innings pitched. He’s struck out 96 batters and walked just 31. 

The call-up is a little surprising since Wilkinson’s numbers in Triple-A Sacramento haven’t been all that exceptional. He has a 5.15 ERA in 10 starts with the River Cats but maybe the Giants feel he will perform better in the big leagues since the Pacific Coast League is notoriously hitter-friendly.

A corresponding roster move has yet to be announced and it’s unclear whether Wilkinson will be used as a starter or a reliever. It would make sense for him to serve as a long reliever who can eat up multiple innings if needed.

As for Bailey, his numbers at the plate have improved a bit since his move to Cleveland but they’re still far from impressive. With the Guardians this year he’s hitting .208/.260/.357 with five home runs and 19 runs batted in. That may not be much to look at, but it’s certainly better than the .146/.213/.183 slash line he had with the Giants this season.

Giants have to hope Wilkinson-Bailey goes better than Devers-Harrison

It’s always fun when two players who were traded for one another square off. The Giants got the sad side of that earlier this year when Kyle Harrison struck out Rafael Devers twice in Milwaukee so the Giants will have to be hoping that a potential Wilkinson-Bailey showdown goes their way.

No matter what happens this series though, it will be tough to say who won the trade for a while. It will depend on Bailey, how Wilkinson fares in the big leagues, whether Daniel Susac is able to be a solid big league catcher, and whether Carson Bolemon, who the Giants drafted with the No. 29 pick they also got from the Guardians in the trade, turns into something.

This series will be an early barometer of how the trade is going for each side. Obviously, the Giants are worse in the standings right now but Cleveland is in danger of falling out of the playoff picture so from their perspective they need to take advantage of a bad Giants team to keep their playoff hopes alive.

Watching the Giants can’t really be described as “fun” right now, but seeing Wilkinson go up against Bailey would at least be a memorable moment in a season most probably want to forget. 

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