Veteran SF Giants catcher likely favorite to return to role following trade with Red Sox

The SF Giants have traded away Blake Sabol one player who figured to be a part of the competition for the backup catcher role behind Patrick Bailey. Hunter Noll of Beyond the Monster was the first to report the move.

Veteran SF Giants catcher likely favorite to return to role following trade with Red Sox

Sabol was designated for assignment last week to open a 40-man roster spot for newcomer Justin Verlander. The Giants received some international bonus pool space from the Red Sox in return for Sabol, which was earmarked for inking shortstop prospect Josuar de Jesus González to a $3 million bonus.

Sabol originally came to San Francisco via the Rule 5 draft prior to the 2023 season. Because of the way Rule 5 claims work, the Giants were obligated to keep Sabol on the big-league roster for the entire season or be forced to offer him back to the Pirates, who he’d been claimed from.

The Giants did just that, and Sabol appeared in a surprisingly high 110 games. He functioned as the primary backup catcher while also seeing time in left field. Because the Giants were not under the same obligation to keep him up in 2024, most of his time was spent in Sacramento, where he put up an unimpressive .246/.340/.388 line in 97 contests.

Sabol’s versatility was always the biggest selling point to his game, but the problem was that of the multiple positions he played, he didn’t play any of them particularly well. His bat would certainly play well enough at catcher if he had the defensive chops to hang there, but that same bat becomes a liability if he’s getting regular reps in the outfield grass. The Red Sox certainly shouldn’t see any harm in taking a risk-free flyer on him and hoping he can provide them with some depth at multiple positions.

With Sabol out of the picture, veteran Tom Murphy is likely the favorite for the backup position on Opening Day. Though that probably would have been true even if Sabol had not departed. Murphy is coming off an extremely disappointing debut with the Giants, where a left knee injury limited him to just 13 games.

What’s more, he somehow managed to be worth a full half-win below replacement level in those measly 13 games, which is quite an extraordinary feat. Murphy does come with a career 104 wRC+ that makes him a solid platoon partner with Bailey on paper, especially because Murphy has historically done most of his damage against left-handed pitching. It bears mentioning that the veteran backstop is already under contract for 2025, so he would have had the inside track anyway.

Murphy’s main competition for the backup role will presumably be Sam Huff, a 27-year-old backstop claimed off waivers from the Rangers a week ago. Like Murphy, Huff is a bat-first catcher who comes with defensive questions, but he is six years younger and carries an impressive 112 wRC+ in his 78 career games.

Huff is out of options and could potentially be picked up by another team if he doesn’t make the big club out of Spring Training. Former Angel Max Stassi and Royals pickup Logan Porter round out the group of those vying for the roster spot.