2:18pm: The Giants announced the moves, with utility player Luke Williams being designated for assignment to create space for Papierski on the 40-man roster. Acquired from the Phillies in March, Williams has played eight games and hit .250/.250/.333, 67 wRC+, though he’s hit much better in ten Triple-A games. The 25-year-old still has options and has played everywhere on the diamond except in the battery, meaning he should garner plenty of interest around the league. The Giants will have a week to trade him or put him on waivers.
2:10pm: The Giants have placed catcher Curt Casali on the seven-day concussion injured list, reports John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle. Fellow catcher Mike Papierski has had his contract selected and will start behind the plate in tonight’s game. Papierski was not previously on the 40-man roster, meaning a corresponding move will be required to make room for him.
Casali, 33, came out of last night’s game, with Shea relaying that the reason was because of a foul tip that he took off the mask, leading to some concussion symptoms. Manager Gabe Kapler said that Casali felt better after the game but would be re-evaluated today. It seems there must have been something lingering, as Casali will now be out of action for at least a week.
This is Casali’s second year with the Giants. Last season, playing backup to Buster Posey, Casali got into 77 games and hit .210/.313/.350 for a wRC+ of 82. In the wake of Posey’s retirement, Casali and Joey Bart have been splitting the catching time almost evenly, with Bart getting 22 starts to Casali’s 16. Bart’s 102 wRC+ indicates he’s been 2% better than league average at the plate so far this year, though that’s come about in a very uneven fashion. His four home runs and 14% walk rate are excellent, but he’s also hitting .169 and striking out 45.3% of the time. Casali, on the other hand, was off to a great start in a more straightforward manner. In 61 plate appearances so far, he’s hitting .264/.344/.472 for a wRC+ of 134. Unfortunately, that hot start has now been stalled by this unfortunate injury.
As for Papierski, he was just acquired from the Astros in last week’s Mauricio Dubon trade and will be quickly called up to make his major league debut. A ninth round selection in the 2017 draft, he has played in 29 Triple-A games this year between the two organizations. His batting line for the season is .200/.303/.260.
Jean Matrac
Not sure why the Giants just want to cut ties with Williams. He has options, and IMO, he looked like he could be a good depth piece. Maybe they have a trade in the works.
gfan
Ya I would have dropped Tom or Fairchild from the 40 before Williams. They are both ML outfielders that we are heavy on.
Could be a trade brewing for sure.
Or maybe I’m just a bad easy chair GM.
Bart Harley Jarvis
Luke Williams @Forever Giant
gfan
Farhan better trade Williams for another catcher. Bart is an easy out and this new guy has no arm and no bat so far. Sure miss that Posey guy right about now..
5TUNT1N
To be fair Barts WRC is 102 last I checked. Granted it’s a completely different offensive profile than posey was, Bart is still grading as a league average hitter with the strikeout numbers. And he has much improved defense from his showing in 2020. Not saying he’s an all star but maybe he deserves a little more leash than we are giving the strikeout machine!
guynamedchris
Yeah, he’s obviously no Buster Posey, but anyone who expected as much was being way too optimistic. What he is, however, is a pretty good defensive catcher who (so far) gets on base at a decent rate. When he makes contact he hits the ball extremely hard. If he can improve his swing-and-miss at balls in the zone, then he should easily become an above-average offensive MLB catcher. It’s an obvious drop from the elite C we’ve had for the last decade, but Bart is still better the majority of options around the league and he still has a pretty high ceiling.
talking baseball
I thought Williams had some game, goes to show you what I know.
Maybe they can sneak him through waivers ?
cpdpoet
Luke Williams, Phillies cf….
Bart Harley Jarvis
Curt Casali @Forever Giant
Bart Harley Jarvis
Aaron Altherr @Forever Giant
gbs42
Willie McCovey @Forever Giant
Is there a point to these posts?
Bart Harley Jarvis
Yes.
gbs42
You sure fooled me.
Bart Harley Jarvis
How so?
gbs42
I don’t get the point of the posts.
Bart Harley Jarvis
Why’s that?
gbs42
I do, however, get the point of the Mute button.
Bart Harley Jarvis
I must compliment you in your excellent punctuation. Most MLBTR commenters totally mess up the whole commas thing. Good on you. Keep up the excellent work.
gfan
Always mute the ones who thumbs up their own posts is my rule…
Pete'sView
Some tired old jokes recycled. Yawn.
compassrose
Does anyone else have trouble reading names at times on here? White letters over white pants is not a good background. It might be different if my glasses were correct I am a couple years late. Seems like adjusting the pic or use black letters would be better. IMHO
Redwolves3
Will the Giants ever have a real Major League. What Kapler’s putting out there is not going to scare other teams. Zaidi better make a push to get Sean Murphy to catch. Unfortunately looks like Bart is going to be a bust. And if Washington entertains offers for Soto better put a serious package together and get this young stud.
gfan
Ramos, Hjelle, & Castro.
PutPeteRoseInTheHall
That’s insane. I would imagine the Giants will not even consider losing Ramos and Hjelle. Castro would probably be included if it was for a guy like Soto. Bart is more likely to be shipped away unless he figures it out.
PutPeteRoseInTheHall
Sean Murphy isn’t a hitter. Casali does the job fine when he’s healthy
Redwolves3
Musgrove looks “All World” against the Giants passive lineup. Papierski just another minor leaguer filling a spot.
Redwolves3
Pathetic offense. Belt calls him the self proclaimed Captain. Captain’s lead by example and play through injuries; no … he’s scratched from lineup one hour before game time.
williemaysfield
The Giants are 4th or 5th in runs scored. That’s not pathetic, it’s actually pretty good. Belts always had injuries nothing new.
guynamedchris
Actually, they rank 2nd in the NL in runs/game, behind only the Dodgers. But some people are just never satisfied, I guess.
foppert
Ha ha. Says the dude sooking on the internet.
Jack Buckley
I thought Joey Bart was a star, I also thought Jarrod Kelenic was a star, I was wrong
PutPeteRoseInTheHall
Casali got hurt because of the mustache