The Giants agreed to a minor league contract with Max Stassi, as first reported by Just Baseball’s Aram Leighton (on X) and subsequently reflected on the catcher’s MLB.com transaction log. It’s likely the Wasserman client will get a non-roster invite to big league camp.
Stassi hasn’t appeared in the majors since 2022. He started the ’23 season on the injured list with a left hip problem and was eventually transferred to the restricted list as he attended to a family matter. (The Stassis later announced that their son was born prematurely and spent weeks in intensive care.) He was traded twice last offseason, going from the Angels to the Braves to the White Sox in a chain of salary-driven moves.
The Sox intended to give Stassi a look as their backup catcher, but he reaggravated his hip injury and underwent season-ending surgery in June. Chicago paid a $500K buyout in lieu of a $7.5MM option, ending his White Sox tenure without any games. The consecutive lost seasons made it apparent he’d need to accept a minor league contract.
Stassi’s most recent healthy season was a disappointment. He hit .180/.267/.303 across 375 plate appearances in 2022. The two preceding years were far more impressive. Stassi combined for a .250/.333/.452 slash between 2020-21. He rated as an above-average receiver and looked like a late-blooming #1 catcher. The Halos signed Stassi to a $17.5MM extension in Spring Training 2022, though his numbers fell off almost immediately thereafter.
Patrick Bailey is locked in as San Francisco’s starting catcher. The backup job could be up for grabs. Tom Murphy had an injury-ruined season in year one of a two-year free agent deal. Blake Sabol is also on the 40-man roster but carries a questionable defensive profile.
Didn’t we fire Farhan? Dumpster diving better not be your only trick Buster or you will be out of here in 6 years!
The master of the dumpster dive, dumpster diving Dan Duquette!
Lol dude settle down. This is the kind of depth deal that literally every team does with multiple guys every offseason. It says absolutely nothing about posey’s plan and and approach.
Most fans know nothing about running a sports team and you see it in their comments
@frugal, you made me truly laugh out loud. Six years!
Seriously? Relax. It’s a minor league deal. Depth that every team needs.
We are the backup catcher now
The first blockbuster move of this off season!Zzzzzzzz!
Must be nice to have made 21 million dollars like he did
He should retire and live the great life that so much money provides
Maybe he likes playing baseball and wants to do that while he still can? I hear some people enjoy their jobs, not me, but I’ve heard urban legends of people like that.
Tens of thousands at the minimum to play is better than retiring and paying to be in a rec league to pass the time.
I 100% love my job.
If a guy who has made $21 million is signing a minors deal he obviously isn’t doing it for the money.
@JJ. I also assume he signed with the SF because it’s relatively close to his home. He’s from California and signed his extension with the Angels.
Thought they were gonna draft him back in the day. Got a feeling this is going to turn into a coaching opportunity after spring training
It’s not fair that the Giants get all the good free agents! We need a more fair system
All the best backup catchers with injury history sign with SF !!! How does anybody else get any??
Its nice he doesn’t have to wait for an opportunity before the holidays.
Best of luck. What he went through with his son sounds like a nightmare.