Entering Spring Training, there was some belief that veteran catcher Tom Murphy’s job backing up Patrick Bailey in San Francisco wasn’t entirely assured even in of the $4.25MM guaranteed remaining on his contract with the Giants. The door has opened for other alternatives even more since then, as the club announced yesterday that Murphy will miss multiple weeks with a herniated disc in his mid-back.
While Murphy is still tentatively expected to be available at some point in the first half, his availability for the start of the season is in serious doubt. With the club’s incumbent likely to miss at least the start of the season due to injury, the Giants have little choice but to seriously consider the number of alternative options currently in camp with them. The club has four catchers in camp aside from Bailey and Murphy as things stand: Sam Huff, Max Stassi, Logan Porter, and Adrian Sugastey. Sugastey is just 22 years old and slashed a meager .210/.241/.304 at Double-A last season, leaving him extremely unlikely to be called up to the majors until he’s had more time to develop. Huff, Stassi, and Porter all appear to be legitimate contenders for the job, however.
To the extent that there’s a favorite for the job, it seems that status would fall to Huff now that Murphy is out of commission. Unlike the other options in camp with the club, Huff is already on the 40-man roster after being plucked off waivers from the Rangers shortly after the new year. A former consensus top-100 prospect, Huff was a seventh-round pick by the Rangers in 2016 who blossomed into an intriguing bat-first catcher during his time in the minor leagues. Above-average offense isn’t necessarily a must from a club’s backup catcher, but given Bailey’s light-hitting, defense-first profile it’s easy to see why the Giants might be attracted to Huff as a potential complement.
A career .263/.334/.480 hitter across all levels of the minors, Huff has 78 games in the big leagues under his belt across four seasons with Texas. Unfortunately, that big league playing time has been something of a mixed bag. While he’s posted a solid 112 wRC+ in 214 career MLB plate appearances, he’s struck out at a massive 33.6% clip and largely been buoyed by a .353 BABIP that seems unlikely to be sustainable. Huff has generally been regarded as a below-average defender behind the plate as well despite a strong throwing arm and decent framing ability. That lack of defensive excellence puts more pressure on Huff’s bat, and it can be difficult for a high-strikeout profile like Huff’s to offer consistent production in a bench role.
Those potential question marks surrounding Huff could open the door for Stassi to take the job. The most experienced catcher in the backup mix for the Giants (even including Murphy), the soon to be 34-year-old has participated in parts of 10 MLB seasons, including a three-year run of regular at-bats with the Angels from 2020 to 2022. While the 2020 and ’21 seasons saw Stassi briefly break out offensively with a solid 113 wRC+, Stassi is mostly a glove-first catcher; he hit just .180/.267/.303 across 102 games in 2022 and has a career wRC+ of just 83. With +20 framing runs since the start of the 2018 season according to Statcast, however, Stassi makes up for his lack of offense with excellent defense that could pair with Bailey to give the Giants the best defensive tandem behind the plate in the sport.
Stassi comes with his own flaws, however. Most notably, he hasn’t played in the big leagues since 2022 due to a combination of family considerations and injuries. At nearly 34 years old, Stassi has reached the age where many catchers start to struggle to stay effective due to the toll the position takes on the body, and that concern is exacerbated for Stassi in particular due to both his checkered recent history and the fact that he regressed both offensively and defensively during the 2022 campaign.
Of course, that regression may have also had something to do with his career-high workload that year, an issue that would not come up in 2025 should he serve as Bailey’s backup. On the other hand, Stassi offers little upside, with even a solid rebound from his 2022 season likely ending with him being a below-average hitter. Huff offers significantly more upside, both due to the potential of his bat and because he has less than two years of MLB service time under his belt at this point, allowing him to be controlled through the end of the 2029 season.
Porter, meanwhile, stands as less likely to earn the job than either Huff or Stassi but also represents something of a middle ground between the two. The 29-year-old is the least experienced of the trio at the big league level, having appeared in just 11 games with the Royals back in 2023. With that being said, he has a reputation as a strong defender and pairs that with a bat that showed some life at Triple-A last year, where he slashed a combined .267/.370/.453 (114 wRC+) in 73 across the Royals, Mets, and Giants organizations. Given his lack of big league experience, Porter could be controlled long-term and even optioned to the minor leagues if added to the 40-man roster, while Huff is out of options and Stassi has enough service time to decline an optional assignment.
Assuming Murphy begins the season on the injured list, which catcher should the Giants pair with Bailey? Is Huff’s former top prospect status and offensive upside worth the lackluster defense and potential contact issues? Should the club gamble on Stassi’s track record of MLB success despite his long layoff from big league games and worrying signals in his 2022 campaign? Or should the club take a chance on Porter despite his minimal big league experience? Have your say in the poll below:
If they wanted to make a trade, Jason Delay may be very much available.
Yes Delay for another young outfielder.
Just wait for the dfa on delay.
Thought the Giants had catchers coming out of their when the dfa a starting catcher on many teams Bart.
I thought the same thing. A decent pen arm or a near term prospect with decent offensive potential seems like it could get the ball rolling.
Let Sam Huff cook!
I hear buster posey is the emergency 3rd catcher
I wonder if there’s ever been a scenario where the best catcher in a MLB organization is unavailable as they serve as the head of baseball operations?
“Entering Spring Training, there was some belief that veteran catcher Tom Murphy‘s job backing up Patrick Bailey in San Francisco wasn’t entirely assured even in of the $4.25MM guaranteed remaining on his contract with the Giants.”
Proofreading.
James McCann is still unsigned. Sounds like a good addition to me.
The Giants…haha. A bumbling non competitive mess of a team looking at 4th place in the NL West
@The Bull,
I’m a Phillies fan living in the Bay Area, and I’m wondering why you’re acting like TheD¡ck? What’s your negative motivation?
Aww short attention span on names these days The Bull? Or is it Tony Gwynn..or is it 27champy? Too bad your schtick is already tired and the season hasn’t even started yet…
The Bull is an apt username since it seems you happen to have an abundance of it.
Tremendous info for a Giants fan. Nice work, Nick. Thx.
I’m converted. Huff.
Knew you would come around Fopp.
They should probably hang on to Porter as well. Looks like he has options left, and could be stashed in AAA.
Ha ha. Just needed someone to do the research for me.
I’m in the Stassi camp. I like his experience, think the back-up role won’t be excessively taxing on his body, and he seems to me to have the better hitter/defender balance. I don’t like Huff’s contact issues.
The 40-man issue is irrelevant IMO. Go with who’s ever better. If they decide that’s Huff, fine, but the roster spot shouldn’t be a driver on that decision.
Calling Pablo Sandoval….
Either way, an embarrassment of catching riches compared to most teams
I’m sure Buster has still got it if the Giants need a back-up in a pinch!
Buster’s new role comfort zone.
A poll for a b/u catcher ehhhh. Slow say I take it
So you day.
Reese McGuire is in Cubs camp competing with Carlos Perez (not that Carlos Perez) for the AAA break glass spot paired with Moises Ballesteros and possibly Pablo Aliendo. They can probably get McGuire for a few buckets of chicken and an A ball starting pitcher.
Or wait til he gets cut/opts out and not have to give up anything
But then you won’t get him until after opening day, and that’s if he does not get traded elsewhere.
I’ll go with Huff as he is out of options and not likely to be snuck through waivers
Huff has the best bat lets go with him unless Buster wants to suit up
Huff should be the pick. Giants tend to love old used up guys so I predict they pick Stassi who should be the last choice.
And they let Joey Bart go for nothing. Shouldn’t have signed Murphy in the first place.
I’d like to see Stassi get the job but the 40 man situation with Huff makes him the frontrunner. If Stassi is willing to stay back in Sacramento once camp breaks then that would be the best scenario.
I think the importance of the 40-man roster issue is being inflated. Go with the guy that performs better. They don’t have to decide until end of camp, and some team might need a back-up catcher due to injury, and they can trade Huff, if Stassi performs better.
the 40 man roster is important because huff is a waiver claim meaning that he needs to be returned if he doesn’t make it. as stassi is on a minor league deal if you can stash him you have 2 playable backups in the system rather than one and the way catchers get dinged that is pretty important
I disagree. I understand how the 40-man works, and it makes no sense to me that a team would retain a lesser player based on his currently having a 40-man roster spot, over a better player that didn’t.
Sure, you can retain both Huff and Stassi, with Stassi at AAA. But what if there is an injury? Stassi would then need a roster spot. And if there was no injury, why would a team keep the superior back-up guy in AAA?
If Huff is the better of the 2, then the roster spot is irrelevant. But if the Giants think Stassi is the better guy, why would they choose Huff simply because he’s currently on the 40-man?
that makes no sense – you are just wasting a spot for no reason. Stassi has injury history and if you give away huff to bring in stassi if he goes down you suddenly only end up with porter as your only option. what is actually needed is production rather than defense out of the backup catcher since in bailey you actually have what has been argued as the best defensive player in baseball which was essentially the plan in murphy in the first place. The roster spot is super relevant if it means that you suddenly go thin at a position of strength – it isn’t like huff can be traded or sent down, if he isn’t on the roster he is just gone.
First of all, neither one of knows who the better option is. Your argument seems to be based on the assumption that Huff is superior to Stassi in the back-up role. The Giants will decide that on a more massive amount of info than we have. I trust they’ll make the right move.
Plus you have no idea whether Stassi will have injury issues this season. It’s possible, with the rest he’s had, and time to recuperate, like Posey in 2020, that he could be a plus asset.
I think you’re overrating the value of Huff. No team knows him better than the Rangers and they let him walk. His offensive numbers are inflated due to the high BABIP. He strikes out more than 1/3 of the time. And he is not a good defender behind the plate.
And, it’s wasting a spot just as much if Stassi is the better option. Why use up a roster spot for a lesser player? That’s a waste. If they decide to keep Huff on the ML roster and send Stassi to AAA, they’ll need to roster Stassi anyway, if there’s an injury.
It makes zero sense, if the Giants see Stassi as the better back-up, to send him to AAA, just to hold on to and use the worse back-up guy of the two. And, where a catcher’s value comes from is behind the plate. I don’t buy it that Bailey’ superior play there offsets Huff’s poor defensive play, just because Huff was close to league average (98 OPS+) over 65 games spanning 2 seasons 2 and 3 years ago.
it is not assuming huff is the better player it is assuming he is worth keeping. Stassi is on a minor league contract and unless he can opt out at the end of spring training he can be sent to AAA without going on the 40 man – which you are probably going to need to use later for a bullpen arm or a late signing so prioritizing huff is about protecting inventory and finding a way to keep both in the system rather than throwing one away for free
The trouble with that take is you can’t really keep Stassi in the system for the purpose of MiL depth. The 2 purposes of AAA are teaching/developing prospects, and depth for the ML roster. Stassi doesn’t need the former, and if he’s not going to be added to the 40-man, he won’t be able to do the latter.
To me it’s one or the other. If the Giants decide Stassi looks like his age has caught up with him, and Huff is the better option. I’m fine with that. I’m fine with the reverse as well. But the decision should be based on who’s going to be more capable in the back-up role. My point all along has been, the fact that Huff currently has a 40-man roster spot, which the Giants were forced to give him, should not be the basis of that decision.
that shows a serious misunderstanding of the system – there are always minor league FA on every team that are kept for depth, if you go to every team’s system they have veterans on minor league deals there in case of an injury or underperformance, not every player in the minors is a prospect or a rookie
It’s you that doesn’t understand. I’m fully aware that every team has, and needs, depth in the MiLs. What you’re not getting is, for a player to called up in case of injury, that player will need to be rostered on the 40-man.
If Huff is the back-up, with Stassi in AAA, and he or Bailey get injured, Stassi would need to be put on the 40-man roster. That means they’d need to clear a space by moving someone to the 60-day IL, or DFAing someone else.
And in case you missed it in the article, Stassi can reject an assignment to AAA. So if they choose Huff. there’s no guarantee that Stassi would be the MiL depth. If they go with Huff, Porter might be the MIL depth not Stassi.
The Giants had to give Huff a 40-man roster spot only because they had to by rule, Keeping Huff solely because he has that roster spot, when Stassi might be the better option is short-sighted. Again, who they pick should be based on their ability to do the job, not some sort of roster spot advantage.
Hope I’m wrong but Stassi never seemed to come back after his concussion and he’s only older now. I don’t see him being an effective MLB player again.
Catchers with concussion issues are not a good thing at all. SFG has been there, done that. Murphy to 60 day, add Porter to 40 man. Huff to backup and Porter to AAA.
Done deal. Rest your brain Stassi, you’re not getting any younger.
why would you add porter to the 40 man and put him in AAA – that makes no sense.
Rafael Marchan we will give you him for a low level prospect
Does the AI that wrote the first paragraph know English?
Melvin (Posey) facing difficult backup catcher decision now that Murphy out indefinitely
1) Will Murphy return in April or will his situation linger throughout the season & really before indefinite
2) Stassi, 34, good defense, weak offense & hasn’t played regularly since 2022 (family situation – injuries) & not on 40-man roster
3) Huff below average defense, has some pop in his bat & on 40-man roster
4) Porter & Sugastey not likely to be considered
5) Or, possibly consider McCann
Stassi or Huff likely to be answer until Melvin (Posey) know more about Murphy’s likelihood of returning
Slow news day
Go watch some spring training games instead.
It’s a baseball site. Baseball fans appreciate stuff like this.
Other.
The Giants should think outside the box and carry three catchers instead of two, using Sam Huff as a part-time DH or first baseman to get the most out of his bat while keeping Stassi as the true defensive backup. Bailey caught 108 games last year, and giving him more rest would help keep his defense sharp over a full season. Huff’s power is intriguing, but his defense is shaky, so why force him into a full-time catching role? Let him hit while Stassi handles the backup duties, and keep Porter in Triple-A as insurance. This way, the Giants maximize offense without sacrificing defense, giving them the best of both worlds.
What an uninspiring group of backups, good lord
@semut
Indeed, because usually, competition for the roll of back-up effing catcher is an absolute festival of inspiration.
Sure, but generally you have someone who you feel fine about coming in, or taking some of the load on busy weeks. None of these guys are like that for me. I felt better about Sabol than any of these guys for sure
Defense is why Sabol isn’t a Giant anymore, the organization values defensive at catcher. Huff has an inside track with a 40 man spot and might be just the right guy, right place to carve out an MLB job. Huff has some prospect pedigree as a bat but the Giants will want his glove, handling the staff, controlling the running game to be NOT Sabol.
While this tone wasn’t used in the injury report, this a race against the clock for Murphy’s career as a Giant, The path of non-surgical + rest and see where he is because any surgical option likely wipes out his 2025. I’m sure the Giants would like to use Murphy’s 40 man spot for another optionable bullpen arm early in the season while the starters are still ramping up should he land on the 60 Day DL
Stassi’s returning to MLB after a break and while he’ll get more reps with Murphy out this spring, I bet when he was signed the thought was SF would stash him at AAA to provide MLB ready non 40 man roster depth. He’s from Northern CA, he lives in Sacramento now. I think unless another team says they have an MLB job for Stassi, he starts in Sac.
Porter is back after NYM gave him an MLB contract last year when claiming him off waivers from SF. It was a very bizarre move that at the time kind of implied something else might have been in the works with the NYM roster but nothing happened. Because he has options, if Huff isn’t up to the task defensively, Porter could be up next as he can get 1st crack as the MLB backup taking Huff’s roster spot.
Bart was a victim of Farhan not having job security AKA “win now” or lose his job. If he’s not in that position, Murphy isn’t signed and Bart likely stays as backup catcher and the short side of the platoon. That said sometimes guys just need to a change of scenery and maybe Bart was such a guy.
Bart was a victim of not being able to make contact with the ball.
The Giants asked the absolute minimum of the guy. Crazy how blame gets put on others.
I think of Joey as a Giant, I get a mental image of him swinging and missing by a foot or so.
Victim is a poor word choice but the rest of what I wrote is 100% exactly why Bart is no longer a Giant. The bar for backup catcher is low, really low, just look at the discussion here and the profiles in the catcher thread MLBTR just put up.
Look at Murphy’s Baseball reference, Farhan signed that guy for 2yrs, his age 33-34yo seasons for $8M so he could take 175-225 plate appearances a year. That’s what a back up catcher does.
The moment Murphy was signed it was a matter of if not when Bart would be squeezed off the roster. This was despite the fact he was still controllable for 4 more years and was making the minimum in 2024. Backup catcher was always his floor, his glove was going to keep him in the game, the question on him was would he ever make enough contact to get to his power. What’s crazy is all his time in SF amounted to 500PA, he’s already gotten 282 in PIT.
@sfjackcoke
Thank you for the informative analysis. As things stand, 2025 appears to be a season where the Giants will try to establish their calling cards as starting pitching, defense, and strong fundamentals.
What are your feelings about Lee as the centerfielder? Many of us fans of other teams didn’t get a real chance to see him in his abbreviated ’24. Is he the answer? If so, they have an opportunity to be a strong defensive ballclub. As an old-school fan, I value up-the-middle defense when evaluating teams.
I’m bullish on Lee. I think the D is not in question. It was whether he could deliver at the plate. He didn’t rack up the counting stats in his time last season. but I was impressed by his ABs, He came to MLB not knowing any of the pitchers, or the parks he’d be playing in. But he made consistent contact, and hit the ball hard. Not sure he’s ready to completely break out in 2025, due to the lost time last season when he could have been gaining experience. But I think he’ll be a plus asset.
White Sox have two top 60 catching prospects, let’s make a deal.
Bart was snakebit in SF. Could be because he was supposed to be the next great thing after Posey, could be because he was force fed major league pitching in 2020 and lost his confidence. But it seemed he was never going to succeed in SF and being Bailey’s back-up was not an option. He moved to a small market low pressure team and did what he can do, and that is hit the ball hard and throw the ball hard. Good luck to him, I bet he has a decent MLB career.
On to back-up catcher. Stassi has an interesting, almost eerily similar late career situation as Posey. Stassi took a year off to care for his infant (as Posey did for his adopted twins in 2020) and he had hip surgery that cost him a season (Posey had hip surgery in 2018 that wiped his effectiveness in 2019). Now fully healed and rested, Stassi has a chance to return to form as a fairly elite defensive catcher who has had some decent offensive seasons.
The thing is Sam Huff seems like a Joey Bart type that just needed a change of scenery. He has top 100 pedigree. He went straight from Single A in 2019 to the majors in 2020 and tore the cover off the ball in 10 games. He has 123 minor league home runs and a career 113 OPS+ in 78 games in the big leagues plus apparently is a good defensive catcher.
I thought the Giants should sign McCann or Grandal but I think Buster knows catchers and I think between Stassi and Huff the Giants will have 2 good options.
I agree with everything you say except for Huff being a good defensive catcher. I have no knowledge that he isn’t, only what I’ve read on MLBTR, but I thought the poor defense was the knock on him.
Likewise, maybe he’s improved. Seems like below average defense would be a deal breaker for Posey.
True, but hopefully Posey won’t hold every catcher up to his own standard of work. That’s a high bar.
From what I read in The SF Chronicle, coaches in both TX and SF are high on Huff’s upside potential.
One thing that can’t be overlooked – the Giants have to be thinking as much about the next several years as they are about this year. Stassi will be 34 next month and isn’t controllable beyond this season, whereas Huff just turned 27 and is controllable for the rest of this decade.
That’s a good point about their respective ages. That, to me anyway, has more relevance than the 40-man roster spot. I have no idea who would be the better back-up, I trust the Giants to make the right decision.
It’s just my opinion, but I’m skeptical of Huff’s reported potential due to some of his issues. He seems to have more upside than Stassi, but I think he also has a lower floor.
Yep, despite the enthusiasm his coaches have about Huff’s makeup and ceiling, none of that will matter if he can’t produce and/or is really a defensive liability.
Like you, I trust the Giants judgement over anything I can glean from reading about the guy. Even so, it’s going to be something of a roll of the proverbial dice for them too, either way. And while this year’s 40-man shouldn’t really be a consideration, the possibility of future seasons of his prime-age services, may well be.
But hey, for all we know, all this could change in the coming weeks, as other catchers get released or traded.
I know it would require a move on the 40 man roster but Yasmani Grandal is still better than what SF has and I think he is still a FA unless I missed something
“Meanwhile” has to start the sentence, not come in the middle between commas.