Giants trade Patrick Bailey. Is Roseville’s Daniel Susac SF’s new starting catcher?
The San Francisco Giants on Saturday traded their primary starting catcher Patrick Bailey to the Cleveland Guardians — a move that figures to give Sacramento-area product Daniel Susac more playing time in the majors.
The Giants announced in a social media post that they sent Bailey to the Guardians in exchange for pitcher Matt Wilkinson and the 29th pick in this year’s MLB draft.
Bailey, a two-time Gold Glove winner, debuted for the Giants in 2023 and is widely considered one of Major League Baseball’s best defensive catchers. But he has also been one of MLB’s worst hitters, sporting a .146 batting average in 30 games this season. The Giants rank last in the league offensively with 120 runs scored.
“From unbelievable defense to unforgettable walk-off home runs, we thank you, Patrick, and wish you good luck,” the Giants’ official team account posted on X.
Susac, a 24-year-old drafted by the Athletics in 2022 and later taken by the Minnesota Twins in last year’s Rule 5 draft before Minnesota traded him to San Francisco, was born and raised in Roseville and played high school ball for Jesuit in Carmichael. He made his MLB debut with the Giants last month and boasts a .478 batting average in 11 games played in the big leagues.
Susac has been on the 10-day injured list since April 20 with an elbow issue but hit two home runs in a game Thursday in Sacramento during a rehab assignment with the River Cats. He then went 2-for-4 at the plate Friday.
With Susac injured and the Giants continuing to struggle offensively, the team called up top catching prospect Jesus Rodriguez, who has gone 5-for-11 including a home run through four games played. He started Friday’s game, a 5-2 win, with Bailey catching the final two innings as a defensive replacement.
Before his injury, the Giants had been increasing Susac’s playing time as Bailey continued to struggle at the plate. A hot start by Rodríguez raises the possibility that he and Susac will split catching duties once Susac returns from the injured list.
San Francisco entered Saturday having lost eight of its last 10 games and with an overall record of 15-23, in last place in the National League West under first-year manager Tony Vitello.
The Giants as of Saturday morning had not activated Susac from the injured list as they host the Pittsburgh Pirates for a weekend series. But given his offensive output in his River Cats rehab games, plus the big-league team’s need for catching depth, he is expected to rejoin the 26-man roster soon.
If the Giants do call Susac back up in the coming days, he will get his first taste of MLB action in West Sacramento, as the Athletics will host the Giants at Sutter Health Park next weekend for what is now dubbed the “Interstate 80 series.”
Susac’s first start for the Giants earlier this year got viral attention when the TV broadcast caught his nephew, Chuck, dangling from the arms of other family members as they celebrated his first three MLB hits.
The Susac family has had MLB ties for years. Daniel’s older brother Andrew Susac played six MLB seasons, including his first two with the Giants as the backup to Buster Posey, who’s now the team’s president of baseball operations. Susac’s cousin Anthony Susac is in the Texas Rangers’ minor-league system.
All three Susacs played for the Jesuit Marauders under longtime coach Joe Potulny.
