River Cats to host San Francisco Giants ‘taxi squad’ at West Sacramento ballpark

The reigning Triple-A champion Sacramento River Cats will not get to defend their championship until 2021 but there will still be baseball played in West Sacramento this summer.

Despite the 2020 minor league season being canceled on June 30 due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the newly renamed Sutter Health Park, formerly known as Raley Field, will be used as a training ground for potential Major League talent.

The San Francisco Giants announced Wednesday in a news release that the organization will be sending its “taxi squad” of backup players to the capital region for workouts and scrimmages beginning next week.

“Baseball is back!” River Cats general manager Chip Maxson said in the release. “Just like our fans, we would love to be playing a full River Cats season, however, we are grateful for this opportunity to host the Giants Taxi Squad and look forward to seeing baseball at Sutter Health Park next week.

“Our goal is to understand what opportunities may be available for our members, partners and fans to share in this experience with us, whether a televised broadcast, virtually, or hopefully in-person, and then communicate all of the options as they become available.”

The taxi squad will consist of about 30 players who are working out and staying ready to contribute to the Giants as a substitute, in case of an injury or illness, as the season progresses.

Hosting the players may also allow fans to potentially see some of the team’s rising stars, including top catching prospect Joey Bart, who was selected second overall by San Francisco in the 2018 draft.

“We are very excited to call Sutter Health Park our 2020 alternate spring training home and are very grateful to the River Cats and to the city of West Sacramento for working with us to provide a safe location and environment for our players and staff,” said Giants President of Baseball Operations Farhan Zaidi in the release.

Gaining experience in Sacramento could be helpful for players like Bart, as they won’t lose out on valuable developmental time that was supposed to take place during a minor-league season.

Giants players returned to the field at Oracle Park on July 3 for “summer camp” before officially beginning their 2020 season next Thursday, July 23, against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The roster for the taxi squad and whether fans will be able to attend practices or scrimmages is still to be determined.

This story was originally published July 15, 2020 at 6:53 PM.