LOS ANGELES — As expected, Joey Bart is back for the Giants after spending the minimum amount of time sidelined with a mild concussion. Bart was on a tear before suffering the head injury on a foul tip, hitting .328 with three home runs in August.
But the rookie’s return forced the Giants to once again make a change to their catcher’s room.
Andrew Knapp, the sixth player to catch a game for San Francisco this season, was designated for assignment on Tuesday. Austin Wynns remains SF’s backup catcher, presumably for the rest of the season.
“The work that Wynns and Knapp did was commendable,” manager Gabe Kapler said pregame Tuesday. “They did a nice job. But it’s really nice to have Joey back in the lineup.”
In Bart’s absence, Wynns started four games to Knapp’s two. Knapp went 1-for-4 with two RBI, walked twice and earned rave reviews about his secondary leads from Kapler. Wynns went 4-for-18 in the stretch and owns a .232 batting average on the season.
After enjoying the luxury of Buster Posey for the past decade, the Giants have had much less consistency at the catcher position this year. They claimed Michael Papierski, then released him shortly thereafter. Yermín Mercedes caught an inning. Curt Casali, a steady option, got injured and then traded at the deadline for a pitching prospect (SF has expressed interest in reuniting with Casali in free agency).
Between Wynns and Knapp — both midseason acquisitions — the factors for determining SF’s backup catcher for the rest of the year are complicated. Neither will enter any home run derbies, but Knapp is a switch-hitter who has a more impressive big-league résumé; he registered a .849 OPS in 2020.
Wynns is more familiar with the Giants’ pitching staff, just given that he’s been with the club for longer. He’s specifically built a rapport with ace Carlos Rodón, catching 73 of his 157.1 innings with success.
“Knapp has had some success in the major league level,” Kapler said This is as good as he’s played all year. He was playing great in Triple-A, he’s playing great for us here. Wynns has done a great job for us too. I think we’re in the lucky position that we had two good options to support Joey and support us.”
Kapler and Knapp have been close since their Philadelphia days. The manager said it was tough to have the conversation with the catcher that he’d been designated because he roots for Knapp personally. Knapp is also from the Sacramento area and was able to spend quality time with his family with the Giants organization.
Wynns, meanwhile, has one home run in 50 games this year for a .604 OPS. He ranks in the 57th percentile in framing and the ninth percentile in pop time to second, per Baseball Savant. He’s also curiously committed multiple catcher’s interferences.
He’s also outperformed expectations of him when the Giants traded for him in June as a temporary solution during Bart’s Triple-A reset. The Giants have lauded Wynns for competitive at-bats and toughness behind the dish. Monday night, he was on the receiving end of a Bryce Johnson-Brandon Crawford relay throw that saved a run against the Dodgers.
“Difficult decision,” Kapler said. “Not the easiest discussion…I think a lot of it has to do with just: Wynns performed well with us. It’s not a profile that jumps off the page at you. But it’s a guy that just came in and has done everything we’ve asked him to do. He’s framed well. He’s led our pitching staff well. He knows our staff. And he’s had good at-bats for us. He’s not perfect, but he’s done a good job and he’s earned the right to stay on our roster.”
- Injured outfielder Austin Slater joined Dave Flemming on the KNBR broadcast for almost the entirety of San Francisco’s 7-4 win over the Dodgers on Monday night. Although he’d never considered broadcasting nor had any prior experience, Slater raved about his time in the booth and said he got more comfortable as the game progressed.
“A lot of fun,” Slater said. “It’s really hot in there. No A/C. It’s crazy loud, too, with the speakers blaring just straight in.”
Other current Giants that could make for good broadcasters one day, according to Kapler: John Brebbia, Brandon Belt, and Logan Webb. (Ed. note: Evan Longoria would be terrific).
- David Villar is starting at first base again Tuesday. He’s been playing the position for the last four or five years, he said, and feels comfortable there. He has a smaller frame and wingspan than the average first baseman which prevented him from corralling an Evan Longoria throw on Monday, but the Giants want to see as much of him at as many positions as possible to know what they have for the future.
- John Brebbia is opening a bullpen game, a role in which he has thrived in this year — albeit in a tiny sample. In three starts, Brebbia has thrown three scoreless innings. San Francisco likes that he has neutral splits and trusts him against opponents’ best hitters. He’ll face at least Mookie Betts, Trea Turner and Freddie Freeman, whom Logan Webb called the best hitter in baseball.