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The Giants have agreed to a minor league contract with free-agent catcher Andrew Knapp, MLBTR has confirmed. John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle tweeted final evening that the Giants “may be” including Knapp and sending him to Triple-A Sacramento.
This would be the fourth group of the yr for Knapp, who was in Spring Coaching as a non-roster invitee with the Reds however exercised an out in his deal with a view to signal a Main League contract with the Pirates. Pittsburgh designated Knapp for task in mid-Could, after which he elected free company and inked a minor league take care of the Mariners. Seattle chosen Knapp to the massive league roster late final month after which designated him for task two weeks later. Knapp once more rejected an outright in favor of a return to the market, and he’ll now head to the Giants’ high affiliate in Sacramento.
Knapp, 30, is a lot accustomed to Giants skipper Gabe Kapler, courting again to the pair’s days collectively in Philadelphia. The Phillies chosen Knapp with the No. 53 total draft decide again in 2013, and he went on to spend elements of 5 seasons as their backup catcher (two of which had been underneath Kapler, in 2018-19). The switch-hitting Knapp appeared in 309 video games over that half-decade run in Philly, batting a mixed .214/.314/.322 by means of 827 journeys to the plate. He’s hitting simply .114/.205/.143 this yr, however that’s in a minuscule pattern of 39 plate appearances. He’s additionally spent elements of 4 seasons in Triple-A, the place he’s a .252/.322/.389 hitter.
Catching depth turned an sudden space of want for the Giants when Buster Posey abruptly retired on the heels of final yr’s sensational rebound marketing campaign. Posey’s age-34 season noticed the previous NL Rookie of the Yr and MVP flip the clock again with a .304/.390/.499 batting line — his most-productive season since 2014. Posey’s resolution to retire on a excessive word prompted the Giants to show issues over to former No. 2 total decide Joey Bart, however Bart has but to completely discover his stride within the Majors.
The 25-year-old Bart is hitting simply .185/.307/.361 this season, though he lately returned from a June demotion to Sacramento and confirmed some enchancment in 32 plate appearances main into the All-Star break. Curt Casali, Austin Wynns, Michael Papierski an Yermin Mercedes have seen time behind the plate as properly (only one inning in Mercedes’ case). On the entire, Giants catchers are hitting simply .203/.303/.355 in 2022.
With Casali on the injured record resulting from an indirect pressure, Papierski now in Cincinnati following a waiver declare, and Mercedes being extra an possibility at first base/DH than at catcher, the Giants are gentle on wholesome, skilled catchers. Bart and Wynns determine to proceed dealing with the majority of the workload for now, however Knapp will give them some further cowl within the occasion of additional accidents.
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