The San Francisco Giants traded struggling two-time Gold Glove-winning catcher Patrick Bailey to the Cleveland Guardians on Saturday.
The Giants received minor league left-hander Matt Wilkinson and the 29th pick in the 2026 amateur draft in the trade.
Cleveland optioned Bo Naylor to Triple-A Columbus to make room for Bailey. Naylor has been the Guardians' regular catcher since 2023.
Cleveland general manager Chris Antonetti said before Saturday night's game against the Minnesota Twins that the organization has had interest in Bailey for a long time, but the right opportunity didn't happen until this past week.
“We didn’t set out necessarily to acquire catching, but this was an opportunity that we felt made sense because it in our view will help us win games and help us pursue our goal of winning a World Series,” Antonetti said. “About a week ago, we had some initial dialogue with the Giants and it seemed like for the first time there might be the opportunity to overlap."
Bailey has been regarded as one of the top defensive catchers in the game thanks in part to his elite pitch-framing skills since being called up in 2023. He leads the majors since 2023 with 69 catcher framing runs and 42 defensive runs saved over the past two-plus seasons.
But his hitting has been an issue and bottomed out this season. Bailey was batting .146 with one homer and five RBIs in 89 plate appearances. His .396 OPS ranked last among 286 players with at least 75 plate appearances this season.
Bailey had become expendable for the Giants with Daniel Susac and Jesus Rodriguez expected to handle most of the catching duties, with Eric Haase as another option. Those players have provided much more offense for the Giants, who enter the day last in the majors in scoring with 3.16 runs per game and tied with the New York Mets for the worst record in the National League.
Bailey, who turns 27 later this month, won Gold Gloves at catcher in 2024 and 2025. He is a career .224 hitter with a .611 OPS. He arrived in Cleveland before the game and is available off the bench as a pinch-hitter.
Naylor had a .237 batting average as a rookie in 2023 but has struggled offensively the past two-plus seasons. His .143 batting average this season is last in the majors among the 29 catchers with at least 90 plate appearances.
His .192 batting average since 2024 is next-to-last among catchers with at least 200 games played.
“That was probably my least favorite conversation I’ve had since getting this job (in 2024),” manager Stephen Vogt said of the conversation with Naylor about being sent down. “We still believe that Bo has a bright future with us, but any time you send somebody away from here, it’s the worst. But that one, especially.”
The Guardians entered the day with a 21-19 record and in first place in the AL Central. Austin Hedges also has seen steady playing time behind the plate along with David Fry.
The 23-year-old Wilkinson pitched for Canada in the World Baseball Classic earlier this year. He has made six starts this season at Double-A Akron, going 1-2 with a 1.59 ERA with 36 strikeouts in 28 1-3 innings.
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Dubow reported from San Francisco and Reedy from Cleveland.
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