Your 2026 Giants: Trading Bailey Was a Smart Move That was Immediately Successful

The San Francisco Standard has an email service which shares news and thoughts about the local teams, like the Giants. Kerry Crowley wrote about the Bailey trade to Cleveland in a recent email (September 4th), part of which I excerpt here for your reference:

… 

Was trading Bailey a smart move?

It’s too soon to say whether the Giants or Guardians won the deal, in part because Bailey’s primary replacement, Daniel Susac, appeared in just 53 games before a fractured left kneecap ended his season.

Susac isn’t as highly regarded as Bailey defensively, yet this season he recorded six defensive runs saved (DRS) compared with Bailey’s seven. Bailey has a narrow edge in pop time (1.85 seconds to 1.89 seconds), but Susac graded out as a slightly better framer (92nd percentile to 83rd percentile). 

Giants pitchers recorded a 3.63 ERA throwing to Bailey this season, nearly two-tenths of a point better than the 3.82 mark they recorded with Susac catching. 

Bailey’s two Gold Glove Awards and longer track record suggest he’ll remain the better defensive player, but he’s arbitration-eligible and will command a higher salary moving forward. 

Susac’s .664 OPS is well below league average, but a strong September at the plate will give Bailey — who has a .604 OPS — a chance to catch up. The switch-hitting veteran has a .699 OPS with Cleveland, a .789 mark since the All-Star break, and had a .814 OPS in September 2025, whereas Susac regressed following a red-hot start to his career.

After a right elbow injury forced Susac to the injured list in April, he returned May 15 and hit just .198 with a .574 OPS in 42 games. 

The good news for the Giants is that Susac isn’t the only player responsible for filling Bailey’s void. The bad news is that neither of the other top catchers — Drew Cavanaugh and Jesús Rodríguez — is a strong defender. Cavanaugh’s pop time and blocking skills grade out above average, but his framing ranks in the 31st percentile among catchers, and Giants pitchers have recorded a 4.70 ERA with Cavanaugh behind the plate. Rodríguez, meanwhile, has poor defensive metrics and is likely better suited to a role as a utility infielder.

It’s possible the best path forward for the Giants would have been keeping Bailey and platooning him with Susac. It’s also possible Bailey, a multiyear starter in San Francisco, would have been frustrated with that arrangement. 

So with the team struggling and Bailey underperforming, Posey took a risk by resetting the catching depth chart in return for a pair of valuable assets. Wilkinson might struggle as a starter, but it’s realistic to think he could succeed out of the bullpen.

Then there’s Bolemon, a 19-year-old lefty who is already one of the Giants’ top 10 prospects. If the 6-foot-4 South Carolinian becomes a force in the rotation, Posey may look back on the Bailey trade as one of his best moves.

A lot has to go right — Susac must improve, Wilkinson must contribute, and Bolemon must develop into a trusted starter — but one of the bolder trades of Posey’s tenure could eventually pay off.

Another Perspective of the Giants’ past 12 Seasons

{Note: I started this on July 24th, and though most of it was done, I forgot about it, and just finished it today. Of course, the trade deadline is now way in the past, so I added the addendum, as well as tweaked some, as I am wont to do}

I received an email on July 24th from the SF Standard, and the writer described their view of what the Giants have gone through from the end of Evans’ tenure as GM, to Zaidi and finally to Posey.  I will quote here since not everyone gets this:

This is a franchise that desperately needs to start over.

The Giants consider “rebuild” a dirty word, but their atrocious play demands they consider a process they’ve scoffed at. 

It’s time to abandon the typical offseason approach of signing veteran free agents to fill every roster hole. From Bobby Evans to Farhan Zaidi to Posey, it’s clear that regardless of which executive is calling the shots, those free-agent signings have created even more problems. 

The last time the Giants had such a clear chance to rebuild, they ignored the opportunity. After a 98-loss 2017 season, Evans traded for Evan Longoria and Andrew McCutchen, signed Austin Jackson, and insisted they could compete for an NL West crown while staying under MLB’s luxury tax threshold. 

An 89-loss season cost Evans his job and ushered in the Zaidi era.

If the Giants are serious about building a contender again, the team’s next few offseasons should look a lot like Zaidi’s first.

Entering 2019, the Giants signed switch-pitcher Pat Venditte, re-signed lefty Derek Holland, and added another southpaw, Drew Pomeranz, on a one-year contract. They also made a series of waiver claims, minor-league trades, and minor moves that were so difficult to keep track of that fans grew furious.

The most important part of Zaidi’s first offseason: He didn’t acquire anyone who blocked an emerging prospect from securing meaningful opportunities with the Giants’ major-league club.

The only issue? The Giants didn’t really have any emerging prospects. 

Trade acquisition Mike Yastrzemskidebuted in May and 2014 draftee Logan Webb arrived in August, but the farm system was so underwhelming that clearing the way for young talent didn’t lead to much of a long-term payoff. 

The opposite is true now. Signing more Tyler Mahles, Adrian Housers, and Harrison Baders will block the path for a pipeline that features more promising prospects. And it’s a group that should only grow stronger when the Giants start dealing away veterans before the Aug. 3 deadline. 

The Giants’ performance demands drastic action. The focus must shift from the present to the future and from identifying major leaguers who can help now to minor leaguers who can help eventually. The face of the franchise, Bryce Eldridge, isn’t going anywhere, but everyone else is tradable. 

If the Giants don’t rebuild now, they never will. 

Your 2026 Giants: The Future Horizon

Some fans and media are so bummed out about how bad the Giants season has been, that they are missing the big story of this season: the rise of the farm system.  One beat writer wrote that improving the farm system is the only positive development of the 2026 season.  Below is my comment, with added content.