The San Francisco Giants are trading two-time Gold Glove-winning catcher Patrick Bailey to the Cleveland Guardians in exchange for the No. 29 pick in this year’s draft as well as left-handed prospect Matt Wilkinson, per ESPN insider Jeff Passan.
BREAKING: The Cleveland Guardians are acquiring two-time Gold Glove-winning catcher Patrick Bailey in a trade with the San Francisco Giants for the No. 29 pick in this year's draft and left-handed pitching prospect Matt "Tugboat" Wilkinson, sources tell ESPN.
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— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) May 9, 2026
The 26-year-old has won a Gold Glove in each of the last two seasons, but he recently lost his role as starting catcher. His historic batting slump thus far has not been pretty.
He’s currently batting .146/.213/.183 on the young season.
With Bailey coming in, the Guardians will now option Bo Naylor to Triple-A Columbus. He’s made 23 starts at catcher this season and he’s batting .143/.200/.238 thus far, similarly poor numbers.
While Bailey has clearly struggled at the plate, his value comes on defense. He’s still one of the best defensive catchers in baseball, something the Guardians seemingly wanted.
Saturday’s move makes sense for both teams as the Giants are in need of more offense, something they’ve seen flashes of from catching prospect Jacob Rodriguez. This gave them the confidence to move on from Bailey while bringing in some extra draft capital.
But these two squads are in vastly different situations at the moment. The Giants are 15-23 with eight losses in their last 10 games, good enough for last in the NL West.
The Guardians, however, sit at 21-19 on the season at first place in the AL Central.
James Parker is a sports writer for Ball Exclusives, follow him on X @TheJames_Parker
