The Giants agreed to a minor league contract with Max Stassi, as first reported by Simply Baseball’s Aram Leighton (on X) and subsequently mirrored on the catcher’s MLB.com transaction log. It’s doubtless the Wasserman shopper will get a non-roster invite to massive league camp.
Stassi hasn’t appeared within the majors since 2022. He began the ’23 season on the injured checklist with a left hip downside and was ultimately transferred to the restricted checklist as he attended to a household matter. (The Stassis later introduced that their son was born prematurely and spent weeks in intensive care.) He was traded twice final offseason, going from the Angels to the Braves to the White Sox in a sequence of salary-driven strikes.
The Sox meant to offer Stassi a glance as their backup catcher, however he reaggravated his hip harm and underwent season-ending surgical procedure in June. Chicago paid a $500K buyout in lieu of a $7.5MM choice, ending his White Sox tenure with none video games. The consecutive misplaced seasons made it obvious he’d want to just accept a minor league contract.
Stassi’s most up-to-date wholesome season was a disappointment. He hit .180/.267/.303 throughout 375 plate appearances in 2022. The 2 previous years have been way more spectacular. Stassi mixed for a .250/.333/.452 slash between 2020-21. He rated as an above-average receiver and regarded like a late-blooming #1 catcher. The Halos signed Stassi to a $17.5MM extension in Spring Coaching 2022, although his numbers fell off nearly instantly thereafter.
Patrick Bailey is locked in as San Francisco’s beginning catcher. The backup job may very well be up for grabs. Tom Murphy had an injury-ruined season in 12 months certainly one of a two-year free agent deal. Blake Sabol can be on the 40-man roster however carries a questionable defensive profile.
