The Milwaukee Brewers currently are in need of a backup catcher and the San Francisco Giants may be able to help. Here we will take a look at a hypothetical trade proposal that would help the Crew fill that position.
Why do the Milwaukee Brewers need a backup catcher?
A season ago the Brewers had William Contreras as their primary catcher and Victor Caratini served as the backup. Victor Caratini caught a lot of starts with Corbin Burnes on the mound. He has since become a free agent and has signed with the Houston Astros.
With Caratini gone the only other catcher currently on the Brewers 40-man roster is highly regarded prospect Jeferson Quero. He is just 21 years old and is coming off a strong season at Double-A. With the Biloxi Shuckers in 2023 he hit 16 home runs, had a .779 OPS, and was again one of the premier defenders in all of the minor leagues.
As talented as Quero is he has not yet played a game in Triple-A. He was added to the 40-man roster in order to be protected from the Rule-5 draft, but there is still some development left prior to him being major league ready. This is why Milwaukee should be targeting a backup catcher this off-season.
Why do the San Francisco Giants have a backup catcher available?
In San Francisco Patrick Bailey is the primary catcher. They also recently signed Tom Murphy to a two year, $8 million deal with a club option for a third year. Jeff Passan reported that he will serve as the primary backup. This means that there is a high likelihood that Joey Bart could be available via trade.
Who is Joey Bart? In 2018 he was the second overall pick out of Georgia Tech. Talented as he is success in the big leagues is something he has not found yet as he has just a .219/.288/.335 slash line over 503 career plate appearances.
Behind the dish his strength is more in pitch framing as opposed to blocking and throwing out base runners. Baseball savant rated him in the negatives last year in blocking, average in stealing, and positive in pitch framing.
Milwaukee Brewers-San Francisco Giants trade proposal sends Joey Bart to the Crew.
Brewers receive:
- Joey Bart
Giants receive:
- Noah Campbell
- Ben Metzinger
In this proposal Milwaukee surrenders a 24 year old versatile defender in Noah Campbell and a 2022 seventh round pick out of Louisville in Ben Metzinger. Campbell has worked his way up to Triple-A, has played all over the diamond and outfield, and maintained a .752 OPS last year. Metzinger had a solid first full minor league season in which in High-A ball he slashed .226/.344/.321 with 45 RBI.
San Francisco’s farm system could use an influx of infield talent, in particular at the corners. Campbell has the ability to play both first and third base whereas Metzinger is strictly a first baseman.
Milwaukee may be willing to part ways with both of these prospects in order to acquire Joey Bart and fill their backup catcher void. Bart is currently in pre-arbitration and is under team control through the 2027 season. The only caveat with him is that he does not have any minor league options remaining, so he would essentially be a stop gap until Jeferson Quero is ready.
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