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On the day the Giants are reporting to summer camp, they’re trying to ensure they have all their options available for the pool.
The Giants have signed first-round pick Patrick Bailey, the team announced Wednesday, and the No. 13-overall selection immediately becomes an option to be added to a pool that is 52 players deep with the addition of Chadwick Tromp. Bailey would make 53, Hunter Bishop 54 if he can recover from the coronavirus in time, and there’s a belief Will Wilson, a shortstop prospect who was a college teammate of Bailey’s and who was a first-round pick a year ago, will be included, too. The Giants have not confirmed Wilson’s inclusion.
Bailey will get $3.8 million, according to MLB Pipeline, for a selection that carries a $4,197,300 slot value. The Giants will save about $400,000, which will be allocated toward lefty Kyle Harrison, the De La Salle lefty who went in the third round and had to be swayed away from UCLA. The Giants reportedly have agreed on a $2.5 million deal with Harrison, who came with a slot value of $710,700.
Bailey, who won the Johnny Bench Award for the nation’s best catcher, likely will slide into a role at the satellite camp in Sacramento, catching scrimmages on one side, with Joey Bart perhaps on the other. The Giants also have Tyler Heineman and Rob Brantly in camp, with one expected to win the backup job for Opening Day. Tromp, a non-roster invite, is a delayed addition to the mix.
There will be some high-end catching talent behind closed doors.
“It was just too good of a talent for us not to be in play on,” amateur scouting director Michael Holmes said after the draft, explaining why they have used first-round picks on catchers in two of three years. “Everybody that we sent in to see [Bailey] — despite the fact it was a shorter season — every guy that came out of there felt really good about his ability, both on the offensive and defensive side. And we really think we got a guy that can impact the game on both sides of the baseball. Guys like that, you can never have too many of them in the system.”