The Giants didn't have to look far to find their taxi squad catcher.
Chris Herrmann, who played 30 games with the A's last season, signed a minor league contract with the Giants and will be their third catcher.
The Giants are allowed to bring three taxi squad players on the road and one must be a catcher, but they were left short this week when Chadwick Tromp -- a candidate to make the 30-man roster -- felt hamstring tightness. Joey Bart and Patrick Bailey, the other catchers in camp, have no big league experience.
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Herrmann has played 370 big league games and was in camp with the Rays. He exercised an opt-out clause when he didn't make their opening day roster. The 32-year-old hit .205 with a .280 on-base percentage and one homer for the A's last year, and his career averages are not much different.
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But Herrmann is not expected to be a candidate for at-bats. The Giants have Tyler Heineman and Rob Brantly at the big league level and hope Tromp is available soon. While with the taxi squad, Herrmann can serve as insurance in a season where that will be crucial, and he also can help out with catching bullpens.
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