Daniel

Susac

Susac has been on the shelf recovering from right elbow neuritis since April 21. The 24-year-old rookie backstop will take over as San Francisco’s starting catcher after Patrick Bailey was shipped to the Guardians in a stunning early-season trade last weekend.

The stunning early-season trade is now official. Bailey is universally regarded as one of the top defensive specialists in the entire game and should immediately strengthen Cleveland’s entire pitching staff. The 26-year-old backstop is a non-factor at the plate, but he’s a two-time Gold Glove Award winner and seems to fit the mold of what the Guardians front office is looking for in a defensive-oriented starting catcher. It’ll be Bo Naylor heading to Triple-A while veteran Austin Hedges sticks around as his caddy. Bailey’s departure means the Giants are going to roll with youngsters Daniel Susac and Jesus Rodríguez as their catching tandem moving forward.

It’s a tough break for the rookie backstop after hitting the shelf prior to Tuesday’s series opener against the Dodgers. The 24-year-old was off to a hot start, hitting .478 (11-for-23) with three extra-base hits and five RBI in 11 games. It’ll be Eric Haase coming up to handle the backup catching duties in his absence behind starter Patrick Bailey.

No word on how much time Susac figures to miss, but it shouldn’t be a lengthy absence. The 24-year-old rookie backstop has been outstanding in limited action this season, batting .478 (11-for-23) with three extra-base hits and five RBI in 11 games. It’ll be Eric Haase coming up to handle the backup catching duties in his absence behind starter Patrick Bailey.

Tony Vitello did say that Susac and Patrick Bailey would start splitting time more evenly on Thursday. This is Susac’s second start against a right-handed starter this year. The Giants will see if they can catch some lighting in a bottle with Susac’s current .563/.588/.750 line in 17 plate appearances.

Bailey is an elite defensive catcher, so the Giants are going to want to keep him on the field often, but this may be more of a 50/50 split going forward, with Vitello mentioning that the catchers may just alternate games. It’s a situation to monitor and likely makes neither player fantasy relevant.

Susac plated Casey Schmitt with a two-out RBI single off of Cade Povich in the fifth inning, trimming the Giants’ deficit to one run at 2-1. That would be as close as they would get. The 24-year-old backstop has been phenomenal in his limited action with the Giants, hitting .636 (7-for-11) with three RBI.

The 24-year-old Rule 5 pick is functioning as the team’s primary backup behind Patrick Bailey to start the season. He has appeared in one game already as a defensive replacement but has yet to have a plate appearance. He’ll bat eighth against Mets’ left-hander David Peterson on Thursday evening in San Francisco.

It’s now official that Rule 5 pick Daniel Susac has won the backup catching gig in San Francisco. Haase hit .286/.375/.536 this spring and will likely be offered a minor league deal to stick around. First, though, he’ll get to see if another team might want to give him a major league gig.

Susac is hitting .345/.406/.517 in 32 plate appearances this spring, so if he doesn’t make the Giants as a Rule 5 pick, it won’t be because of his offense. The determining factor, though, always figured to be his defense. Eric Haase is his main competition for a job as Patrick Bailey’s backup.