Patrick

Bailey

Bailey’s 407-foot blast increased the Guardians’ lead from two runs to three in the eighth. He’s 2-for-18 for his new team after hitting .146/.213/.183 in 30 games with the Giants. The 2-for-18 has actually raised his season OPS from .396 to .414.

Bailey was acquired in a stunning deal from the Giants on Sunday. While he isn’t much with the bat, the 26-year-old is widely regarded as one of the top defensive catchers in baseball and he should have an immediate impact on the Guardians’ pitching staff.

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 the first significant trade to hit the baseball world this season as San Francisco begins pivoting towards a more long-term rebuilding project after an abysmal start to the year. Bailey is widely regarded as one of the top defensive catchers in baseball and seems like the perfect fit for Cleveland’s front office, which has employed light-hitting defensive wizard Austin Hedges for more than a half-decade. The first-round pick will be the 29th overall selection in the 2026 MLB Draft while Wilkinson is one of the more intriguing left-handed prospects in the game. He’s put up astronomical strikeout totals in the lower minors and has looked extremely impressive at the Double-A level this season. There aren’t a lot of fantasy takeaways from this deal, but Bailey should help improve Cleveland’s entire pitching staff.

Bailey has been atrocious with the bat in 2026, and it’s more than fair to be surprised that he’s the one who hits the go-ahead shot off Jack Dreyer with two runners on to give San Francisco a 3-0 lead and ultimately the win. The backstop has his first homer of the season, and he’s still slashing an ugly .155/.222/.207. Something tells us San Francisco fans don’t care too much about that right now.

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.

San Francisco kicks off a new era under first-year skipper Tony Vitello — the first collegiate coach to jump directly to the majors with no previous big-league experience — with Ramos becoming the first Giants player to make consecutive Opening Days starts in left field since Barry Bonds in 2007. The other notable fantasy development is free agent acquisition Luis Arraez in the leadoff spot. Here’s the full lineup set to face Yankees ace Max Fried in primetime on at Oracle Park: Arraez (2B), Matt Chapman (3B), Rafael Devers (DH), Willy Adames (SS), Jung Hoo Lee (RF), Ramos (LF), Casey Schmitt (1B), Patrick Bailey (C) and Harrison Bader (CF).

They like to call him Patty Barrels, but the nickname didn’t suit him with his exit velocity down last year. He wasn’t exactly a great hitter in his first two seasons, either, but he did hit the ball harder than his numbers suggested. Today, though, Patty Barrels was back; his two balls in play left his bat at 109.7 and 107.1 mph. That 109.7-mph figure is just shy of his career high of 110.1 mph from 2024, and even the latter figure was something he topped just four times in all of 2025.

We’re seeing close to a full lineup from the Giants in this one, with the only regular not here being Heliot Ramos who batted third in Saturday’s contest. It looks like new skipper Tony Vitello is content letting Arraez bat atop the lineup while Matt Chapman’s inclusion in the second spot is mildly intriguing. Just something to keep an eye on. Here’s the full lineup for Sunday: Luis Arraez (2B), Matt Chapman (3B), Willy Adames (SS), Rafael Devers (1B), Patrick Bailey (C), Jung Hoo Lee (RF), Bryce Eldridge (DH), Will Brennan (LF) and Harrison Bader (CF).

Crow-Armstong (center field), Ian Happ (left field) and Nico Hoerner (second base) made it three Gold Glove winners for the Cubs. Also chosen were Logan Webb (pitcher), Patrick Bailey (catcher), Matt Olson (first base), Ke’Bryan Hayes (third base), Masyn Winn (shortstop), Fernando Tatis Jr. (right field) and Javier Sanoja (utilityman). Those seem like all of the right choices for the most part, though we’re once again seeing there’s just no reason for there to be a utilityman Gold Glove handed out every year.