There are currently two: Buster Posey and Aramis Garcia. Buster was the catcher in 101 games last year. He was the starter in 96 and he finished 84 of those. His 846 innings at backstop were the most since 2016 (1,069). He played first base in only four games (24 innings). I expect more of the same, especially since the Giants have several guys who can use a mitt. Buster's value is behind the plate. If he can get close to his career hitting norms again (.826 OPS) he'll be an All-Star. That's far from certain, but I do expect a bounce back from his career low (.688) last season. If he can be a league-average hitter (~.750 OPS) that would be great.
It seems they are expecting a lot from Garcia. The 2014 2nd-round pick hit well in a limited role (.800 OPS in 65 PA) in 2018 and hit poorly in a similar role (.527 OPS in 46 PA) last season. In 253 MLB innings he's logged 139 at catcher and 114 at first base. He'll be 27 next week so this is his opportunity. He handled the bulk of the AAA duties last season for the champion River Cats. Francisco Pena handled most of the rest--he's the son of Tony Pena--but he's not on the 40-man. Neither is Ronnie Freeman, but I expect both will get an invite to Spring Training and there will be a host of other minor-leaguers, free agents, waiver claims, and various peripheral replacement players donning the tools of ignorance. You can never have enough catchers stashed in the system.
One has to wonder if the Giants will put super-prospect Joey Bart on the fast track to the bigs. He's only 23 but he had a .912 OPS at AA (22 G, 87 PA) last season. Posey is under contract through 2021. His 2022 season includes a team option for $22M and a buyout for $3M. I'll let you decide which is the most likely outcome there. Either way they need to get Bart ready for prime time and he could get a call-up this season.
From 2010 to 2019 the player with the most plate appearances (5,136) for the San Francisco Giants was Buster Posey. The next two were Brandon Crawford with 4,718 and Brandon Belt with 4,221. I'll look at infielders next.
--M.C.
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