HOUSTON -- A day after Roberto Pérez was a surprise starter over Joey Bart in the season opener, the Giants agreed to a minor league deal with veteran Gary Sanchez. It seemed at the time that they could eventually go through long stretches of the season with two very experienced catchers, but they're now in a much different spot.
Sanchez was released on Tuesday, which coincided with his May 1 opt-out if he was not on the big league roster. A two-time All-Star in New York, Sanchez hit just .164 in 16 games with Triple-A Sacramento and didn't homer. Even after Pérez suffered a season-ending injury, Sanchez didn't do anything to force the issue.
"I just don't think at this time that he was an option for our Major League club," manager Gabe Kapler said of the move.
The decision leaves the Giants with a remarkably young group of catchers. At the big league level, they'll ride with 26-year-old Joey Bart and 25-year-old Blake Sabol. Teams generally like to have an inexperienced option at Triple-A, but after Austin Wynns was DFA'd and Sanchez was released, Sacramento's catchers are 23-year-olds Patrick Bailey and Ricardo Genoves.
It's a bit surprising just a month into the season. It's also not a situation that's anywhere near the top of the list of Kapler's concerns.
"If several or one of these catchers takes a big step forward, we're going to be in a good spot," he said. "We're looking for that big step forward."
The Giants have already seen a lot of small steps this season, including from the player who is best positioned to lead the way.
San Francisco Giants
Bart scored the first run and drove in a later one in a win over the Astros on Wednesday, raising his on-base percentage to .375 and OPS to .747. More importantly, he appears to have taken several big steps defensively.
Bart ranks among the league leaders in framing and throwing metrics tracked by Baseball Savant, which match the early eye test. He has been brought up by just about all of the club's starters in postgame interviews over the last week, with the common theme being that nobody is out-preparing Bart, who has taken important strides a year after some on the staff preferred throwing to Wynns.
Bart also has helped the Giants navigate the new rules, most notably on Tuesday. When Camilo Doval was approaching a pitch clock violation, Bart twice went out for mound visits with two outs and two strikes in a two-run game. Boos rained down on the pair at Minute Maid Park, but the move worked. Doval struck out Yordan Alvarez to end the game, with Bart's decision preventing the tying run from coming to the plate.
A day later, Bart helped Logan Webb take a shutout into the eighth. Afterward, the team's best player offered a gentle reminder about his catcher.
"I feel like people don't understand how hard it is to do well in the big leagues to start. He was a rookie last year, I feel like people forget about that. I think he's just kind of coming into his own," Webb said. "There's a reason he was the No. 2 overall pick. He's one of the most talented baseball players I've ever played with, it just takes time sometimes.
"I stunk when I first came up. It's a process. If he sticks with it, he's one of the most hard-working guys I've ever met, and I'm excited for him and excited to see where it keeps going."
The Giants are hoping Bart stays healthy enough this summer to fully grab the job, and for now they'll pair him with a Rule 5 pick who appears to be here to stay. Sabol has five homers as a rookie and a .844 OPS against right-handed pitchers, which makes him an ideal platoon partner for Bart right now. While he has struggled with wild pitches and passed balls in recent days, the staff believes that has more to do with some physical issues the rookie has been dealing with, some of which Webb spoke about publicly after his start.
"I believe in every part of his game," Kapler said of Sabol. "The one challenge is the throwing. That's just an arm strength thing. He needs to continue to work on his arm strength."
That's not a question for either of the Triple-A catchers. Bailey, the 2020 first-round pick, won a minor league Gold Glove Award last season and the Giants believed his defense was big league-ready this spring. Bailey started the year in Double-A but quickly earned a promotion to Sacramento, where he's 4-for-19 but has more walks than strikeouts.
"He's a switch-hitting catcher who is having a lot more success against left-handed pitching," Kapler said. "I think all of us at the Major League level believe that he can really frame, really receive and really lead a pitching staff."
Genoves nearly made his debut last week when Bart dealt with groin tightness, and he's off to a solid start in Triple-A, posting a .784 OPS through 17 games. The right-handed hitter is a tremendous athlete behind the plate and has plenty of experience with the staff after four consecutive years as a non-roster invitee to spring training.
"Geno is a lot younger than people realize," Kapler said. "There's a lot of development left there. It's big power, a big arm."
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The Giants believe Genoves is ready to step in and help right now if needed because of an injury, and that Bailey will force his way into the conversation later this season. It's not exactly how they drew it up a month ago, but it's certainly best for their future.
The plan was always for a young catcher to take over after Buster Posey retired. It's been a rocky road for Bart, but he has taken some important steps with his defense and game-calling, and the Giants are hoping the rest of his game now comes around. Next on the list is getting that first homer after his long drive Wednesday landed on the track for an RBI double.
"Things will come. Slug will come, home runs will come. You can't chase it," he said, smiling. "I'd be lying if I said I didn't wish I had hit a home run by now, but it is what it is. I'm just going to keep going and competing and do my job behind the plate and keep moving forward and trying to win games."