I’ll give you a penny if you can guess who you traded with.
Happy Friday, San Francisco Giants fans. I hope you’ve all got Robin Hood out there and prepared your jokes about the Sheriff of Nottingham because the Giants traded Wednesday and took over catcher Jacob Nottingham.
If you’ve been paying any attention to the Giants for the past year, then you know exactly which team the Giants took over Nottingham from: the Seattle Mariners, their almost daily dance partner.
But there’s something special about this swap that hasn’t existed in most other recent trades between the Giants and the Mariners: We’ll likely never see Nottingham play for the Giants.
One of the frustrating aspects of the 2022 season was the sheer number of players the Giants traded (or sometimes signed) to serve as a throwaway patchwork roster on the active roster. They needed a gap that needed to be filled, so they hired a player who could fill them for a few days and then be assigned without hesitation. There were so many Ford Proctors and Dixon Machados and Mike Fords and Donovan Waltons and Andrew Knapps and Kevin Padlos.
Nottingham is not. If the Giants had moved to Nottingham last year, he would have been this one. But they traded for him this year, which means that instead of plugging a major league gap for a week, he’s plugging a minor league gap for a season because the major league gap is likely to be permanent of one of the best candidates is closed in the Giants system.
I like it better this way.
Nottingham’s inclusion is recognition that Patrick Bailey is unlikely to return to Sacramento anytime soon. The Giants’ AAA affiliate was without Bailey for a week, leaving Ricardo Genoves as the team’s only catcher (Proctor, who moved to Sacramento, was the backup catcher, with first baseman/second baseman/third baseman/shortstop playing a game spent behind the plate). ). That would be a sustainable strategy if Bailey were to return this weekend when Joey Bart is expected to be left off the injured list.
But it certainly doesn’t look like it’s going to happen. Instead they acquired Nottingham (probably for cash, although that has not yet been announced) and the 28-year-old, who has 130 major league appearances to his credit, will play the vital role in ensuring that the San Francisco pitcher prospects present are Someone to catch their fastballs.
The Giants are likely to be at .500 right now, just like they were last year. But if you need proof of why this year is different than last, it’s here.
What time do the Giants play today?
After beating the Milwaukee Brewers 5-0 yesterday, the Giants will be looking for their second straight hit tonight at 5:10 p.m. PT.
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