The Cleveland Guardians have acquired two-time Gold Glove catcher Patrick Bailey from the San Francisco Giants for the No. 29 pick in the 2026 MLB Draft and minor-league LHP Matt Wilkinson.
Bailey, 26, was the No. 13 overall pick in 2020 and has been one of the best defensive catchers in baseball since coming up, but has struggled just as much at the plate; he is slashing .146/.213/.183 in 30 games this season, and has a career .224/.282/.329 slash line in 383 games over four MLB seasons.
The Giants have rookie Daniel Susac, who hit .478 in his first 11 MLB games, on a rehab assignment and soon to return from the injured list, so they will roll with rookie Jesus Rodriguez and veteran Eric Haase behind the plate for now.
The Guardians, meanwhile, get a replacement for Bo Naylor, who was optioned to Triple-A Columbus on Saturday after hitting just .195 last year and .143 in 83 at-bats this year – similar offensive struggles as Bailey without the defensive value.
Cleveland gives up the No. 29 pick, which is a Competitive Balance Round A pick despite being in the high-20s because of five teams having their first-round pick dropped 10 spots due to luxury tax overage, which now gives San Francisco the fourth-largest draft bonus pool (adding the $3.27 million slot bonus for No. 29 gives them $17.35 million, and also helps with their No. 4 overall pick).
San Francisco also gets Wilkinson, nicknamed “Tugboat,” a 23-year-old southpaw who has a 1.59 ERA and 36 strikeouts in 28 1/3 innings at Double-A Akron this season. He has 330 strikeouts and a 2.82 ERA in 252 minor-league innings overall since being drafted in the 10th round in 2023.
