The Giants today announced their signing of an outfielder Michael Conforto, making that deal official. To make room on the 40-man roster, catcher Austin Wynns was designated for assignment.
Wynns, 32, was drafted by the Orioles and was with that organization through the end of the 2021 season. He earned a reputation as a solid defender and game-caller behind the plate but didn’t provide much offensively. He made 331 plate appearances for the O’s over the 2018-2021 period but hit just .216/.255/.326 in that time.
He was outrighted at the end of that 2021 campaign and reached free agency, signing a minor league deal with the Phillies. In June of 2022, he was acquired by the Giants, who optioned Joey Bart to the minors amid his struggles last year. Wynns eventually got into 66 games for the Giants over the final months of the season, with his offensive results showing a bit of improvement. He hit .259/.313/.358 for a wRC+ of 93. It’s possible a .320 batting average on balls in play, much better than the .290 league average, was helping him out a bit though.
This transaction highlights that the Giants will probably look to do something else behind the plate. They now only have two catchers on their 40-man roster, one of whom is Bart, who has struck out in 38% of his plate appearances thus far. The other is Blake Sabola Rule 5 draftee of the Pirates’ system with no major league experience thus far.
The Giants will now have a week to trade Wynns or pass him through waivers, but he would have the right to reject an outright assignment in the latter scenario. Any player with a previous outright in their career, as Wynns does, has the right to elect free agency on future outrights. Since the Giants will likely look for veteran help behind the plate, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see them re-sign Wynns to a minor league deal at that point. However, Wynns will first have to see if any other club is interested in giving him a 40-man roster spot, either through a trade or a waiver claim.
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