The San Francisco Giants placed rookie switch-hitting catcher Patrick Bailey on the seven-day concussion injured list on Wednesday. Bailey was involved in a collision at home plate with veteran infielder Jeimer Candelario in the seventh inning of Tuesday night’s game against the Chicago Cubs. He wasn’t removed from the game immediately, but he was pinch-hit for during the top of the ninth inning.
Here’s a look at the play in question from Tuesday night’s contest:
The Giants recalled catcher Joey Bart and outfielder Luis Matos from Triple-A Sacramento. They also optioned outfielder Wade Meckler.
Bailey, 24, has hit .248/.304/.390 (90 OPS+) with seven home runs and 45 RBI in 84 games this season. His contributions have been worth an estimated 1.5 Wins Above Replacement, per Baseball Reference. That number might undersell his defensive contributions, however. CBS Sports recently noted that he’s excelled in both framing close pitches and throwing out thieves:
Bailey ranks in the 100th percentile in framing, per Statcast. Baseball Prospectus estimates that his throwing alone has been worth three runs — that sounds meager, but just one other big-league catcher’s throwing has been worth as many as two runs. Catchers are responsible for only so much of the running game, but he’s nailed 33% of attempted thieves and has likely dissuaded countless others from [trying.]
Bailey is the second notable player in as many days to make headlines for concussion-related reasons. The New York Yankees announced on Tuesday that veteran first baseman Anthony Rizzo will miss the remainder of the season after first suffering his concussion back in May.Â
The Giants enter Wednesday with a 70-69 record on the season, putting them two games back in the National League wild-card hunt.
