Giants stay busy, another day of wheeling and dealing
OAKLAND – Continuing to make roster adjustments right up to the first official pitch of the 2019 season, the Giants acquired veteran catcher Erik Kratz from the Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday prior to the first game of the annual Bay Bridge exhibition series against the A’s.
The Giants sent minor league infielder C.J. Hinojosa to Milwaukee to obtain Kratz, who was a hitting hero for the Brewers in last year’s National League Division Series triumph against Colorado. Kratz, 39, was aced out for Milwaukee’s backup catching spot.
The Giants broke spring training camp in Arizona with just two catchers, Buster Posey and Aramis Garcia. It was assumed Garcia had won the backup job behind Posey when veteran Stephen Vogt accepted an assignment to Triple-A Sacramento to continue his comeback rehabilitation from offseason shoulder surgery.
Kratz’s arrival could be bad news for Garcia or perhaps not, considering that vice president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi has been moving players on and off the San Francisco roster at a brisk pace. To wit, outfielder Matt Joyce was signed to a minor-league contract and spent three days in spring training with the Giants but was dealt to the Atlanta Braves on Friday for cash considerations. The club also released another catching candidate, Rene Rivera.
Kratz already was en route to the Bay Area to possibly play as a reserve in Sunday’s game, as was outfielder Michael Reed, who was acquired from the Minnesota Twins on Friday. Kratz went 5 for 8 with a pair of important RBIs in the Brewers’ NLDS triumph over the Rockies.
The 6-5, 250-pound nine-year veteran will be joining his eighth major league club if he makes the Giants’ final roster. He is just a .211 career hitter with 30 home runs, but hit .236 last season for Milwaukee with six home runs in 67 games. He is regarded as a solid defensive catcher and threw out 30 percent of would-be base-stealers last season (13 of 31).
Hinojosa, 24, was an 11th-round draft choice by the Giants in 2015. He spent time at three different levels in 2018, mostly at Class-A Richmond, where he hit .261 with three home runs in 67 games and split time between second base, third base and shortstop.