Giants Bring Top Catching Prospect To San Francisco

On Monday September 22, 2025, San Francisco Giants insiders reported that catcher Jesus Rodriguez has a locker in San Francisco, and will be on the Giants taxi squad for the time being. 

Rodriguez reportedly said that he’s in San Francisco to meet everyone and watch and learn. He has not been added to the active roster. If he was, the Giants would have to demote a player to AAA Sacramento. 

The Giants acquired Rodriguez from the New York Yankees at the trade deadline in a package for  closer Camilo Doval. 

This season in the minor leagues, Rodriguez is hitting .307 with 7 home runs and 59 RBI. He is the Giants’ No. 16 prospect and San Francisco hopes he can be an elite MLB hitter. He has hit .294 or better in each of his six seasons in the Yankees’ minor league system. 

However, he struggles a bit defensively, and much like recent Giants callup Bryce Eldridge, has primarily been in the minors to work on his defensive game. Ideally, the Giants want him to become a full time catcher. 

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What Does This Mean For Other Giants Catchers? 

Jesus Rodriguez will probably replace Giants backup catcher Andrew Knizner. Eventually. 

Knizner is on a one year deal with San Francisco and probably hasn’t impressed the Giants staff enough to warrant a return offer. On the season, he has hit .219 with 1 home run and 3 RBI in 73 at-bats. 

But that doesn’t mean Rodriguez will replace Knizner this season. With only one week left until the season ends, and the Giants out of a playoff spot in all likelihood, there’s really no reason for San Francisco not to keep Knizner around out of respect for the final 6 games. 

If the Giants add Rodriguez to the active roster before the 2025 season ends, they will almost certainly send down Grant McCray to make room on the roster for him. 

McCray is only on the team as a defensive replacement and pinch runner for the Giants’ playoff run. 

So if the Giants are mathematically eliminated, they will likely want to give Rodriguez a look instead of keeping McCray around. 

If Rodriguez is the backup catcher next season, he could seriously threaten Patrick Bailey’s at-bats. Bailey has improved his season hitting totals dramatically as of late, but he is still only hitting .219 on the season. 

Bailey is still a great defender, arguably the best in baseball, and the Giants will certainly want him behind the plate again in 2026. But there’s definitely a world where Jesus Rodriguez gets most of the at-bats against left-handed pitching, and pinch hits for Bailey often as well. 

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Other Trade Acquisitions Getting A Look

Interestingly, the Giants have been really keen on getting a closer look at many of the prospects they acquired at the 2025 trade deadline. 

Outfield prospect Drew Gilbert, acquired from the Mets in the Tyler Rogers trade, is of course already in the big leagues. He has also been getting several starts in center field recently, despite the Giants having an everyday starter out there in Jung Hoo Lee. 

The Giants also recently announced they are sending 3B Parks Harber, acquired in the Doval trade, to the Arizona Fall League to play for the Sacramento River Cats. This will allow Harber to get around an extra month and a half of MiLB game action and get ahead of the curve for 2026. 

And if he’s healthy enough, it’s not out of the question that Blade Tidwell, acquired from the Mets in the Rogers trade, could get a start before the season ends. 

The Giants seem really excited about the players they got at the trade deadline. 

Giants fans, which prospect that the Giants got at the deadline do you think will be the biggest star? 

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