The San Francisco Giants traded two-time Gold Glove-winning catcher Patrick Bailey to the Cleveland Guardians for pitching prospect Matt Wilkinson and the No. 29 pick in the 2026 MLB Draft, the teams announced Saturday.
The #SFGiants and Cleveland Guardians completed a trade, with LHP Matt Wilkinson joining the Giants and San Francisco receiving the Guardians' 29th overall pick in the 2026 draft (Competitive Balance Round A) in exchange for C Patrick Bailey.
— SFGiants (@SFGiants) May 9, 2026
Bailey was hitting .146/.213/.183 to begin the season and had recently lost his starting catching role with the team. The 26-year-old had made three starts behind the dish in May, with the Giants turning to recently called-up Jesús Rodríguez.
Bailey has hit .224/.282/.329 with 22 homers in 383 career games dating back to 2023. Since making his major-league debut, though, the elite pitch framer has been the most valuable defender in MLB and worth 102.9 defensive runs, according to FanGraphs.
Wilkinson, who goes by the nickname "Tugboat," was a 10th-round pick in the 2023 MLB Draft. The 23-year-old lefty is currently stationed at Double-A, authoring a 1.59 ERA over six starts. He's striking out 33.6% of opposing batters.
The No. 29 overall selection is the first in competitive balance round A. The Guardians were awarded the pick for being either one of the 10 smallest markets or revenue pools. Competitive balance picks are able to be traded. The pick is worth $3.27 million in slot value.
