DENVER (AP) — Logan Porter battled traffic and airport security to get to Denver, and the San Francisco Giants catcher played in his first big league game since 2023.
San Francisco Giants placed Patrick Bailey on the 10-day injured list with a strained neck on Wednesday and selected the contract of Porter from Triple-A Sacramento. Porter had to scramble to get from Seattle on Wednesday morning but arrived in time for batting practice at Coors Field before Wednesday night's game against the Colorado Rockies.
“Almost missed the flight, a lot of traffic,” Porter said before the Giants earned their seventh consecutive win. “I think I was the last one on the flight and security took an hour and half. It was a mess.
“A little overwhelming. I was like, 'All right, if I don’t make it, this is going to be interesting.’ But we made it.”
Bailey, whose trip to the IL is retroactive to Sunday, is batting .185 with one homer and 16 RBIs this season. The Giants hoped he would be OK to back up Andrew Knizner during the series at Colorado but he didn’t improve.
“It’s really hard to not have a second catcher and he just didn’t get that much better (Wednesday),” manager Bob Melvin said. “Didn’t feel like were in position to try to push it to (Thursday). The prudent thing to do was to IL him right now."
Bailey is the second Giants player to hit the injured list this week. Third baseman Matt Chapman was placed on the IL with a sprained right hand, suffered in Sunday’s win over Atlanta.
“It seems like it comes in waves,” Melvin said. “Everybody goes through it. Expectation doesn’t change. Logan knows our guys, knows all the signs, so it’s a good fit as well.”
Porter pinch hit in Wednesday night's 10-7 win, his first major league game since he was with the Kansas City Royals in 2023. He hit .194 over 11 games with one homer that season. He signed a minor league contract with San Francisco on Nov. 14, 2024, and was with the team during spring training.
Melvin said Porter will likely be behind the plate Thursday when Hayden Birdsong is on the mound. Porter caught the starters and relievers during the Cactus League and feels comfortable with them at the major league level.
“It should just be easy transition, and I’m familiar with the bullpen,” he said.
The team also designated infielder Osleivis Basabe for assignment. He was batting .242 with four homers with Sacramento. Basabe's contract was purchased by the Giants from Tampa Bay in February.
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The Associated Press
