The Guardians’ May 9 deal with the Giants just picked up a new layer.
What started as Cleveland sending pitching prospect Matt Wilkinson and its Competitive Balance Round A pick - No. 29 overall in this year’s draft - to San Francisco for catcher Patrick Bailey has now come full circle with the Giants using that selection on high school left-hander Carson Bolemon.
Bolemon arrives as MLB Pipeline’s pre-draft No. 24 prospect, and the Giants are getting a pitcher with plenty of intrigue. The South Carolina prep player of the year can run his fastball up to 96 and brings a strikeout-heavy profile to the system.
For Cleveland, the original trade already carried real consequences. Bailey’s arrival helped stabilize the catching situation, but it also marked the end of Bo Naylor’s time on the Guardians’ roster and sent Wilkinson out of the organization after his rise through the system.
Wilkinson has had a mixed run since the move. The 23-year-old put up a 2.40 ERA in 15 innings at Double-A before earning a promotion to Triple-A, where he has a 5.02 ERA in 14 1/3 innings.
Bailey, meanwhile, entered the weekend hitting .213/.260/.348 with two home runs, eight RBI and four doubles. That’s a step up from the .146/.213/.183 line he posted in 30 games with San Francisco before the trade.
The bat has been uneven, but the glove is why Cleveland made the move. Bailey ranks in the 95th percentile in caught stealing rate and pop time, and he’s helped the Guardians’ pitchers to a 4.11 ERA when he’s behind the plate.
That showed up again Thursday, when he helped guide Gavin Williams through seven strong innings in Cleveland’s win over the Twins.
Now the Giants have the player they got for that pick, and the Guardians are left watching the trade keep changing shape.
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