Reds sign former SF Giants backstop to one-year deal

Wynns served as the SF Giants backup catcher in 2022 and made a brief one-game cameo in 2023

Steven Rissotto | Dec 15, 2023

Reds sign former SF Giants backstop to one-year deal /

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To bolster their depth behind the plate, the Cincinnati Reds have signed former SF Giants catcher Austin Wynns to a one-year, $950,000 deal, the club announced on Thursday,

Austin Wynns catches and waits for another NL West opportunity. (2023) — Wynns played in 65 games for the SF Giants in 2022 / Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

With Luke Maile and Tyler Stephenson ahead of him on the catching depth chart, Wynns joins an organization that currently serves as one of the few teams that could operate with three catchers on their active roster –– many of Stephenson’s plate appearances have come as the Reds designated hitter.

Wynns, 32, played 65 games with the Giants in 2022 after a midseason trade with the Philadelphia Phillies brought him to San Francisco. With rookie Joey Bart struggling to adapt to a full-time role and veteran backstop Curt Casali soon to be traded in August, Wynns earned enough trust from the pitching staff to be a permanent piece for the rest of the season. He finished the season slashing .259/.313/.358 in 177 plate appearances with three homers and 21 runs batted in.

While they brought him back to compete for a role in 2023, the acquisition of veteran Roberto Perez and Rule 5 selection Blake Sabol created a log jam that ultimately prevented Wynns from cracking the opening day roster. However, he did appear in one game during a brief April 9 cameo before the Giants designated him for assignment the very next day.

From there, Wynns embarked on a self-guided tour through the National League West. After a five-game stint with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Wynns finished the season as the backup catcher for the Rockies. In 45 games with Colorado, Wynns notched a .555 OPS with a homer and eight runs batted in.

While Wynns won’t provide excessive offensive production, he’ll serve as a solid receiver for the young arms the Reds have on their pitching staff.

Published Dec 15, 2023

STEVEN RISSOTTO

Steven Rissotto (he/him) is an award-winning journalist who currently covers the San Francisco Giants for SFBay.ca and Giants Baseball Insider. At 19-years-old in 2021, he joined SF Bay Media as the Giants beat writer, covering games a few times a week during the Giants’ record-setting 107-win season. Along with his game story coverage he is also the host of RizzoCast, a baseball podcast he founded in 2020 that features interviews with professional and amateur baseball players, coaches, media, fans, and everyone else around the game. Past guests have included Tyler Glasnow, Bob Kendrick, Shawn Estes, Bill Laskey, Renel Brooks Moon, Dave Dravecky, Ned Colletti, Denard Span, Ron Wotus, Joe Maddon, J.T. Snow and more. He is also a co-host with Tylor Hall on the Shutdown Inning Podcast, a show focused on all the latest happenings around the baseball world. Both podcasts are available on YouTube and everywhere podcasts are found. Currently, he is a student at San Francisco State University where he is majoring in Journalism with an emphasis in print/online and minoring in education. At SF State, he is the managing editor for Golden Gate Xpress, the student-run newspaper. He was formerly a member of the newspaper at Skyline College, where he served as editor-in-chief and news editor while also writing sports and features. He was formerly a student-journalist at Archbishop Riordan High School in San Francisco, where he pitched for the baseball team and covered some of the biggest stories in campus history. This includes a new multi-sports facility on campus, the breaking news coverage of Riordan’s coed announcement and the COVID-19 pandemic. Steven is well-respected by his peers and has been honored numerous times by Student Newspapers Online, JEA, ACP, and the California Publishing Association. In 2021, he finished second in the country for Reporter of the Year for ACP among the two-year college schools.