Giants Baseball Insider

SF Giants recall Austin Wynns from Triple-A, place Roberto Pérez on IL

A source informed GBI that SF Giants catcher Austin Wynns is joining the team from Triple-A after Roberto Pérez left Friday's game with an arm injury.

Marc Delucchi

SF Giants recall Austin Wynns from Triple-A, place Roberto Pérez on IL
SF Giants recall Austin Wynns from Triple-A, place Roberto Pérez on IL /
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UPDATE: The SF Giants have recalled catcher Austin Wynns from Triple-A, placing Roberto Pérez on the 60-day injured list with a rotator cuff sprain, according to a report by Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area. Pérez's placement on the 60-day injured list creates a spot on the 40-man roster for Wynns.

The SF Giants suffered a serious potential blow to their catching depth on Friday when catcher Roberto Pérez left the home opener with an apparent arm injury. While the team did not have any prognosis on the veteran backstop postgame, it seems the team is preparing for a stint on the injured list. A source informed Giants Baseball Insider that catcher Austin Wynns is traveling from Triple-A to join the Giants big-league club on Saturday. While it's possible he could be joining the taxi squad, it seems likely that he will be added to the active roster.

Wynns has appeared in four of the past five big-league seasons, receiving stints with the Baltimore Orioles in 2018, 2019, and 2021 before joining the Giants last season. Wynns has a .231/.275/.337 triple-slash over his MLB career. However, he posted a career-best .259/.313/.358 line with seven doubles and three home runs in 177 plate appearances in San Francisco last season. He also recorded an OPS north of 1.000 at Triple-A in each of the past two years.

SF Giants second baseman Ford Proctor (65) celebrates with catcher Austin Wynns (14) after hitting a grand slam during the second inning against the Rockies. (2022)
SF Giants infielders Thairo Estrada and Ford Proctor celebrate with catcher Austin Wynns after a home run. (2022) / Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports

Wynns was designated off the 40-man roster during the offseason but opted to forego free agency to remain in the organization hoping to compete to be the backup catcher. However, after the acquisitions of Pérez and Blake Sabol (Giants #33 prospect) over the course of the winter, Wynns was buried on the depth chart. While he blasted three home runs and posted a .632 slugging percentage with as many walks as strikeouts during spring training, he still fell short of the Opening Day roster.

Giants fans may be wondering why the front office is turning to Wynns over recent minor-league free agent signing Gary Sánchez. While Sánchez was a solid starter with the Twins last season and has reached two All-Star games over the course of his career, he did not sign until after spring training. With a viable big-league catcher in Wynns available, the Giants are not forced to expedite Sánchez's call-up before he has ramped up.

Since Wynns is no longer on the 40-man roster, the SF Giants will have to make another corresponding move unless Pérez is placed on the 60-day injured list. However, the Giants were going to have to create a spot on the 40-man roster to add Sánchez to the big-league roster anyway. Now, Wynns will likely be designated for assignment when starting catcher Joey Bart returns from the injured list, clearing a spot for Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi to play the waiver wire before adding Sánchez to the mix.

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Marc Delucchi
MARC DELUCCHI

Marc Delucchi (he/they/she) serves as the Managing Editor at Giants Baseball Insider, leading their SF Giants coverage. As a freelance journalist, he has previously covered the San Francisco Giants at Around the Foghorn and McCovey Chronicles. He also currently contributes to Niners Nation, Golden State of Mind, and Baseball Prospectus. He has previously been featured in several other publications, including SFGate, ProFootballRumors, Niners Wire, GrandStand Central, Call to the Pen, and Just Baseball. Over his journalistic career, Marc has conducted investigations into how one prep baseball player lost a college opportunity during the pandemic (Baseball Prospectus) and the rampant mistreatment of players at the University of Hawaii football program under former head coach Todd Graham (SFGate). He has also broken dozens of news stories around professional baseball, primarily around the SF Giants organization, including the draft signing of Kyle Harrison, injuries and promotions to top prospects like Heliot Ramos, and trade details in the Kris Bryant deal. Marc received a Bachelor's degree from Kenyon College with a major in economics and a minor in Spanish. During his time in college, he conducted a summer research project attempting to predict the future minor-league performance of NCAA hitters, worked as a data analyst for the school's Women's basketball team, and worked as a play-by-play announcer/color commentator for the basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer teams. He also worked as an amateur baseball scout with the Collegiate Baseball Scouting Network (later renamed Evolution Metrix), scouting high school and college players for three draft cycles. For tips and inquiries, feel free to reach out to Marc directly on Twitter or via email (delucchimarc@gmail.com).

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