Erik Kratz is no longer in the Giants organization.
Three days after San Francisco designated the veteran catcher for assignment, the Giants traded the 38-year-old to the Tampa Bay Rays. The Tampa Bay Times' Marc Topkin first reported the news Thursday, and the Giants announced the news shortly thereafter.
OFFICIAL: Catcher Erik Kratz (and cash considerations) has been traded to the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for a player to be named later or cash considerations. #SFGiants— San Francisco Giants (@SFGiants) May 16, 2019
On Monday morning, the player to be named was announced as minor league pitcher Matt Seelinger. He'll report to Class A Augusta.
OFFICIAL: #SFGiants have acquired RHP Matt Seelinger from Tampa Bay as the player to be named later in the Kratz transaction. Seelinger will report to Augusta.— San Francisco Giants (@SFGiants) May 20, 2019
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The Giants traded for Kratz in late March, wanting a veteran backup for Buster Posey while Stephen Vogt recovered from shoulder surgery. 26-year-old catcher Aramis Garcia still had minor-league options, so the front office looked for a more-polished stopgap.
But Kratz struggled in his short time wearing orange and black, slashing .125/.222/.281 in 36 plate appearances. He also made more errors (four) in 11 games behind the dish than he did in 61 with the Brewers (three) in 2018, and caught two out of nine runners stealing.
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The Kratz trade was not the only move the Giants made at the position Thursday. They also optioned Garcia to Triple-A Sacramento in anticipation that Posey will return to the lineup Friday after a stint on the seven-day concussion list.
