Veteran catcher Buster Posey was one of the key players for the San Francisco Giants team that won the league-leading 107 games in the 2021 MLB regular season. So it’s not surprising that the franchise wants to have the 34-year-old All-Star on their roster next year as well.
Speaking with reporters on Monday, the Giants president of baseball operations, Farhan Zaidi, reiterated Posey’s importance for the team and hinted that the organization intends to exercise the $22 million club option on his contract for 2022.
“I just mentioned that I thought he was the best catcher in baseball this year, so that may be the answer that you’re looking for,” Zaidi said via the San Francisco Chronicle. “Obviously, we want to have conversations with Buster and continue to have internal conversations about that—but having him on this team next year is a high priority.”
Reportedly, the Giants don’t want to stop on just their option and are willing to rework Posey’s contract to add few more years to it. This part might be more challenging, as the player said on several occasions prior that he wants to spend more time with his family and still hasn’t decided about his future in MLB.
The chances of Posey being in San Francisco past 2021 looked slim at the beginning of the season for several reasons. The veteran had major hip surgery in 2018 and then struggled to perform after returning to action in 2019. He then opted out of the shortened 2020 MLB campaign, allowing top prospect Joey Bart to stake a claim for the starting job.
However, Bart didn’t perform well as expected, and the Giants decided to roll with Posey as a starter in 2021 after he rejoined the team. Posey responded with a stellar campaign that saw him batting .304 while hitting 18 home runs and 56 RBIs. He also earned his seventh career All-Star nod.
