According to NBC Hardball Talk’s Aaron Gleeman the San Francisco Giants have re-signed backup catcher Eli Whiteside to a minor league contract, just days after non-tendering him to avoid arbitration.
By non-tendering Whiteside the Giants dodged having to pay him around $750,000 through arbitration, and will now sign him to a minimum contract of $480,000.
Whiteside saw a big jump in his playing time once Buster Posey went down in late May, and generated only a .197/.264/.574 stat line in 213 plate appearances. He also played through elbow problems for most of the season, affecting his throwing abilities and causing him to have an injection of enriched blood earlier in the offseason.
While healthy, Whitey does provide as an admirable backstop. But with Chris Stewart and Hector Sanchez in line as backup catchers as well, there will be a lot of competition this spring down is Scottsdale for No. 2 on the depth chart.
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