Giants trade Curt Casali and Matt Boyd for AA reliever

The San Francisco Giants may not make a big move at the MLB trade deadline, but they’re making some small ones. Shortly after trading Darin Ruf to the New York Mets, the Giants traded another clubhouse favorite: catcher Curt Casali.

The veteran backstop was sent to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for Minor League reliever Michael Stryffeler.

Casali joined the Giants in 2021 where he served as Buster Posey’s backup. Despite a cold bat to start the season, he provided a lot of value with strong defense and excellent pitch calling, while also being a valued member of the clubhouse.

This year he’s split catcher duties with Joey Bart, but has struggled with injuries. He’s currently on the Injured List, but has been partaking in rehab assignments, and was expected to return to the lineup within a few days.

He was a quality catcher, but with Bart in the fold, and some recently-acquired depth in the Minors — as well as some interesting catcher prospects in the system — he was a bit expendable, especially with the team playing as poorly as they are.

The Giants are also shipping out pitcher Matt Boyd, an offseason signing who has yet to appear for the Giants due to injuries. He should be back at some point this season.

In return the Giants get Stryffeler, a 26-year old who currently has a 2.27 ERA and and a 3.33 FIP in AA, where he’s striking out more than 14 batters per nine innings. Stryffeler has some command issues — he’s walking 4.8 hitters per nine innings this year, after walking 7.5 a year ago — but electric strikeout stuff. It’s not a big return, but then again it’s an injured backup catcher we’re talking about here.

Casali was a good Giant. Go get ‘em in Seattle, dude.