CLEVELAND — Patrick Bailey has always had a knack for solving the granular problems. How do you exploit a hitter’s tendencies? What’s the best way for a pitcher to set up his breaking ball?

The question put to him outside the Cleveland Guardians clubhouse Tuesday afternoon, as his former team arrived at Progressive Field to begin a three-game series, was a bit broader than that.

How will you think of your time as a Giant?

“Goodness, I mean, it’s where it all started,” said Bailey, who was traded to the Guardians in May. “I’m incredibly grateful to the Giants organization and the fans and the players and all the staff members that I’ve had there. Played my first big-league game there, and looking back at it now, like, so grateful for San Francisco and the Giants.”

For a catcher who never hoisted any trophies like Buster Posey did, Bailey — who never had the opportunity to catch a postseason game — packed a lot of dramatic moments into three-plus seasons in San Francisco. He’s the only player in major-league history to end games with a grand slam and an inside-the-park home run in the same season. Bailey said those highest of highs, plus catching Blake Snell’s no-hitter in 2024, are “definitely going to be some of the best memories of my career, and hopefully I have many more as we go forward. But no doubt, Giants baseball is a big part of my life.”

Bailey also established himself as the game’s preeminent strike-framing catcher, and the run value that all those borderline strikes created propelled him to National League Gold Glove awards in each of the past two seasons.

If all this Bailey boilerplate has you wondering why the Giants shipped him out, well, that’s another question that requires a broad answer. When you’re trying to take the tactful and high road, you keep the specifics to yourself.

“At the end there, I kind of saw the writing on the wall a little bit,” Bailey said. “It was definitely a surprise. Definitely not the story I had written for this season. But I’m so grateful for the Cleveland organization and just trust in God’s hand in all this.”

The writing that Bailey could only decipher one way? “Catching four of five to one of five. I think you get an idea.”

When Bailey looked at the lineup for a May 5 home game and saw that rookie Jesús Rodríguez was catching right-handed ace Logan Webb, he knew he was no longer viewed as the primary catcher.

Bailey said he didn’t request a trade, but he wouldn’t acknowledge whether he made his unhappiness in a reduced role known to management while the run-starved Giants sought to squeeze more offense out of the position with Rule 5 draftee Daniel Susac. Bailey said that, yes, he has remained in touch with several Giants players and staff members — Webb strolled past while Bailey was speaking to two reporters, and they shared a back-slapping hug — and has kept tabs on the team as it’s continued to slide down the NL West standings. But he declined to venture any thoughts or opinions.

When you’re about to face your former team for the first time, sometimes the less said, the better. Or you fall back on that old standard: “It’s a business.”

Patrick Bailey was behind the plate for the Guardians’ win over his former team on Tuesday night in Cleveland. (Nick Cammett / Getty Images)

Several times in Posey’s two years as the Giants’ president of baseball operations, moves have been made that prioritized run production over run prevention. Even in that theme, the Bailey trade stands out as a head-scratcher.

The Giants received a midlevel pitching prospect, Matt Wilkinson, who coincidentally joined the team on the taxi squad in Cleveland and is set to make his major-league debut with a start on Wednesday. The Giants also received Cleveland’s competitive balance pick, No. 29, which they used to take high school left-hander Carson Bolemon. It will be years before the full results of the trade are known.

At the time, though, Posey justified the deal by saying the Giants were confident in the catching on the rise in the system.

“It’s more the confidence that we have in Jesús Rodríguez and Daniel Susac and the strides that we feel like they’ve made defensively, and both of them swinging the bat well,” Posey said. “And not necessarily only Patty, who’s been off to a slow start offensively this year, but just as a whole, trying to find ways to get more runs on the board.”

It hasn’t worked out, and bad luck has at least something to do with that. Susac has been on the injured list three times this season (elbow neuritis, a strained lower back and then a season-ending fractured kneecap via a foul tip). Rodríguez is working his way back from elbow inflammation as well. The Giants are down to Drew Cavanaugh, an inspirational story who was so buried in the system two years ago that he barely played for Low-A San Jose, and Andrew Knizner, who is back with the team for a second stint because he was available on waivers.

Unfortunate injuries aside, it’s a heck of a statement when you trade away a two-time Gold Glove-winning catcher and turn the position over to a Rule 5 pick not valued enough to merit a 40-man roster place with the Athletics, and a player who fills more of a utility role and happens to have shin guards that fit.

It’s an even louder statement when the Giants official making the trade is Posey, who should have a better idea than anyone about evaluating what goes into being a championship-level force behind the plate.

Sure, it’s a business. That’s what players always say when they try to manage the emotions of getting traded. But when you are a catcher, and it’s Posey who is trading you out of town, how do you not take that personally?

If the impetus behind the Bailey trade was about getting more offense out of the position, then it comes across as more rash than bold, more impulsive than decisive. That’s a fine distinction that Posey acknowledged has been a struggle for him as he weighs kick-starting a sinking team against longer-term aspirations.

Really, the Bailey trade only makes sense if it’s about more than his offensive issues amid a team-wide struggle to score runs. It makes more sense when you learn that members of Posey’s advisory group either weren’t fully sold on the value Bailey’s pitch-framing metrics provided or looked at the adoption of the Automated Ball Strike Challenge System and assumed every other team that lagged in framing was about to catch up.

Posey provided some not-so-subtle subtext in his comments about Bailey over the years, saying he challenged the young switch hitter to be a leader of the staff and not rest on the value that an evolving industry was placing on his framing skills.

In the spring, before the Giants began to quietly shop Bailey, one member of the front office pitched a story to a well-read writer in the analytics community that would illuminate and attempt to quantify how much value Bailey creates with a pitching staff. Was that an effort to pump the value of a player the Giants were already set on trading?

Ultimately, it’s water flowing under the Hope Memorial Bridge. Guardians pitchers and manager Stephen Vogt rave about Bailey’s preparation, attention to detail and game-planning skills. Bailey is in a better place, nearer to his North Carolina roots, and not playing for a team that could be careening toward a 100-loss season.

The Giants will keep faith that Susac’s injuries, after a healthy matriculation in the minor leagues, are a one-year fluke, that Rodríguez can grow his defensive skills to a playable level as a backup, and that the vacuum at the position this year was the opportunity Cavanaugh needed to show he can be a big-league contributor.

For now, especially with no obvious free-agent fits in the upcoming class, the Giants expect to stay internal at the catching position. And if it doesn’t shake out, then hard questions must be asked. If Posey cannot get the catching right, how can he be trusted to figure out the rest?

Another broad question that’s best not to answer. Not yet, anyway.

He refused to get carried away with the prospect of walking out at Hillsborough, but Matchroom chief executive Frank Smith believes the dream could soon become reality.

“He’s not looking past this. It’s a proper fight,” he said. “But after this unification fights are there and the big night in Hillsborough is there.”

Puello, 32, held the WBA title from 2022 to 2023 before becoming WBC champion in 2024. He lost that belt to Matias in July 2025, the only defeat on his 26-fight professional record.

“He wants to do to me what I did to Matias but believe me, that’s not going to happen,” Smith said. “Me fighting in my home town with the support behind me as a world champion, it gives me that extra fire.”

Speaking through a translator, the confident Dominican made it clear he intends to spoil Smith’s homecoming.

“I don’t see many weaknesses in him but it will be hugely satisfying to come here to his hometown to rip his belt,” he said.

“It will be really satisfying for me and a humiliation for him.”

An otherwise low-key media-only event ended with the two fighters shaking hands.

With two weeks remaining until the summer transfer window SLAMS SHUT (or simply closes), Chelsea are set to be typically busy.

Xabi Alonso has the bulk of his first-team squad settled and in place, but the ongoing Enzo Fernandez saga looms large over the club’s Premier League preparations and means there could still be significant incoming recruitment beyond a multitude of required outgoings.

Here are some of the key questions about the decisions Chelsea face in the coming days.

What have they done so far and will they be happy?

Chelsea have been typically active in the summer transfer market, making nine additions to their first-team squad (Morgan Rogers, Maxence Lacroix, Marco Palestra, Geovany Quenda, Valentin Barco, Emmanuel Emegha, Pep Chavarria, Danny Welbeck and Jordan Henderson) for a combined commitment of more than £300million in transfer fees.

They have also raised about £140m through the departures of Marc Cucurella, Andrey Santos, Trevoh Chalobah and Tyrique George, as well as banking a significant compensation package from Manchester City for head coach Enzo Maresca. Breaking the £300m barrier in player sales for the second consecutive summer is very conceivable.

Chelsea have more work to do to reach that figure, but there is satisfaction at the business they have managed to carry out so far in this window.

What do they still need/want to do?

Chelsea need to be active sellers, and not simply for financial reasons. With no European football in the fixture schedule this year it is important that new manager Xabi Alonso’s squad is not too bloated with players who are likely to become frustrated by their lack of minutes.

As detailed in this week’s Transfer DealSheet, Chelsea are not entirely ruling out more signings but any further first-team recruitment will be contingent on departures, particularly if a big name like Enzo Fernandez or Pedro Neto leaves and creates a need to reinforce a specific position.

Who is actively up for sale and for how much?

How many words do I have?

Nicolas Jackson, Liam Delap, Mykhailo Mudryk, Tosin Adarabioyo, Mamadou Sarr, Aaron Anselmino, Marc Guiu, Axel Disasi, Omari Kellyman, David Datro Fofana, Caleb Wiley and Deivid Washington are all up for sale or loan before September 1.

Jackson’s valuation is £65m, while Chelsea want over £50m for Delap. The asking price for Guiu is £25m, likewise Disasi.

Who would they consider selling and for how much?

Fernandez is not actively up for sale, which is why Chelsea stood firm on their £120m asking price for most of the summer and set City a deadline of 5pm last Friday to submit a suitable offer. Neto is also attracting interest but would require a bid of around £100m.

Both valuations are benchmarked against the transfer fees commanded by other top midfielders and wingers in this transfer window. They also reflect that Fernandez and Neto have significant value to Alonso’s first-team plans if they stay, and would also be difficult and expensive to replace if they leave Chelsea so late in the summer.

Do their asking prices stack up?

It’s a mixed bag, and depends in part on what outcome Chelsea actually want.

The valuation of Fernandez is entirely justifiable within the context of the huge fees paid by several Premier League clubs, and specifically City, for high-level central midfielders this summer. Neto’s price tag seems more of a deterrent than an enticement after a season in which he registered five goals and six assists in 34 Premier League appearances. Similar can be argued for valuing Malo Gusto at £75m, even in this inflated domestic market.

Chelsea might already have found a £65m bidder for Jackson had he played more regularly on loan at Bayern Munich last season. Demanding more than £50m for Delap appears entirely unmoored from the reality of his miserable 2025-26 campaign, and it is very hard to imagine any club deciding that paying £25m for Guiu is a good idea.

Chelsea are looking to recoup £50m for Liam Delap (Matt King/Getty Images)

We will not know definitively until the window closes how realistic these player valuations are, but the evidence of this summer so far indicates that clubs are not falling over themselves to meet Chelsea’s asking price — particularly when it comes to their less desirable players.

Cucurella and Santos were quick, juicy sales, but Chelsea negotiated at length to extract a €36m (£30.8m) package from Como for Chalobah. Alejandro Garnacho, initially for sale for £40m, ended up joining Aston Villa on loan with a conditional obligation-to-buy clause based on a minimum number of appearances next season.

Benoit Badiashile, available for £25m, is set to join Napoli on loan for a €4m (£3.4m) loan fee and an optional purchase price of €27m (£23m). Disasi may have to sign up for a similar arrangement, despite performing solidly on loan for Villa and for West Ham United in the last two seasons. It would not be shocking if Chelsea are forced to soften their positions on Jackson, Delap and Guiu in the coming days.

Unless leverage can be generated from competing suitors, clubs interested in Chelsea’s surplus players can be confident their positions will strengthen as the transfer deadline nears.

Would they need to buy if they sell? And who might that be?

Chelsea would only really need to buy if Fernandez or Neto are sold. The Argentinian’s departure would leave a significant gap in central midfield that necessitates a significant signing, though at this stage of the window it would not be easy or cheap to prise any coveted target — be it Alex Scott at Bournemouth, Adam Wharton at Crystal Palace or a less widely touted alternative — away from clubs who are keen not to derail their own preparations for the season.

The same can be said for Neto, though given Alonso’s preseason shift to a 3-4-2-1 system and primary deployment of the Portugal international at right wing-back, it would be very interesting to see whether Chelsea would prioritise signing a winger or a wing-back in that scenario.

To sell Pedro Neto, Chelsea are looking for a fee not far off what they paid for Morgan Rogers (Adrian Dennis/AFP via Getty Images)

Who makes the final Premier League squad?

The below players are understood to be firmly in Alonso’s first-team plans to start the season (unless, in the cases of Fernandez or Neto, a huge bid arrives and suitable replacements can be secured):

Goalkeepers: Robert Sanchez, Mike Penders, Teddy Sharman-Lowe

Defenders: Marco Palestra, Levi Colwill, Jorrel Hato, Reece James, Wesley Fofana, Pep Chavarria, Maxence Lacroix

Midfielders: Moises Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez, Romeo Lavia, Valentin Barco, Dario Essugo, Jordan Henderson

Attackers: Cole Palmer, Jamie Gittens, Morgan Rogers, Pedro Neto, Danny Welbeck, Joao Pedro, Estevao, Geovany Quenda, Emmanuel Emegha

There are 25 names listed above, but those under the age of 21 do not need to be included in the 25-man squad list submitted to the Premier League. Eight of the squad must have been registered in England or Wales for three full seasons before their 21st birthday, but Chelsea are not in danger of failing to meet that threshold.

All in all, there is a fair amount of flexibility to add further signings or players currently available for sale or loan who fail to secure moves away from Stamford Bridge.

So, who gets left out?

As over-21 players who are not currently in Alonso’s plans, Jackson, Delap, Mudryk and Tosin are at the biggest risk of omission, but Chelsea will not be forced to leave anyone out.