Giants re-sign Nick Hundley to 1-year deal

The Giants have re-signed catcher Nick Hundley to a one-year deal, per a club announcement Tuesday. The contract is worth $2.5 million, as the San Francisco Chronicle’s Henry Schulman first reported.

Hundley, 34, joined the Giants on a one-year deal last January, agreeing to serve as Buster Posey’s backup after starting for most of his nine years in the majors up to that point with the Padres, Orioles, and Rockies. With first baseman Brandon Belt spending significant time in left field early in the season as the Giants struggled to plug a hole, Hundley’s presence allowed San Francisco to give Buster Posey more frequent action at first base. That same flexibility became useful in mid-August, when Belt when down with a season-ending concussion.

Hundley finished the season with a .244/.272/.418 slash line and nine homers over 303 plate appearances. He established enough of a presence over his first season in San Francisco to win the franchise’s annual Willie Mac Award, which is presented to the team’s most inspirational player.

While re-signing a backup catcher won’t be the key to the Giants recovering from a 64-98 record in 2017, keeping a backstop with as much experience as Hundley has will give Bruce Bochy more options, especially if Belt goes down again and Posey needs to spend more time at first base.