Joey Bart, designated for assignment Sunday by the San Francisco Giants, was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday night.
Once considered the likely successor to Buster Posey as the Giants’ everyday catcher, Bart, 27, never quite stuck with the big club long-term in San Francisco. Selected by the Giants with the No. 2 pick in the 2018 amateur draft out of Georgia Tech, he played in 162 games over four seasons with San Francisco, hitting .219 in 457 at-bats with 11 homers, 38 RBIs and 178 strikeouts.
Bart’s father went to high school in Pennsylvania and was drafted by the Pirates in 1979.
“This morning, when I met him, I had heard,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said Wednesday. “I said, ‘Hey, you’ve got some Yinzer in ya.’ So he was pretty excited about it. And I think any time someone gets a fresh start, and then it’s coming back to where you have family, it’s really cool.”
The Pirates, 5-0 entering Wednesday’s game at Washington, have organizational depth behind the plate, so where Bart fits in with the club remains to be seen. Henry Davis, a former No. 1 overall pick, has opened as the everyday catcher, with Jason Delay his backup. Pittsburgh also has veteran Yasmani Grandal, who went on the IL last month with plantar fasciitis in his left foot and is “still a way’s away,” according to Shelton, and Endy Rodríguez, who is on the 60-day injured list.
“We’ve added another guy into our group who’s caught in the big leagues,” Shelton said about Bart.
Pittsburgh sent minor league right-handed pitcher Austin Strickland to the Giants to complete the deal. To make room on the 40-man roster, right-handed pitcher Colin Selby was designated for assignment on the team’s off day.
Bart, who made the Giants’ Opening Day roster in 2023, ended up hitting .207 with 5 doubles and 5 RBIs in 30 games. Ultimately, he spent the majority of last season with Triple-A Sacramento, where he hit .248 with 33 runs, 12 doubles, 6 home runs and 28 RBIs in 60 games.
Bart was caught up in a numbers game in San Francisco. The Giants had been carrying two other catchers in addition to Bart — Patrick Bailey and Tom Murphy — and needed the roster spot for a pitcher, 28-year-old right-hander Daulton Jefferies, who started against the San Diego Padres on Sunday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Source: www.espn.com