Former Giants top draft pick traded again as Pirates learn what SF already knew

On Thursday night, the Atlanta Braves swung a trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates that sent pitcher Hunter Stratton to Pittsburgh in exchange for former Giants catcher Joey Bart. It is now the second time in the last few years that Bart has been traded.

The Giants selected Bart with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2018 MLB Draft and the thinking at the time was that he would be the heir to Buster Posey at catcher. That is not how things ultimately worked out and was always way too much pressure to put on him.

Bart was given opportunities but a mix of injuries and underperformance is what prevented him from ever really breaking through in San Francisco. Across four seasons with the Giants from 2020 to 2023 he hit .219/.288/.335 with 11 home runs and 38 runs batted in across 162 games. He had essentially a full season to prove himself but it did not work out.

After Patrick Bailey broke out and looked like the catcher of the future back in 2023, the Giants felt comfortable moving on from Bart by trading him to the Pirates in 2024. That looked like it may have been a big mistake after he hit .265/.337/.462 with 13 home runs and 45 runs batted in, but he has dropped off since then.

Bart is not the one that got away for the Giants

This season in 21 games with the Pirates Bart hit .259/.290/.379 with two home runs and six runs batted in. While it looked like the Giants had potentially made a huge mistake back in 2024 by trading him away in favor of Bailey, Bart has never replicated his 2024 production at the plate.

He’s still a solid backup catcher so this is a smart move by the Braves to add some depth in that department since they’ve had to cycle through so many different guys. It will also be nice for Bart since he’s a Georgia native so he gets to go back home. 

The Giants may end up facing Bart as soon as next week when the Giants face the Braves in San Francisco. They may also see him later in the year for the rescheduled game that was postponed due to rain on Thursday. Bart has historically torched the Giants so one hopes he doesn’t get too much revenge.

But the Pirates learned what the Giants already knew: Bart has a big bat and is capable of getting hot but he is not a consistent producer at the plate. Maybe a change of scenery to Atlanta will help him unlock something but he definitely seems destined to be a backup catcher rather than a starter going forward.

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