PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Seemingly confident in Henry Davis behind the plate, the Pirates made a trade for a catcher on Tuesday night.
Bucs sent last year’s eighth-round pick, 6’2”, 210 right-handed pitcher, likely reliever, Austin Strickland to the Giants for catcher Joey Bart.
The 27-year-old Bart was San Francisco’s first-round selection in 2018. He played in a career-best 97 games in 2022, hitting .215 with 11 home runs in 261 at bats. Last season he played 30 MLB games with a .207 average with five doubles and no home runs. He has a career .990 fielding percentage and thrown out 23% of the runners trying to steal.
Bart likely will be sent to AAA Indianapolis as he spent 60 games in Triple A Sacramento last season hitting .248 with six homers and 12 doubles. Catcher Ari Sanchez asked for his release after not making the Pirates roster out of training camp.
Pitcher Colin Selby was designated for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster.