PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) - The Pirates traded Joey Bart to the Atlanta Braves on Thursday night for former Bucco reliever, Hunter Stratton.
With the success Endy Rodriguez has seen with the bat this season for the Pirates, it was very unlikely they were going to carry three catchers when Bart returned from injury. Paul Skenes has made it pretty well known Henry Davis is his catcher when he starts and Rodriguez has been too good with the bat that he couldn't be demoted. He's hitting .267 this season in 60 at bats.
Before his injury, Bart was hitting .259 in 58 at bats for the Pirates this season. He went 4 for 5 in his final game on May 9th against the Giants with 2 RBIs.
Bart was rehabbing in Indianapolis after he was placed on the injured list on May 12th with a left foot infection. He had 6 hits in 5 games with the Indianapolis Indians in June.
Stratton has pitched one scoreless inning in the majors this season, on May 2nd against the Rockies. He has a career 3.75 ERA in 69 and 2/3 innings in the MLB.
He is 2-4 with a 4.38 ERA in 21 appearances at Triple-A Gwinnett this year. Stratton has 24 punch outs in 24 2/3 innings.
He will report to Triple-A Indianapolis.
