WASHINGTON (AP) — Catcher Joey Bart was added to the Pittsburgh Pirates’ roster on Wednesday after he was acquired in a trade with the San Francisco Giants, the club that took him with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2018 amateur draft.
Bart, 27, once was considered Buster Posey’s likely successor as San Francisco’s starting catcher. But the Giants designated him for assignment on Sunday.
The Pirates, who were 5-0 entering Wednesday’s game at Washington, received Bart in a deal that sent minor league right-hander Austin Strickland to the Giants.
Bart appeared in 162 games over four seasons with San Francisco, batting .219 with 11 homers and 38 RBIs and 178 strikeouts. His father went to high school in Pennsylvania and was drafted by the Pirates in 1979.
“This morning, when I met him, I had heard. I said, ‘Hey, you’ve got some Yinzer in ya.’ So he was pretty excited about it,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “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 younger Bart takes a roster spot that opened up when backup catcher Jason Delay went on the 10-day injured list with inflammation in his right knee, a move retroactive to Monday. Shelton said Delay had been bothered by the knee since spring training.
Henry Davis is currently Pittsburgh’s starting catcher. Yasmani Grandal went on the IL last month with plantar fasciitis in his left foot, and Shelton said he’s “still a way’s away.”
“We’ve added another guy into our group who’s caught in the big leagues,” Shelton said about Bart.
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