Joey Bart is headed back to the minor leagues.
The struggling rookie catcher was optioned to Triple-A Sacramento following the Giants’ 5-3 loss to the Rockies on Tuesday. Aside from optioning Bart, the Giants also announced they completed a trade to acquire a new catcher Wednesday, adding Austin Wynns in a deal with the Phillies that sent minor league pitcher Michael Plassmeyer to Philadelphia.
With Bart hitting just .156 and his OPS dropping down to .596 following an 0-for-3 performance on Tuesday, the Giants elected to send him to the minors to work on his swing.
It’s unclear if Wynns will join the major league roster or if the Giants will call up recently acquired catcher Michael Papierski to play behind Curt Casali, who is now in line to make the majority of starts behind the plate.
The Giants were optimistic Bart, the No. 2 overall draft pick in 2018, was ready to seize a starting role this season after Buster Posey announced his retirement in November, but the Georgia Tech product has suffered through a rough two months offensively.
In his last 25 at-bats, Bart has just two hits and has struck out 15 times.
Bart has said this season he’s been focusing more on his defensive game, confident that his struggles at the plate would work themselves out. Just last week, Bart drew praise from Gabe Kapler for suggesting to the manager and reliever José Álvarez that they intentionally walk former MVP Bryce Harper in a late-game scenario.
“You’ve got to be locked in all the time behind the plate. It’s where games are won, so I’m going to put all my effort and all my focus in there,” Bart said after that game. “I’m confident in what I’ve been doing behind the plate, drawing confidence every day off of that. Once I can put the offensive side of the ball together, I’ll be all right.”
The Giants are betting that a trip to Sacramento will help him get that sorted out while they work to elevate beyond the middling baseball (15-17) they’ve played since the beginning of May
Wynns, a former Orioles prospect, is a career .216 hitter in 310 major league at-bats, but was off to a tremendous start at Triple-A Lehigh Valley in the Phillies organization this year. After signing a minor league deal with Philadelphia in March, Wynns reported to Triple-A and is batting .365 with a .504 on-base percentage and a 1.004 OPS.
Wynns’ offensive profile provides a stark contrast to Bart, who struck out in 49 of his 90 at-bats with the Giants before being demoted. At Triple-A this year, Wynns has walked 28 times while striking out just 18 times, showing impressive plate discipline that’s reflected in his on-base percentage.
Casali, meanwhile, has 12 fewer at-bats than Bart this season but appears poised to shoulder a bigger load behind the plate. In 78 at-bats, Casali is batting .244 with a .754 OPS that’s 10 percent better than the major league average.
