WASHINGTON ¨C When the Pirates acquired Joey Bart in a trade with the Giants this week, it was a move brought on by necessity, their catching situation suddenly in flux. What came as an ancillary distinction was that they also brought home something of a native son.
Though Bart grew up in the Atlanta suburbs, he¡¯s been a Pittsburgh sports fan since childhood. Bart¡¯s father, Tommy, grew up northeast of Pittsburgh in Lower Burrell, Pa., and was a 29th-round pick by the Pirates in the 1979 Draft. He never played for the organization, but instilled a love for the Steel City in his son early on.
Joey Bart¡¯s first jersey as a kid? Ben Roethlisberger.
¡°It¡¯s kind of crazy the way it all worked out,¡± Bart said when he joined the Pirates on Wednesday, shortly before they suffered their first loss of the season, a 5-3 defeat to the Nationals, in the nation¡¯s capital. Bart didn¡¯t appear in the defeat, during which righty Mitch Keller coughed up five runs (four earned) and the offense was held in check on a soggy night at Nationals Park.
¡°It¡¯s really cool, it¡¯s really special,¡± Bart said. ¡°It¡¯s really special to my family, no doubt, just with all the ties. Most of my family I have is in this area, so it¡¯s gonna be really fun.¡±
Bart¡¯s ties to the city aren¡¯t limited to his father¡¯s side of the family. His mom grew up in Toronto, Ohio, and an uncle still lives in nearby Butler, Pa.
¡°I think anytime someone gets a fresh start and it¡¯s coming back to where you have family, it's really cool,¡± manager Derek Shelton said.
Bart should be in line for a better opportunity in Pittsburgh than he would¡¯ve been in San Francisco, at least in the short-term. The Pirates are suddenly super thin in catching depth after placing Jason Delay on the 10-day injured list Tuesday with right knee soreness that¡¯s lingered from Spring Training. Endy Rodríguez is out for the year after undergoing shoulder surgery in December, and veteran backup Yasmani Grandal is still a ways off from his team debut due to plantar fasciitis.
¡°It¡¯s not like he¡¯s three or four days away,¡± Shelton said of Grandal. He¡¯s still a ways away. He¡¯s gotta play in games, he¡¯s gotta go through his running progression. He just started the running progression, and it¡¯s not even on the bases yet.¡±
As such, Delay¡¯s continued injury issues left Pittsburgh without a second option at the position alongside Henry Davis before swinging the deal for Bart, who had been designated for assignment by the Giants in a roster crunch. The No. 2 overall pick in the 2018 Draft, Bart was rushed to the big leagues for the pandemic-shortened 2020 season and seen as Buster Posey¡¯s heir apparent. But he struggled to established himself in the Majors, hitting .219 with a .623 OPS over 162 games in parts of four seasons in San Francisco, and was passed by Patrick Bailey on the organizational depth chart.
¡°I¡¯ve been at the highs and been at the lows, and I feel like I can bring that forward with me and learn from all those experiences,¡± Bart said. ¡°I¡¯m feeling great, super confident, ready to go and super ecstatic about being in Pittsburgh.¡±
Said Shelton: ¡°Henry [Davis] is going to continue to catch, but we are going to have to monitor his volume and all that. We¡¯ve added another guy into our group who¡¯s caught in the big leagues. Obviously, there is a lot of prospect value there. He had a really good spring so it¡¯s just giving him a fresh look.¡±