The Joey Bart experiment might not be over, but the Giants are taking a break from it.
The 25-year-old catcher and former number two overall pick was optioned to Triple-A Sacramento on Wednesday morning, concurrent with the Giants acquiring another catcher — Austin Wynns — from the Philadelphia Phillies in a trade. San Francisco sent over left-handed pitcher Michael Plassmeyer to Philadelphia in exchange.
Though nobody thought replacing Buster Posey would be easy, Bart has struggled mightily and consistently at the plate since the very beginning of the season. Bart is currently slashing .156/.296/.300 in 108 plate appearances so far this year. He’s stuck out 49 times in 36 games, and walked just 15 times.
Ultimately, veteran Curt Casali has proven to be a far better option at this point. It is likely that Casali and Wynns will now split time with Bart back in Sacramento.
Wynns, 31, is a San Diego native who attended Fresno State before the Orioles drafted him in 2013. Wynns hasn’t had a ton of time at the big league level, playing in just 115 games over three seasons with Baltimore (2018, 2019, 2021) before hitting free agency this offseason and signing with the Phillies.
Wynns is considered a very strong defensive catcher who hasn’t yet been able to figure things out with the bat at the major league level. That said, Wynn is crushing pitching in Triple-A this season, posting a ridiculous line of .365/.504/.500 in 134 plate appearances, something that will give the Giants more confidence than his poor MLB numbers (.216/.255/.326).