Photo provided by Eddie Provident
This is one in a series breaking down players on the Pittsburgh Pirates’ 40-man roster.
Joey Bart made a strong first impression with the Pirates after he was acquired from the San Francisco Giants at the beginning of the 2024 season.
Bart totaled 80 games during his first season in Pittsburgh and had a breakout season, his first away from the San Francisco Giants, who took him with the second pick in the 2018 draft.
Bart slashed .265/.337/.462 and set career-highs with 11 doubles, 13 home runs and 45 RBI. His 2.2 bWAR was over three times the mark he had across parts of four seasons with the Giants from 2020-23.
While Bart entered the 2025 season as the Pirates’ primary catcher, he was unable to replicate the same season he had. In 93 games this past year, Bart slashed .249/.355/.340 with 12 doubles, a triple, just four home runs and 30 RBI.
Through May 11, Bart boasted a healthy .808 OPS, but he slumped to a .155/.219/.175 batting line over a 30-game stretch that was wrapped around a three-week stint on the concussion injured list. But Bart rebounded to finished the season strong. Over his final 31 games, the 28-year-old slashed .294/.417/.471 with six doubles, three home runs and 31 games.
Bart has never graded well as a particularly good defensive catcher. In his career, he has minus-16 defensive runs saved and has only caught 18.6% of base stealers.
Looking at the rest of the Pirates’ roster, they are fairly deep at catcher. Henry Davis, despite his offensive struggles, has turned into a fine defensive backstop and became Paul Skenes’ personal catcher. Rafael Flores offers more with the bat than Davis but not as much defensively and is considered one of the organization’s better prospects. Endy RodrÃguez, despite a second elbow surgery, has plenty of experience behind the plate.
Could Bart be the odd man out? Perhaps, and here’s why. He’s arbitration-eligible for the second time this season and is projected to earn $2.7 million. Not an exorbitant sum by any means but the aforementioned trio of other options are all nearly $2 million cheaper.
Outside of J.T Realmuto, the free agent catching market is thin, and teams could call the Pirates with interest in Bart.
The Pirates will have to decide whether or not they want to carry the most veteran option on their roster into next season or entertain the idea of trading him to a team in need.
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