Braves trade for catching depth, adding Joey Bart from Pirates
The Atlanta Braves are adding some catching depth days after activating Drake Baldwin from the injured list. Joey Bart was acquired from the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday in exchange for minor league reliever Hunter Stratton.
Bart, 29, was activated by the Braves after the trade was official. He was on the IL with a left foot infection but began a minor-league rehab assignment on June 10. He was batting .259/.290/.379 with 2 home runs and 6 RBI in 62 plate appearances as the third-string catcher behind Endy Rodriguez and Henry Davis.
Going to Atlanta is also a homecoming for Bart, who is a Buford, Ga., native and played college baseball at Georgia Tech before being drafted No. 2 overall by the San Francisco Giants in 2018.
Atlanta was in need of a backup catcher and right-handed bench bat with Sean Murphy sidelined due to a fractured left middle finger and not expected back until after the All-Star break. The Braves made Bart's role clear by optioning Jair Camargo to Triple-A Gwinnett and designating Sandy León for assignment.
For the Pirates, trading Bart breaks up a roster squeeze behind the plate. Rodriguez has seized the starting job with a .267/.413/.467 slash average, 3 homers, 3 doubles and 8 RBI, while Davis is struggling significantly on offense.
The former No. 1 overall pick in 2021 is batting .138/.242/.285 with 5 homers, 4 doubles and 17 RBI. Defensively, he has thrown out 11 of 20 basestealers, allowing 6 passed balls and 10 wild pitches. Davis is also the preferred catcher for ace pitcher Paul Skenes, who he trusts to call pitches.
Stratton, 29, returns to the Pirates organization where he spent seven seasons before being traded to Atlanta in 2025. This season, he's compiled a 4.38 ERA with 24 strikeouts in 24 2/3 innings but has also allowed 16 walks and 24 hits.
Before being activated from the IL this week, Baldwin had a triple-slash line of .303/.389/.543 with 13 homer and 38 RBI. In two games since his return, he's batted 2-for-10 with a home run.
