CINCINNATI, OHIO – MAY 29: Joey Bart #21 of the San Francisco Giants walks across the field in the fourth inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park on May 29, 2022 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
What would a Giants trade for Willson Contreras mean for Joey Bart?
While the Houston Astros have been widely known as one of the top contenders for Cubs catcher Willson Contreras, it was recently announced that the ‘Stros are content with their current catching corps.
In the same rumor, the San Francisco Giants were listed as a new name emerging in the Contreras sweepstakes. With Joey Bart in the minors and a mixture of Curt Casali and Austin Wynns currently forming the Giants backstop tandem, this club could surely use an upgrade.
Should the Giants acquire Contreras, what of Joey Bart?
Contreras, a free agent at season’s end, would likely fit on this Giants club strictly as a rental and would honestly keep Joey Bart out of the everyday starting lineup for the remainder of this season.
The former No. 2 overall pick has struggled mightily in his first full season as the Giants catcher, replacing the recently-retired Buster Posey behind the plate for San Fran. Ever since he was drafted he was pegged as the catcher of the future and the heir apparent to Posey.
The Giants recently were forced to demote Bart after he began the 2022 season with a .156/.296/.300 line and four homers through 36 games (one of them coming off of Albert Pujols). Prior to his demotion, the young catcher was in the midst of a 2-for-25 stretch where he struckout a whopping 15 times.
While Bart has yet to appear in a minor league game this season, he will be spending some much-needed time in the minors to work on his craft and get back into the swing of things. A Contreras trade would keep him out of the starting lineup for the big league club whether he makes it back up or not as Contreras is by far the superior catcher on both offense and defense.
Luckily for Bart, he should get another chance to reclaim the throne as early as next season, as Contreras is a free agent at the conclusion of the 2022 season and is not a lock to re-sign with the Giants or even be traded to the Bay Area to begin with.