SF Giants activate C Joey Bart from injured list, designate C Andrew Knapp for assignment

The SF Giants activated Joey Bart from the concussion IL on Tuesday. To free a spot on the roster, they designated Andrew Knapp for assignment.

Marc Delucchi | Sep 6, 2022

SF Giants activate C Joey Bart from injured list, designate C Andrew Knapp for assignment /

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San Francisco Giants

The SF Giants will have catcher Joey Bart back in the lineup on Tuesday after they activated him from the 7-day concussion injured list. Bart had been out since last week but was progressing towards a quick return this weekend. To create space for Bart on the active roster, the Giants designated catcher Andrew Knapp for assignment. The Giants had added Knapp to their big-league roster when Bart first went on the IL.

SF Giants catcher Joey Bart. (2022) — Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

Bart is hitting .227/.311/.399 this season with 10 home runs in 74 games. However, the former second-overall pick has been a different player since returning from a mid-season demotion and made some adjustments to his swing. Since Bart returned to the Giants on July 6th, he's batting .283/.325/.478.

It has been a tough road for Bart since he was drafted with the second overall pick in the 2018 draft by the Giants. After crushing his way through the lower minor leagues, Bart was prematurely forced into big-league playing time when Buster Posey opted out of the 2020 season. With a big uppercut swing, Bart was overmatched by big-league pitching and struggled to put the ball in play.

While Bart has had moments in 2022 that looked a lot like his rookie campaign, the Georgia Tech alum has done a fantastic job making adjustments as the season continues. Most importantly, he has consistently been on the same page with his pitchers and been one of the few Giants starters who has not struggled defensively. Now back in the lineup for the final month of the season, Bart will look to finish the season strong.

SF Giants catcher Andrew Knapp during his time with the Pirates. (2022) — Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Knapp has appeared in each of the previous six MLB seasons, hitting .209/.310/.313 with 13 home runs in 873 plate appearances. Knapp has now appeared in 16 big-league games this year between stints with the Pirates, Giants, and Mariners. He has struggled mightily, though, posting a measly .128/.239/.154 triple-slash.

Knapp did perform well with the SF Giants Triple-A affiliate, hitting .312/.373/.634 triple-slash with 7 walks and 23 strikeouts in 102 plate appearances and San Francisco would probably love to keep him in the organization. However, he could easily be claimed off waivers by a team trying to solidify their catching depth as the season comes to a close.

Published Sep 6, 2022

MARC DELUCCHI

Marc Delucchi (he/they/she) serves as the Managing Editor at Giants Baseball Insider, leading their SF Giants coverage. As a freelance journalist, he has previously covered the San Francisco Giants at Around the Foghorn and McCovey Chronicles. He also currently contributes to Niners Nation, Golden State of Mind, and Baseball Prospectus. He has previously been featured in several other publications, including SFGate, ProFootballRumors, Niners Wire, GrandStand Central, Call to the Pen, and Just Baseball. Over his journalistic career, Marc has conducted investigations into how one prep baseball player lost a college opportunity during the pandemic (Baseball Prospectus) and the rampant mistreatment of players at the University of Hawaii football program under former head coach Todd Graham (SFGate). He has also broken dozens of news stories around professional baseball, primarily around the SF Giants organization, including the draft signing of Kyle Harrison, injuries and promotions to top prospects like Heliot Ramos, and trade details in the Kris Bryant deal. Marc received a Bachelor's degree from Kenyon College with a major in economics and a minor in Spanish. During his time in college, he conducted a summer research project attempting to predict the future minor-league performance of NCAA hitters, worked as a data analyst for the school's Women's basketball team, and worked as a play-by-play announcer/color commentator for the basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer teams. He also worked as an amateur baseball scout with the Collegiate Baseball Scouting Network (later renamed Evolution Metrix), scouting high school and college players for three draft cycles. For tips and inquiries, feel free to reach out to Marc directly on Twitter or via email (delucchimarc@gmail.com).