SF Giants: Joey Bart scratched against Yankees with back tightness

In another tough break for SF Giants catcher Joey Bart, he was scratched from the lineup on Saturday against the Yankees with back tightness.

Marc Delucchi | Apr 1, 2023

SF Giants: Joey Bart scratched against Yankees with back tightness /

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San Francisco Giants

In a last-minute change, SF Giants catcher Joey Bart was scratched from manager Gabe Kapler's lineup on Saturday prior to the team's game against the New York Yankees. Per a report by Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area, Bart was forced out of the lineup with back tightness. He was replaced in the lineup by Roberto Pérez. Since Bart did not receive the starting nod on Opening Day, he is still waiting to make his 2023 debut.

Dbacks outfielder Daulton Varsho and SF Giants catcher Joey Bart turn to the umpire after a play at the plate. (2022) / Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

The timing of Bart's minor injury is particularly untimely for the 26-year-old backstop. A former second overall pick in the draft, Bart has faced mounting pressure to live up to the lofty expectations that come with being a high draft pick and top prospect. Earlier this week, Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi publicly said the team needs more from Bart this season. Furthermore, on Friday, the Giants signed two-time All-Star catcher Gary Sánchez to a minor-league deal. The Sánchez signing fueled speculation that San Francisco plans to move on from Bart at some point this season.

"If he does the same thing he did last year, it's going to compel us to continue to look for other options," Zaidi said. " But I know he feels there's room for improvement, and so do we."

Bart made his big-league debut during the pandemic-shortened season in 2020. Forced into action when Buster Posey opted out of the season, Bart was clearly overmatched and was optioned back to the minors after striking out 41 times in 111 plate appearances with zero home runs and just three walks. After spending most of 2021 at Triple-A, Bart was expected to solidify the starting backstop job last season. Instead, he struggled with consistency and was even optioned to the minors at once point.

Bart showed off his impressive power on several occasions last season, blasting 11 home runs in just 297 plate appearances. However, his issues with contact continued to generate prolonged slumps. He finished the season with 112 strikeouts and a .215/.296/.364 triple-slash.

The SF Giants would obviously like Joey Bart to live up to his potential. But they will have to wait a little longer for the former top prospect to make his 2023 debut.

Published Apr 1, 2023

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).