SF Giants recall C Joey Bart and swap exciting young outfielders

The SF Giants recalled catcher Joey Bart and outfielder Luis Matos on Wednesday after placing Patrick Bailey on the IL and optioning Wade Meckler.

Marc Delucchi | Sep 6, 2023

SF Giants recall C Joey Bart and swap exciting young outfielders /

In this story:

San Francisco Giants

The SF Giants recalled catcher Joey Bart and outfielder Luis Matos (Giants Top 4 Prospect) prior to Wednesday's game against the Chicago Cubs. They placed catcher Patrick Bailey on the seven-day concussion injured list and optioned Wade Meckler (Giants Top 22 Prospect) to Triple-A Sacramento in a pair of corresponding moves. Bailey was removed from Tuesday night's 11-8 loss with concussion symptoms, so that move was expected. However, opting to swap Matos and Meckler is a bit more unexpected.

SF Giants center fielder Luis Matos makes a diving attempt to catch a double by a Boston Red Sox hitter on July 30, 2023. — SF Giants center fielder Luis Matos makes a diving attempt to catch a double by a Boston Red Sox hitter on July 30, 2023 / D. Ross Cameron-USA TODAY Sports

Matos got off to a solid start after he was called up earlier this season, but cooled as the season progressed. Eventually, the Giants opted to give Meckler an opportunity in his place. However, Meckler struggled even more mightily at the plate in the majors. On the season, Matos has hit .331/.401/.543 in the minors with 14 doubles, two triples, and 12 home runs in 63 games. In 59 big-league games, Matos has a far more pedestrian .251/.311/.356 line. Still, that's notably better than Meckler, who has been unable to put the ball in play consistently and hit .232/.328/.250 with 25 strikeouts and just one extra-base hit in 64 plate appearances.

Bart, of course, was once a top prospect in the Giants organization and is a former second-overall pick. After an impressive stretch to finish the 2022 campaign, Bart was in a position to solidify himself as the Giants' starting catcher this season. However, his power disappeared at the big-league level as he seemed to overprioritize cutting his strikeout rate. When he went down with an injury, the Giants called up Bailey, who immediately hit the ground running and usurped Bart on the depth since.

When Bart was optioned back to the minors following Bailey's emergence, he fell into the worst offensive slump of his minor league career. However, has been more productive recently, hitting .295/.434/.474 with five doubles and three home runs in his last 99 plate appearances.

As the SF Giants continue to slide in the standings, they need to turn things around quickly. While the loss of Patrick Bailey obviously makes things harder, the front office hopes that Joey Bart and Luis Matos can help spark a winning streak.

Published Sep 6, 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).