Pirates Avoid Arbitration With Breakout Player
The Pittsburgh Pirates have avoided arbitration with one of their best players from the 2024 season.
Andrew Destin of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that the Pirates have agreed to a one-year $1.75 million deal with right-handed hitting catcher Joey Bart to avoid arbitration.
Bart was arguably the most pleasant surprise for the Pirates last year. After acquiring him from the San Francisco Giants at the beginning of the 2024 season, Bart went on to enjoy the best season of his MLB career, batting .265/.337/.462 with 13 home runs and 45 RBIs, all of which were career highs. The right-handed hitting catcher also posted a career-best 2.2 Wins Above Replacement in his 80 games played.
Bart was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2018 MLB Draft by the Giants out of Georgia Tech.
Bart is poised for a big role behind the plate in 2024 alongside Endy Rodríguez and former No.1 overall pick Henry Davis. Rodríguez played just 10 games in the minor leagues last season after spending most of his recovering from a UCL injury in his right arm.
While Rodríguez was once a highly touted prospect for the Pirates, Bart’s 2024 season positioned him to have the inside track to be the team’s starting catcher in 2025.
"I think you start with Joey because he did it in 2024 and earned that," Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said at the Winter Meetings in Dallas." [He] was a really steady performer for us [on] both sides of the ball. [I] feel like there's still even another level for him. The timing worked out [and there was] probably a little bit of luck involved with the timing when we were able to get him. [We were] thrilled with the outcome and thrilled that he's a Pirate."
Bart was the only arbitration-eligible position player for Pittsburgh. Right-handed pitchers David Bednar, Colin Holderman, Johan Oviedo and Dennis Santana and left-handed pitcher Bailey Falter were all arbitration-eligible. The Pirates agreed to a one-year $2.22 million deal with Falter earlier in the day to avoid arbitration according to MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand.
The deadline to avoid arbitration with arbitration-eligible players is 1 p.m. ET on Thursday.
