117 Comments

Hope Bart can get to DC by game time, else we got only 1 active catcher.

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What’s the risk with Bart? He was rushed to the majors because of Posey’s unexpected retirement and has been injured at least 3 times while with the Giants. It’s a good move especially if indeed Delay’s injured. They gave up nothing to get him and who knows if he might still live up to at least some of his previous perceived potential. If not, he won’t be around long.

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That's basically where I'm at with it. 563 PAs in MiLB and then Posey announces he's done. From there he got 111 PAs in his rookie season in 2020 and didn't get another big chunk of PAs until 2022 when he _did sort of ok_ and then a bunch of injuries in 2023. I sort of think Farhan Zaidi is dumb, too.

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Eric Haase just cleared waivers yesterday........would have been a much better addition than Bart. He hit really well in ST.

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He's 31, was Austin Hedges bad at the plate last year and has twice as many PAs in MLB as Bart to convince us he's bad. They both hit well in ST.

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I kind of life this move for Bart. He starts a game a week as the backup for Davis and Delay goes to Indy to catch Skenes and Priester. In my opinion that’s pretty valuable. Worst case scenario Bart stinks, gets DFA’d and Delay or Grandal (when healthy) slots back in as the backup.

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Delay is hurt and going to IL according to PPG

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It ain't really baseball season until you've added your third catcher to the roster.

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Thanks for the info. Understandable now.

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I just read that and it explains the move, which now looks like a pretty nice move. Replace Delay while seeing if Bart just might be a late bloomer.

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Apr 3·edited Apr 3

I don't hate it, don't like it. He hit well in spring training, doesn't mean much. If he is a suitable backup that hits his weight it might work out. I like it better than having Grandal coming back currently because I don't see Bart taking time away from Davis.

Like it after hearing Delay is going on the IL.

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Signing made a lot more sense after it was announced Delay is injured.

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This move is based on the "hope" that Bart can finally hit major league pitching and nothing else.

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I was thinking Bart was going to begin in Indy catching Skenes. Is that even an option?

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No options remaining so nope! He'll be in Pittsburgh. Delay probably headed to Indy to catch Skenes.

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Apr 3·edited Apr 3

Well, the Bucs sure keep us guessing. Johnson and Brannigan are starting the season at Greensboro because of the middle infielder logjam in the upper levels, so now they get a 22-year-old middle infielder for Wolf to further clog the upper levels? Makes no sense.

Then they trade for Bart, which to me smacks of a classic “let’s try to redeem a once can’t miss guy” play. I knew Bart had been bad, but I didn’t quite realize exactly how awful he has been. If he is displacing Delay on the active roster that is a crazy move. And won’t they have to DFA him when Grandal is ready?

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You’re missing the fact that Delay is going on the injured list so we have no backup at the moment. Bart is said backup. It’s merely a bonus that he was a high draft pick so BC can hope he blooms late, if isn’t the actual reason. Delay’s injury is.

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The Delay injury was announced after my bedtime. So it all makes sense now. A strange move instantaneously turns into a reasonable gamble.

I guess you can never have too much pitching AND catching.

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Thinking further about Bart: #2 overall pick; Johnny Bench award winner; picked by an organization that generally knows what it’s doing. Baseball is a very tough game.

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He received a $7 million and change signing bonus, so he should be set for life. I hope he’s invested it well.

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that 2018 draft was a shit show

McLanahan and Mize

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Yeah, but Travis Swaggerty really pulled it out of the fire.

And Connor Scott.

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Gunnar Hoglund

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what's the point of getting Bart? already have Davis. delay. Grandal. endy. hmmm.

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Delay, Endy and grandpa are ALL injured. That’s what.

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Needed a 3rd C. Bart slots in at 2. Delay drops to 3. Grandal hasnt even started running yet. So he’s prob May at the earliest. Endy is out all year.

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You must be joking or you think this is the magical land of prospect revival, lol.

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Seriously, is Bart’s defense any good? Because if not this move is totally pointless as he simply can’t hit. He makes Austin Hedges look like Don Slaught.

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Upon reflection, I guess that’s an exaggeration, but he adds nothing to the offense, just like Hedges.

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They said on the Indy game that Bart has thrown out 35% of the runners.

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I don’t know where they got that. Per Baseball Reference his lifetime big league caught stealing percentage is 23%. Maybe that stat is from spring training —- small sample size.

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Well I wasn’t defending the move, but if you want me to play that part, Bart has positive career WAR and Delay and Sanchez have negative. And they have no 3rd C at all.

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Delay has worked with many of the pitchers on this staff for a while now and the WAR aside Bart has an OPS+75 while Delay's is 68. They are essentially addressing a position they were already okay at unless they are hiding the something about Grandal's condition. The problem I have is that Bart is not a significant enough upgrade to upset the early dynamic the team is experiencing.

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Except Delay is injured. As many have said on this thread multiple times. Henry Davis has no backup for tomorrow without this move unless we went to Carter bins.

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They just dfa Sanchez. Is Bart better than Sanchez? The musical chairs with catchers is comical this offseason.

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Did the Prates just trade Colin Selby for Joey Bart right after Selby pitched an inning?

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On MLBTR they say Strickland

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Traded Strickland, DFA’d Selby.

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Have to option Delay as Bart is out of options.

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Not sure that's an upgrade.

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Apr 3·edited Apr 3

I was just going to opine they were going to move Gramdal to the 60 day. Guess I was wrong. They will need a 40 man when Skenes comes up in about a month. That will happen then or they will activate and DFA Grandal.

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That's pretty damn weird. Wasn't much of a cost, but exactly what role does Bart play on this team?

It's funny, because I noted it on here the other day when he was dfa'd strictly as a "how the mighty have fallen" sort of curiosity. Didn't occur to me they'd want him.

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Post-hype prospect du jour. He’ll probably get some starts in RF on the days that Davis catches.

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Maybe he'll take Falter's spot in the rotation.

Folks used to joke about how Neal Huntington got all his trade ideas out of a five-year-old BA Prospect Handbook.

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The 2024 Media Guide is available online

Minor league roster starts on page 211

I believe that the listed sizes are close to current reality

https://www.sportsarchive.net/documents/10417#page/n227/mode/1up

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Good to see Malcom Nunez blast a homer in Indy. I still have a slight hope he could be our future first baseman, even though they are playing him at thrid.

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My hope still runs deep.

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A very strong future possibility until injured last year. Hopefully he comes back strong.

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Big oops -- Honeywell got torched.

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That is my fault. Last week I griped that he should have been on the major league roster instead of Falter. It was raining. I don't know if that had anything to do with it.

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padres sure have been in the habit of reclaiming their old prospects

wonder what they´d send us for Suwinski?

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I think the Pirates are deeper in the 35th to 45th roster spots.

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Jackson Wolf.

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They would have to throw in Marcano as the sweetener.

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Don't want to be negative, but how many times have we traded for a player with "so called potential", then DFA him in the next year or two?

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Probably about the same ratio as most other teams. Happens a lot.

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I think the ratio is the same for guys like Cole Tucker, Travis Swaggerty etc. Or if it is even the same or less for guys like Rivas, Lewin Diaz etc. Those poor guys shouldn't even unpack their bags when they get traded. I was more thinking of the established players (or older guys) the Pirates traded for a quantity of second tier prospects. The problem with the quantity strategy for prospects is we don't have enough room to keep them.

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I don’t recall at the time that anyone thought that Jackson Wolf was anything more than the next potential Rich Hill, if things panned out. Perhaps a decent depth piece for this year.

I do find it odd that after not being able to find any SPs last year, (and addressing it in the most Pirates-like manner in the offseason) we’re now trading away SP depth this year.

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yeah but wasnt he suppossed to be the lead card in their new market efficiency to turn every left handed pitcher into a side arm submariner?

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In a world where waiver wire pick-ups throw 95+, we’re hunting for guys who throw slop like it’s the 50s.

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