While the 2022 San Francisco Giants very much remain a competitive team, they seem to lack something if we compare to their 2021 edition.
That something may start at the catcher position.
Last year, they had a future Hall of Famer with one of his finest seasons in recent memory in Buster Posey.
Posey retired, though, and the Giants were forced to make some decisions.
This year, they trusted young prospect Joey Bart with the keys to the position, but so far, he has failed to live up to expectations.
He has been so bad that the Giants have been forced to give him regular playing time in the minors because his play was affecting them.
“The Giants optioned Joey Bart to Triple-A after yesterday’s game,” Alex Pavlovic, who covers the Giants for NBC Sports Bay Area, tweeted.
The Giants optioned Joey Bart to Triple-A after yesterday's game.
— Alex Pavlovic (@PavlovicNBCS) June 8, 2022
He Hasn’t Been Able To Establish Himself
Bart has been getting big league plate appearances since 2020, but in parts of three seasons, he has been unable to establish himself as a reliable contributor.
The organization is probably not asking him to be Posey, because that would be a lot to ask.
But they would love some offensive consistency to avoid being a liability in the lineup.
In 225 plate appearances as a major league player, Bart has hit .201/.293/.312.
In 2022, he has a .156/.296/.300 line, so it really becomes very hard to justify his presence in the lineup every day.
The Giants are expected to rely on Curt Casali as the unquestioned starting catcher from now on until Bart proves that he deserves another chance.
He is striking out at a whopping 45.4 percent rate, one of the highest in the majors, so he needs some reps in a low-pressure environment.
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