The Braves announced they’ve traded reliever Hunter Stratton to the Pirates for catcher Joey Bart. Atlanta designated backup catcher Sandy León for assignment to open a spot on the 40-man roster. The Braves had designated Stratton for assignment yesterday. He’ll replace Bart on Pittsburgh’s 40-man but won’t join the MLB team, as the Bucs optioned him to Triple-A Indianapolis.
Bart is on the 10-day injured list working back from an infection in his left foot. He hasn’t played an MLB game since May 9 but has been on a minor league rehab assignment for the past week. Atlanta will presumably activate him directly onto the big league roster, as they optioned third catcher Jair Camargo back to Triple-A Gwinnett this afternoon.
It’s a homecoming for the 29-year-old Bart, who grew up less than an hour from Atlanta and played his college ball at Georgia Tech. He was part of a run of high-end catchers for the Yellow Jackets over the past couple decades, spanning from Matt Wieters to potential #1 overall pick Vahn Lackey. Bart went second overall to the Giants in 2018, making him the highest drafted player in school history to date.
More to come.
