SAN DIEGO -- The highest draft pick by the Giants in more than three decades now will look to find consistent big-league time with another organization.
Joey Bart was designated for assignment on Sunday morning. The Giants used the 40-man and active roster spots on right-hander Daulton Jefferies, who will start Sunday’s game against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park.
Six years after he was taken second overall in the MLB Draft, Bart came to camp without an opportunity to win a job.
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Patrick Bailey, another first-round catcher, took over last season and is the organization's starter, ideally for years to come, and the Giants gave veteran Tom Murphy a two-year deal in the offseason to serve as Bailey's backup.
Bart is out of minor-league options and knew the situation, but he did everything right in Scottsdale and had a good spring between the lines. The Giants kept Bart through Opening Day, and they are hopeful that others will allow him to pass through waivers now that rosters have been set around the league. That seems unlikely, though, as several teams have been scouting him in recent weeks, including the Athletics, who have made a habit of scooping up former Giants.
After signing Murphy in the offseason, the Giants had discussions with other teams about a trade, but the offers were poor and they didn't intend to give Bart away, particularly with the lack of organizational depth behind their two big league catchers.
Bart played 162 games over four seasons, batting .219 with 11 homers, all of which came in 2022. He never was able to tap into the talent that made him such an intriguing prospect out of the draft, in part because of a string of bad luck.
San Francisco Giants
Bart hit the ground running in his first full professional season in 2019 but he suffered a left hand fracture after just 10 games when he was hit by a pitch. He finally felt back to his old form in the Arizona Fall League that year and hit four homers in his first 10 games, but what looked to be a Fall League MVP run was cut short when another inside pitch left him with a fractured right thumb.
The Giants rushed Bart to the big leagues the next year after Buster Posey opted out and their fill-ins struggled defensively, but Bart never got a chance to serve as an apprentice for the best catcher in franchise history. Posey returned the next year and Curt Casali was signed to be the backup catcher, leaving Bart with just six big-league plate appearances all season.
The Giants had hoped that Bailey and Bart could form a big league duo at some point, but Bart hit just .207 last year with no homers, and he now will look to break out elsewhere. He's only 27 and catchers often take a while to develop, but the Giants ran out of time and the ability to continue stashing Bart in Triple-A.