12:30pm: Wynns is indeed being selected to the 40-man roster, MLBTR has learned.
11:40am: The Giants announced Wednesday that they’ve optioned catcher Joey Bart to Triple-A Sacramento. They’ve also acquired catcher Austin Wynns from the Phillies organization in exchange for lefty Michael Plassmeyer and cash, according to announcements from both teams.
Wynns wasn’t on the Phillies’ 40-man roster, and the Giants have yet to indicate that he’ll be selected to their own 40-man. Curt Casali is now the only catcher on San Francisco’s big league roster, so they’ll either need to make a move to formally select Wynns’ contract or else call up another catcher from their minor league system. Michael Papierski is the only other catcher on the Giants’ 40-man roster.
The decision to option Bart comes on the heels of some prolonged offensive struggles for the former No. 2 overall draft pick. The now-25-year-old Bart had a fast start to the season, going 6-for-18 with a pair of homers and four walks through his first six games, but he’s fallen into a dreadful slump. Over his past 30 games (24 of them starts), Bart is hitting just .111/.256/.194 with a staggering 45.3% strikeout rate.
Given the magnitude of those struggles, it’s not a huge surprise to see Bart sent down. The Giants will hope that a return trip to Sacramento can prove to be the catalyst for a turnaround. Bart has long ranked not only as one of the Giants’ best prospects but as one of the very best prospects in all of baseball, and president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi has been quick to voice confidence in Bart’s long-term outlook. Zaidi tells Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link) that the Giants “still think Joey is an everyday catcher” but felt it prudent to give him “a little bit of a reset” following such a difficult stretch at the plate.
Bart entered the season with 112 days of Major League service time, meaning he needed another 60 days on the active roster or big league injured list to reach one full year of service and remain on his same arbitration (post-2024) and free agency (post-2027). He’s already accrued 62 days, so even if he were to stick in the minors for the remainder of the season, he’s still logged enough time to cross into that one-plus service bracket.
As for the 31-year-old Wynns, he’ll give the Giants an experienced backup option. Wynns, the Orioles’ 10th-round pick back in 2013, spent parts of three seasons in the big leagues with the O’s, batting a combined .216/.255/.326 in 331 plate appearances. He’s thrown out 32% of attempted base thieves in his big league career, and while his pitch-framing marks are below average, he’s been solid in terms of blocking balls in the dirt, per Baseball Prospectus.
Wynns inked a minor league contract with the Phillies over the winter and opened the season with their Triple-A affiliate in Lehigh Valley. Despite his lackluster big league numbers and a pedestrian Triple-A track record, he’s been one of the best hitters in the Triple-A International League so far, hitting at a ridiculous .365/.504/.500 clip. Wynns has hit three homers, five doubles and drawn a walk in just under 21% of his 134 plate appearances thus far. It’s not a huge sample of playing time, but it’s hard not to be impressed by any player reaching base at greater than a 50% clip in a span of 33 games.
Wynns obviously can’t be expected to sustain that pace, but there’s little else he can do to earn himself a big league promotion. That probably wasn’t going to happen in Philadelphia, where J.T. Realmuto is entrenched as the main catcher, but Wynns has a more clear path to playing time with the Giants, even if Casali is likely to function as the starter moving forward.
In exchange for Wynns, the Phillies will pick up the 25-year-old Plassmeyer — a 2018 fourth-rounder (Mariners) who went to the Rays as part of the Mike Zunino trade and has since gone to the Giants in return for righty Matt Wisler. Plassmeyer opened the 2022 season with the Giants’ Triple-A affiliate and has been hit hard, logging a 7.38 ERA in through 46 1/3 innings. He’s been extremely homer-prone this year in that hitter-friendly setting (2.91 HR/9) and has quite uncharacteristically walked 11.3% of his opponents.
Prior to the 2022 season, Plassmeyer looked the part of an upper-minors strike thrower who could be on the cusp of a look in the big leagues. Kevin Goldstein and Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs listed him near the back of their Top 39 prospects in the Giants’ system this winter, noting that the 6’2″ southpaw has an average changeup and breaking ball to go along with outstanding command. The lack of a true plus offering and a pedestrian 89-91 mph fastball give Plassmeyer a back-of-the-rotation outlook, but if the Phils can get his once-plus command back on track, he could be a depth option in the near future.
Woah, I thought Bart was their future.
Hope that’s sarcasm. Lots of top prospects come up and struggle at first. He could be a bust, but it’s way too early to tell.
50/50 with sarcasm. I am just poking fun at giants fans that were saying it doesn’t matter Posey retired. That Bart will come up and fill in the production of Posey. That may be a small minority of idiots…
What actual Giants fan would say that it didn’t matter that Posey retired? Of course it mattered. A Hall of Famer leaving with his performance still at peak levels is a huge difference maker. A catcher and team leader even more so.
geg42
What actual Giants fan would say that it didn’t matter that Posey retired?
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You can’t replace Posey, but I’ve had discussions with Giant fans who thought Bart was a can’t-miss prospect, and who completely disregarded his K/W problem.
It’s pretty identical to the Angel fans with Adell. Complete denial. That said, it’s good to see the Giants recognize the problem and be proactive. He’s only had about 360 PAs above A-ball. He needed more development time.
I like to remind people that “MANNY IS THE MVP” is a different poster than “MANNY BEING MVP”. I tend to have a softer tone.
I have no doubt that Joey Bart will come back in the future and be at least a solid backup and more likely a starter. But I no longer think he has “star” potential.
Actual Giant’s fan here. Posey was not only a good player, but a great leader and motivator. I think he added class to the team.
Good for us, Casali has proven to be a solid vet.
If you’ve watched all Bart’s games and kept an eye on his minor stats, he just can’t compete against good pitchers. If he adjusts, they adjust. He’s chasing his tail out there and swinging at anything because he has no idea what’s coming next.
Honestly, I’d like to see them cut bait.
VANTABLACK — Way too soon for that.
I can’t imagine anyone said that.
Vanta-spot on. I was saying they should have traded him last year when he would have gotten a huge return…
He’s 25.5 and has shown nothing at the big league level. Farhan showed how he feels about Bart when he drafted Patrick Bailey 2 years after taking a catcher #2 oa.
Zaidi wasn’t there when Bart was drafted.
Half a year birthday, what is he eight?
Teams draft by best prospect available, not position. Drafting Bailey had nothing to do with Bart.
Bart. LOL Another in a long line of Frisco Draft BUSTS
Frisco is in colorado
Frisco is in Texas.
Fresco used to be in your mom’s fridge.
Al Fresco broadcast Hollywood Stars games.
FreshCo has a juicery. So did your mom.
Short list of current Padres on their roster. As typical.
The troll has spoken.
He’s already 25. He’s a bust.
Great to have a surplus of catchers. Throw them all at the wall & maybe one of them will stick.
25 and he’s already “a bust.” I don’t think so. Check back in two years.
-Drafted at 22
– lost an entire year of development due to covid
-plays the hardest to develop position in baseball
-is 25 years old
Why anyone would call him a bust is insane to me. Not like the rest of that draft class is setting the world on fire. Only Mize, India, and Hoerner have achieved 3 WAR for their respective teams.
Way too early ? He’s 25 YEARS OLD. LOL
The Padres when they finish the season under .500.
LOL
@notGwynn, do you actually laugh out loud or are you just such a dumba** you can’t come up with anything more creative to type on your troll comments?? LOL
Giants fans ugh. Soooo sensitive. Try a pair of big girl panties next time #SOFT
Perennial playoff missing Padres fan calling a Giants fan sensitive? This dude really doesnt know how to open his mouth without inserting his foot inside it. LOL
Just playing devil’s advocate here, but what about missing the playoffs would mean he’s sensitive? If anything it’d be the opposite
Return to this thread once you’ve actually seen a pair of big girl panties bud
This is not the end all be all. He’s been struggling. He’s still only 25/26. Plenty of time to figure it out.
yeah, but four years looks a lot shorter when you are guaranteed no playing time and creeping towards your 30s. this isnt a death sentence, but it should be a wake up call to both bart and fans
but but but BART was the giants future, even a refusal to trade Bart to the Cubs for Bryant.
That would have made no sense then . . . or now. Bryant was a rental. Too soon to write Bart off.
Even with the hindsight of Bart’s struggles, trading him for Bryant would have been a huge overpay.
Buster , come back ='(
Buster come back any other fool could see there is something in everything about you.
Player.
Busters going to the Hall, you have a better chance getting Johnny Oates to come back and catch. See what I did there?
The Hall? Posey doesn’t have HOF numbers . That’s fandom nonsense
I’m not close to a giants fan….Buster Posey is a HOFer.
@flammingbagofpoop i’m no sf fan either but i agree buster is a hof’er then again if harold baines is in then pretty much anyone can get now
It was a reference to the song lyrics Braves Butt-head posted, but yes Buster is going to be a Hall of Famer, sure as you are a closet dodger fan.
Closet dodger fan aimed at the fake padres fan.
except it was Player who wrote and sang that song.
Might as well ask Tim Lincicum, Barry bonds, William clark, rob nenn and mat cain back.
Damn your right! I learned something new today, to be fair I wasn’t born when it came out, though possibly conceived to it lol
I have faith in Bart’s abilities defensively, he didn’t earn his high draft pedigree by having this type of performance issue. Hopefully they can reduce the strikeouts and Barts value will rise again. Not the best start to his career but there has been worse no need to write him off yet. He was bad defensively during first call up and has managed to right that ship with his work ethic hopefully he can do the same with his bat.
He can’t HIT . Lol
Your catcher hits .209 with a .550 OPS, which is actually WORSE than Bart’s .596 OPS. LOL
Good for you.
bigger bust than trey lance is gonna be
I don’t know – I think it depends on what someone whether it is the giants or someone else can tool on him. power is there, defense and game calling is really good but contact is abysmal.
Hope he can get into a groove and cut that strikeout rate down.
Yea he had been about league average with a 30% strikeout rate. So he’s capable of being regular that really is the piece of his game that’s the glaring issue. He did great work defensively last time he went down, let’s hope he can keep that defense and maybe combine it with some more offense to be a serviceable starter or at least platoon guy.
it is all contact rate – his pitch selection was good so far this year, he sat for most of the year almost doubling the avg walk rate but the fact that pitchers know that if they throw in the zone it is almost a guaranteed out is no good for the team. Even if he isn’t able to bring the average up a ton but is able to improve contact rate he becomes more serviceable because with guys on base he becomes a threat to at least sac fly or move a runner but instead with the strikeout numbers it is just an automatic non productive out
Hopefully he works on some things and clears his head. I suspect he’ll be back up in a month.
Had high hopes for Bart. Maybe AAA can help bring his bat to life. In the meantime Zaidi may want to take a closer look at Murphy (A’s) or Contreras (Cubs) before another team snatches one of them up.
Depends what they want. If they want offense, that’s not coming from Murphy, who is hitting a buck something. But he’s a better defensive receiver than Willie.
Contreras makes sense the giants because they are getting nothing from the DH position and the catching position.
As a Cubs fan, you can have contreras… the guy is king of the garbage, stat padding, meaningless home run. He’s only giving you offense in the first inning or in blow outs. He also has done a piss poor job handling the pitching staff all season, nearly every single one of our starters has an era 2 runs higher with contreras receiving than with Gomes or Higgins.
Tell us you’re a hater without telling us you’re a hater. And know nothing about baseball.
It’s a fact… look at his numbers. When you are a catcher, your primary responsibility is the pitching staff… that is why, as much as I actually do hate someone, Molina is going to the hall of fame.
Contreras’s selfishness at the plate is on him… but I give him a ton of respect for what he’s been able to accomplish behind it. Contreras learned how to catch in the minors, he didn’t cut his teeth on catching the way Gomes and the Catching Molinas did. It doesn’t change the fact though that Contreras does a poor job handling the pitching staff… great arm, solid blocker, good (but selfish) offense but the biggest part of the game he fails at. There is a reason great teams go with guys like Maldonado behind the dish.. that’s why Suzuki and Gomes are always sought after. Being that confident, calming presence behind the plate is the priority…
Fact, outside of smyly, every cub pitcher has a difference of over two earned runs when Contreras is behind the plate. So unless Wilco drives in 200 plus runs or moves to full time DH, I’ll be happy when he leaves Chicago
I know nothing about baseball…
Why do the cubs have no interest in re-signing contreras?
Why did the cubs sign Gomes?
Why has no team the past two years traded for contreras when the cubs made him available?
I guess all fans, such as yourself, should be gm’s and presidents of baseball operations since you’re so well versed and knowledgeable about baseball.
Fact, outside of smyly, every cub pitcher has a difference of over two earned runs when Contreras is behind the plate.
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Hendricks probably has more experience with Contreras than anyone else. His career OPSa is .685. His career OPS with Contreras is .696. That’s pretty close. In 2021, the team had an OPSa of .780, and an OPSa of .755. Obviously, you’d need to do a weighted average to make the numbers apples to apples. But Contreras also had better numbers in the short 2020 season, and better numbers in 2019.& 2018 as well. 2020 is the only season where his numbers don’t compare well.
You’re comparing victor caratini to yan Gomes….
The only time the cubs had an elite receiver was Maldonado for four games and then was traded to the Astros… Maldonado caught nearly half the Astros games that lost season on their way to a World Series appearance and has been their primary backstop since… that is a pretty good team with a pretty good rotation with guys constantly stepping in from the farm.
It could be a long time before the Cubs have an all-around catcher as good as Willson Contreras. Hope they get something useful over the next few years for him.
I’ll take Gomes behind the plate the next two and a half years over contreras. It’s about developing pitching right now and Gomes is superior in doing that
I mean they still have Bailey waiting in the wings if Bart falters.
Bailey is currently hitting .198 / .300 /.369 in A+ Eugene. Going to need some seasoning
Bailey has looked terribly offensively since being drafted, I believe he had a injury that threw him off and he’s just never “gotten it” back. He’s got plenty of time to figure it out, with this development we can only hope he does. Just like Joey can knock the K rate down.
And few fans take a hard look at Ricardo Genoves who can hit a little and is only 23. (He’s in AAA Sacramento now.)
And they have Clarence waiting on his wings if Bailey should falter
Mike zunino 2.0
At least he’s a good defender and can hit 25 homers.
Boh that escalated fast
Wynns season !
#ForeverGiant
Patrick Bailey is playing in single A and batting a lusty .198. I don’t think that qualifies as “waiting in the wings”
Bart has been a complete bust every time they have brought him up, time to move on, you can’t play someone that strikes out half of their at bats. Too bad, just another example of Giants top draft picks not living up to the hype. Our best players on todays roster are rejects from other teams, the Giants drafting has been terrible.
You mean lately, I assume.
The Astros could trade them Jason Castro haha!
Or the Tenderloin.
Ride that in the sunset
Nice. Philly gets a possible useful arm for a guy who was blocking prospects. Could see O’Hoppe in AAA soon.
Wow San Francisco shut down Bart. Better off driving
Cable cars too?
Can’t miss GT prospect catcher…….Wieters and Bart!
Long overdue. Should have been Bart instead of Papierski that was sent down on 5/28.
BTW; It doesn’t speak too well of the vision and roster management by the Giants braintrust that the organization has had to make 2 trades in less than 30 days for back-up catchers.
So, the whole BART is shutdown? That’s unfortunate. Do most people in the Bay Area have a car?
They can hop on the new K-line built in honor of Joey
He’s taking the capital corridor to sac instead. Maybe they call it the F train?
What was that WHOOSHING sound?
Lol I picture those old looney toons where like it just whiff after whiff and the sound effects they generate. Thanks for that!
I missed the part announcing Buster Posey was coming out of retirement.
Thank goodness Casali has refound his stroke. If he hits .250 with some pop, his defense is elite. Giants could be much worse off.
Matt Williams went through similar scenario. He turned out alright.
Giants designated Kevin Padlo for assignment to make room for Wynn
I love how TonyGwynnSD19 comes here and rips on Joey Bart when his own teams catcher has a lower OPS.
He’s not a Padres fan at all.
Might be a trade in the works for a catcher