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Joey Bart with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The Atlanta Braves are one of the best teams in all of baseball, and with a dominant record of 46-27, they’re six games clear of the second place team in the National League East standings.

They’ve managed to achieve this early season success despite dealing with some injuries, as well as several holes on the roster, but with the trade deadline looming, they’re expected to make some moves that will push them into true World Series contender status.

Atlanta Braves Fill a Hole With Joey Bart Trade

One of those holes is backup catcher, and while Drake Baldwin has done a fantastic job in the absence of starter Sean Murphy, it’s clear that this team need another reliable catcher on the roster. Out of nowhere on Thursday, the team went and got a deal done, as they have officially acquired former top prospect Joey Bart from the Pittsburgh Pirates.

In exchange for Bart, the Braves are sending pitcher Hunter Stratton to the Pirates, and in a corresponding move, the team have designated Sandy Leon for assignment, with Bart expected to arrive immediately, with the hope that he can have an impact on the team moving forward.

Can Joey Bart Help Keep the Braves hot Start Alive?

Once upon a time, Joey Bart was one of baseball’s top prospects after being drafted No. 2 overall back in 2018 by the San Francisco Giants, with the team expecting him to be the heir to franchise legend Buster Posey. Unfortunately, that never happened, and when Patrick Bailey started making waves at the big league level, the team decided to part ways with him, with many fans believing the Giants gave up on him way too early.

Since arriving in Pittsburgh, Bart has found some solid consistency offensively, hitting .257 with 19 home runs and 81 RBI across three seasons while playing very solid defense behind the plate. It appears as though he may never become the offensive force that the Giants hoped for, but given that the Braves already have Baldwin and will likely have Murphy back before August, he doesn’t need to be that. Instead, he just needs to be a solid, reliable player behind the plate, and if he can give them some good at bats, he’ll serve as fantastic depth for the team moving forward as they look to get back to the World Series for the first time since 2021.

What did the Braves Give up in This Deal?

To acquire Bart, the Braves needed to deal Hunter Stratton, a former Pittsburgh Pirate that has 1.0 inning of work in the big leagues this season, and while that was a scoreless inning, it was clear that he was replaceable for this Braves team.

On paper, it’s a deal that makes both teams better in the present and in the future, and while neither player moved was a star, it’s smaller, smarter moves like this can potentially make or break a team down the stretch as teams battle it out to make it to the Fall Classic.