Pirates' surprising Joey Bart trade with Braves seals reunion and makes statement

The Pittsburgh Pirates were nearing the point of an uncomfortable conversation. Joey Bart had been working his way back from a foot infection down in Indianapolis, but Endy Rodriguez may have already usurped him as the Pirates' primary catcher, leading to some speculation that the former San Francisco Giant wouldn't be long for Pittsburgh.

Then, late Thursday night, that speculation was confirmed when the Pirates dealt Bart to the Atlanta Braves. Coming back in the deal is a face Pirates fans know well in reliever Hunter Stratton.

This isn't the move that solidifies Pittsburgh's problematic bullpen, but it does provide the club with a reliable depth piece who might prove to be more useful than some of the arms further down in the pecking order.

More importantly, it's a rearranging of assets that should strategically help the Pirates moving forward as they try to navigate their way to becoming full-fledged buyers at the August 3 trade deadline.

The Joey Bart for Hunter Stratton swap helps the Pirates in numerous ways

First, a hat-tip to Ben Cherington is in order for going out and being proactive to bring Stratton back to Pittsburgh. He could have waited out the waiver claims process after the right-hander, but since the Pirates are no longer bottom feeders, there's no guarantee that they would have wound up with him had they put in a claim.

Stratton has never gotten much of an opportunity to prove himself at the major league level, with his career-highs in appearances (36) and innings pitched (37 2/3) coming with the Pirates back in 2024. However, he has been more than serviceable when given the opportunity, with a career 3.75 ERA. Put bluntly, he would've been in high demand in the waivers process.

The Pirates were afforded this opportunity because, at long last, it seems like Rodriguez is living up to his potential. It's only been 76 plate appearances, but the 26-year-old is hitting an impressive .267/.413/.467 with three homers. Even if he cools a bit as the season progresses, there's still enough there for the former top prospect to be an average-or-better offensive threat at the catcher position.

Finally, there's some cost-saving value here. Bart is making $2.53 million in what is his second pass through arbitration. Roughly half of that is what is owed to him for the remainder of the season. For all of Pittsburgh's spending over the winter, this is still an organization on the lower end of the economic scale.

Stratton will begin his second tour of duty down in Indianapolis, but if and when he gets called up, he'll be making a prorated portion of his $780,000 pre-arb salary. The net for the Pirates isn't huge, but every dollar counts, and it might help them absorb a bit more salary at the trade deadline.

Don't be surprised to see Stratton with the big league club soon. He has the ability to be a decent sixth or seventh inning option for Pittsburgh, and that could have an outsized impact. The Pirates need to do everything in their power to rebuild the bridge to Gregory Soto in the ninth, so a quality dart throw at a middle relief arm isn't nothing. Now they can turn their attention to acquiring higher leverage arms as trade season heats up.

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