Catcher Joey Bart has been optioned to Triple-A Sacramento, and the SFGiants make a trade for Phillies catcher Austin Wynns. [Photo: Getty Images]
Bart had just two hits in his last 25 at-bats with 15 strikeouts, dropping his average to .156. He had strikeouts in 49 of 108 plate appearances and had lost the starting job to Casali, the veteran who was supposed to back up Bart just as he did Posey.
Bart's struggles have been ongoing and manager Gabe Kapler has been open about how there's too much swing-and-miss in the young catcher's game, but the Giants were short on depth at the upper levels of the minors. They acquired Michael Papierski from the Houston Astros last month in exchange for Mauricio Dubon, but Papierski was hitless in nine at-bats when Casali went on the IL.
Wynns seemingly has a different profile, and a greater chance of helping a lineup that has struggled to get production from the catching position. A right-handed batter, Wynns had a .365/.504/.500 slash line in Triple-A with three homers in 33 games. He previously played in 115 games over parts of three seasons with the Baltimore Orioles, slashing .216/.255/.326 with nine homers.