White Sox Acquire Joey Bart

The White Sox have landed catcher Joey Bart from the Braves, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports.  MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand writes that right-hander Duncan Davitt (who designated for assignment earlier today) is headed to Atlanta in exchange.

With Sean Murphy nearing a return from a minor league rehab assignment, the Braves will return to their normal catching alignment of Drake Baldwin and Murphy, leaving Bart the odd man out.  Atlanta just acquired Bart from the Pirates in June to add some depth behind the plate with Murphy sidelined.

Formerly one of the top prospects in baseball, Bart hasn’t done much to live up to that potential over seven MLB seasons, aside from a would-be breakout in 2024 that was followed by a disappointing 2025 campaign.  Bart is hitting .226/.303/.377 with four homers over 119 plate appearances this season, which is pretty comparable to his career slash line in 1236 PA.

This modest production is still better than what the White Sox have received from their catching position this year.  Thought to be perhaps the roster’s strong point heading into the 2026 campaign, Kyle Teel played in only 19 games in between lengthy IL stints, and he’ll be out until at least late August healing from a left ankle sprain.  Edgar Quero hasn’t hit at all and stopgap veterans Reese McGuire and Drew Romo also haven’t contributed anything at the plate.

Bart is essentially a stopgap addition himself until Teel comes back, if Teel is able to return in 2026 at all.  While Bart won’t necessarily turn a weak link of a position into a strength, he can at least stabilize things as Chicago continues its surprising surge into contention.  Bart is also arbitration-controlled through 2027, if the Sox opted to retain him and perhaps move on from Quero.  Bart is owed around $840K in remaining salary this year, making him a low-cost add for the Sox.

Davitt finds himself on the move for the second straight deadline, as the Rays dealt Davitt, Curtis Mead, and Ben Peoples to Chicago last July in the swap that sent Adrian Houser to Tampa Bay.  This brief stint in the Windy City saw Davitt make his MLB debut this season, with one appearance in April and another just yesterday.  The righty has a 4.50 ERA over his two career innings in the Show.

An 18th-round pick for the Rays in the 2022 draft, Davitt has worked primarily as a starter in the minors but has been used out of the bullpen with more regularity this year.  Over 127 2/3 innings at the Triple-A level, Davitt has a 5.78 ERA, 23.75% strikeout rate, and 9.82% walk rate.  Davitt has all three of his minor league options remaining, so the Braves can shuttle him freely between the majors and minors over the next few years.