Catcher Joey Bart isn’t in the Giants’ lineup Tuesday night against the Cardinals, but the club is optimistic that the fallout from his groin injury isn’t too significant.
Bart, 26, left Monday’s game in the seventh inning with right groin tightness. He got good news on his MRI the following day and said he hopes to only be sidelined for a couple days.
San Francisco is starting Blake Sabol in Bart’s place Tuesday. Triple-A catcher Ricardo Genovés is with the team at Oracle Park on a taxi squad basis.
“We’re going to try to get him ready to come off the bench if necessary,” Giants manager Gabe Kapler said.
Despite Kapler’s statement, a pinch-hit opportunity for Bart one night after suffering his groin injury — barring an emergency — is unlikely. The manager could be publicly keeping his options open so the Cardinals have to game plan for more contingencies.
Bart’s groin materializes when he’s sprinting, not when crouching or walking around.
Bart’s injury came during one of the most promising stretches of his career. He ranks first in strike rate, a key catcher framing metric, and is hitting .303 on the season while striking out at around a league average rate.
“I don’t think there’s been a more improved player than Joey,” starter Alex Cobb said after his shutout Monday. “He’s just done everything that he’s been asked. Criticized a lot last year, maybe minor critiques — he’s taken them in stride. He’s not complained about anything and he’s answered everything that everybody’s ever asked him to do.”
Sabol was likely going to start Tuesday anyways, with Cardinals righty Jake Woodford taking the mound. But with only a hobbled Bart behind him, SF’s catching depth situation is precarious.
The Giants were likely deciding between 23-year-old Genovés and Gary Sánchez when deciding who to bring up on taxi squad. Sánchez is hitting .146 for the River Cats compared to Genovés’ .300 average and .808 OPS.
Sánchez, the two-time All-Star, signed a minor league deal with the Giants for a chance to contribute at the big-league level. Even in the hitting-happy Pacific League, and even with the automatic balls and strikes system that has inflated walk rates, Sánchez has a .327 on-base percentage.
He has an opt-out on May 1 if he doesn’t reach MLB by then. Austin Slater, who played with Sánchez recently while on a rehab assignment, said the catcher’s swing has looked more dialed in recently.
Kapler said the opt-out didn’t play a part in SF’s decision to leave Sánchez with Sacramento.
“Gary’s still working through some things,” Kapler said.
