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Buster Posey may be basking in retirement, but he stepped back into the spotlight on Saturday, when the Giants celebrated his legacy during an hour-long pregame ceremony at Oracle Park.

 

At one point, rookie catcher Joey Bart found himself back in Posey’s shadow, quietly emerging from the dugout to begin helping Logan Webb warm up for his scheduled start against the Cardinals. 

 

As fondly as fans will look back on Posey’s iconic 12-year career, Bart now represents the future for the Giants behind the plate, though it hasn’t been an entirely smooth transition between eras thus far. 

 

Bart, 25, entered Wednesday mired in a 3-for-39 (.077) funk that dropped his batting average to .158 over 19 games this season. While he’s hit three home runs and drawn 10 walks, Bart has struck out 29 times in his last 50 at-bats and 32 times in 69 overall plate appearances in 2022. His 46.4% strikeout rate is the highest clip among Major League hitters with a minimum of 50 plate appearances this year. 

 

“It’s been an up-and-down season in the batter’s box,” manager Gabe Kapler said. “He’s gotten some big hits, but there’s been a lot of swing-and-miss. That’s been part of his game. It’s something we’re willing to hang in there with him on. We’d obviously like to see him make more contact. As long as he’s walking occasionally and driving the ball -- extra-base hits, some balls in the seats -- it’s a really good overall package. But it's definitely still a work in progress. I think there’s an elevated level of performance in there for Joey.” 

 

Growing pains are to be expected with any young player who is attempting to establish himself in the league, though Kapler noted that Bart has not let his offensive struggles affect his work behind the plate. While the Giants are still waiting for Bart’s bat to come around, they’ve seen growth on the defensive end, repeatedly praising his improved communication with pitchers and his excellent framing. 

 

What’s Posey’s view of Bart’s season so far? 

 

“I think the biggest takeaway for me is that he’s been poised,” Posey said. “That’s carried over behind the plate. I feel like he’s done some good work with the pitchers behind the plate. It seems like he’s gaining their trust. He started off hot, had a little rough patch with the bat, but again, I’m not seeing the body language that you might have seen a couple of years ago. I think that bodes well for him going forward.”   

 

In the meantime, the Giants could award more starts to veteran Curt Casali as Bart attempts to get his swing back on track. Bart has posted an encouraging 52% hard-hit rate, but he’ll have to punish more pitches in the zone to better tap into his power moving forward. 

 

“Joey has some adjustments to make,” Kapler said. “Joey has taken more walks than he has in the past. He has laid off more pitches than he has in the past, so he hasn’t chased as much. The swing-and-miss might just be a part of his game, but it’s something that if there’s not a little bit of improvement in that particular area, it’s just going to be hard for him to be a plus-plus offensive player going forward. It’s not to say that it’s not possible, it just makes it more difficult. So we’ll continue to work on his swing and work on his approach. We’ll do that collaboratively with him. We’re going to do everything we can to put him in a position to succeed.” 

QUOTABLE

 

"I’m forever grateful I got to wear a Giants uniform for my entire career. I never wanted to wear another one." -- Posey

TRIVIA

 

What was the name of the team of Portuguese water dogs that was trained to retrieve home run balls in McCovey Cove during the 2000 season?

• A. BARK
• B. Dogs of Summer
• C. Team Fetch
• D. Dinger Retrievers

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

 

Here are some recent Giants stories you might have missed over the last week: 

• Joc Pederson has slowed down since suffering a Grade 1 right adductor strain last month, but before that, he had emerged as one of the best hitters in baseball. MLB.com's Dylan Svoboda examined the Bay Area native's hot start at the plate.

• A literal Giant -- the 6-foot-11 Sean Hjelle -- impressed in his Major League debut on Friday night. 

• In the latest episode of Gcast, Amy G and I discuss Bart's offensive struggles, Jakob Junis' impact and the potential ripple effects of Evan Longoria's return:

FARM REPORT

 

Here's a roundup of notable performances from Giants prospects over the last week:

• Left-hander Kyle Harrison delivered another dominant performance for High-A Eugene on Friday, striking out 10 over four shutout innings against Hillsboro. Harrison, 20, has logged a 2.37 ERA with 42 strikeouts over 19 innings in his first five starts of the 2022 campaign.
• Right-hander Nick Sinacola mirrored Harrison's line in a brilliant relief outing against Stockton on Saturday, lowering his ERA to 1.83 with 32 strikeouts over 19 2/3 innings in six appearances (two starts) for Single-A San Jose this year. 
• Outfielder Grant McCray has been red-hot at Single-A San Jose, where he entered Wednesday batting .444 (16-for-36) with a 1.373 OPS and four home runs over eight games in May. 
• Outfielder Vaun Brown earned California League Player of the Week honors after homering in four consecutive games during Single-A San Jose's series against Stockton. Brown, 23, entered Wednesday batting .317 with a .924 OPS, six home runs, 12 RBIs and nine stolen bases over 26 games this season. 

THIS WEEK IN GIANTS HISTORY

 

May 11, 1972: The Giants traded a 41-year-old Willie Mays to the Mets in exchange for pitcher Charlie Williams and $50,000, allowing the Say Hey Kid to return to New York for the final two seasons of his legendary career. Mays ended up making his Mets debut against the Giants three days later and hammered a go-ahead home run that propelled his new club to a 5-4 win at Shea Stadium.  

TRIVIA ANSWER

 

A: BARK, short for Baseball Aquatic Retrieval Korps.

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Contact Maria at maria.guardado@mlb.com | View Online