Joey Bart DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

Pittsburgh Pirates catcher Joey Bart (concussion) has returned to full baseball activities but is still in the league's concussion protocol, according to senior director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk. Bart is making progress but isn't ready to be cleared while being monitored on a day-by-day basis. When he's finally cleared, the Pirates and doctors will determine whether he'll need to go on a minor-league rehab assignment. Before suffering a head injury on a backswing last Tuesday against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Bart was hitting .240 with a home run, 11 RBI and a .347 on-base percentage as Pittsburgh's primary catcher through 44 games. Since Bart went on the seven-day concussion injured list, Henry Davis has started five of the six games behind the dish for the Bucs.

The Pittsburgh Pirates announced on Wednesday that they placed catcher Joey Bart (concussion) on the seven-day concussion injured list and reinstated catcher/first baseman Endy Rodriguez (finger) from the 10-day injured list in a corresponding move. Bart suffered a concussion in Tuesday's game when he was hit in the head by a backswing. Henry Davis is doing the catching for right-hander Paul Skenes on Wednesday against the Arizona Diamondbacks, and he and Rodriguez should split the catching duties for the Bucs for as long as Bart is out of action. The 28-year-old Bart had a career-high 13 home runs and 45 RBI in 80 games with Pittsburgh last year, but he hasn't been quite as good in 2025. Through 44 games before his concussion, Bart has hit .240 (35-for-146) with only one long ball and 11 RBI. It's possible he'll need longer than a week to recover from his head injury.

Pittsburgh Pirates catcher Joey Bart and outfielder Tommy Pham will start Tuesday's game against the division-rival St. Louis Cardinals on the bench at Busch Stadium. Henry Davis is catching and hitting ninth, while Alexander Canario will start in left field and bat fifth against Cardinals left-hander Matthew Liberatore. Although Bart has just one long ball on the season in 87 at-bats, he's done well as Pittsburgh's primary catcher with a strong .276 average (24-for-87) with seven RBI, seven runs and a stolen base. The 28-year-old will take a seat after starting the last four games. Pham could use a rest after going 2-for-18 of late as the team's primary left fielder. Canario is starting to see more playing time of late with Pham slumping, though. Davis has never faced Liberatore in his career, while Canario is hitless against him in just three at-bats.