The White Sox acquired catcher Joey Bart from the Braves in exchange for right-hander Duncan Davitt, adding an immediate upgrade behind the plate at minimal cost with control through 2027.
After a long wait and plenty of negotiations, the Chicago White Sox have finally acquired a catcher via trade to help upgrade that position group on the MLB roster.
The White Sox have traded for Joey Bart, a 29-year-old catcher from the Atlanta Braves.
Bart, the second overall pick in the 2018 MLB Draft out of Georgia Tech, has carved out a decent career for himself as a backup catcher over the last few seasons. The best year of his career came in 2024 with the Pittsburgh Pirates, when Bart hit 13 home runs and posted a .799 OPS. He was traded to the Atlanta Braves earlier this season and has a .680 OPS with four home runs in 41 games between Pittsburgh and Atlanta.
Going back to the Braves in the trade is right-handed pitcher Duncan Davitt, the No. 30 prospect in the White Sox organization. Davitt was designated for assignment on Monday morning following an appearance for the White Sox on Sunday in Tampa Bay. He has pitched in two games for the White Sox in MLB this season.
Adding Bart is certainly a bit underwhelming for White Sox fans who had their sights set high on the catching market. He has a lot of bat speed and natural power, but his offense is streaky and average at best. Over the last three seasons, Bart has posted a .734 OPS at the MLB level. Defensively, Bart is also below average, although his blocking skills seem to have improved in 2026.
It's certainly not Tyler Stephenson, Jonah Heim, or defensive specialist Luis Torrens.
Even so, Bart is an upgrade over what the White Sox previously had. He's better than both Edgar Quero and Drew Romo, and he comes with an additional year of control through 2027 if the White Sox can find value in keeping him on the roster.
The trade also comes at very little cost, which is hard to ignore. Davitt has a 6.22 ERA in Triple-A Charlotte this season and has really struggled. He pitched his way off Chicago's 40-man roster and was designated for assignment, so being able to flip him to fill a big league need is good process from Chicago's front office.
The White Sox are still active on the phone lines and could look to make more additions before the deadline. But for the time being, they have at least one catcher joining the roster.
