Joey Bart’s rehab assignment was transferred to Triple-A Indianapolis on June 12, the clearest sign yet that his return from a left foot infection is getting closer. The move came after he began his comeback in Bradenton, where the Pirates had hoped to see him build back toward game action.
Bart had been on the 10-day injured list since May 12, when the infection forced the Pirates to shut him down. He spent time in a cast on his left foot, and the recovery has depended on making sure the foot heals cleanly, because sweat or anything else getting into the cast could trigger a reinfection.
The catcher’s progress has been moving in the right direction for days. On May 29, Todd Tomczyk said Bart had resumed all weight room activities and light catch, with the hope that running and hitting would follow that week. Don Kelly has since said Bart is “progressing well” and that things are “going positively” for him, adding that Bart has been home in Buford, Ga.
The transfer to Indianapolis matters because it usually marks a later stage of a rehab assignment, not the beginning of one. That puts Bart closer to a decision point, even if the Pirates have not said whether he will be activated immediately after the assignment ends or how long he will stay there.
That uncertainty is the part that hangs over the move. Endy Rodríguez has given the Pirates offensive production and plate discipline from the catcher position since being called up in Bart’s absence, and Henry Davis remains in the mix despite offensive numbers described as frustrating. Bart’s return should give the Pirates another option, but it does not hand them an easy answer on how to divide the catching work.
The Pirates had wanted Bart on a rehab assignment soon, and now that he is in Triple-A Indianapolis, the next step is not whether he is coming back but when the club decides he is ready. What remains unsettled is whether that return will come with a clear place waiting for him, or with a roster choice the Pirates still have to make.
