The Pittsburgh Pirates have a catching conundrum. They have four backstops on their 40-man roster. Henry Davis is slated to be their primary answer behind the dish. That leaves Joey Bart, Endy Rodriguez, and Rafael Flores Jr. as their backup options. Someone has to be the odd man out, and it’s more than likely Joey Bart. Bart has no options remaining, while Rodriguez and Flores do. The former provides better defense than Bart, and the latter has more experience at first base. The Pirates are going to have to move Bart before the end of Spring Training, and this one-for-one mock trade would help clear up some space on the depth chart and replenish some of the pitching depth the Pirates lost throughout the offseason.
Mock Joey Bart Trade to Replenish the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Pitching
Pirates receive: Sean Sullivan
Sean Sullivan is a former second-round pick from the Colorado Rockies and has been productive throughout the minor leagues. 2025 was no different. The left-hander spent most of his season at Double-A. Over 104 innings, Sullivan owned a 2.94 ERA, 3.15 FIP, and 1.06 WHIP. The Southpaw only walked 6% of opponents he faced, and had a solid 24.9% K%. Sullivan was also immune to home runs. He held opponents to a HR/9 ratio of only 0.61.
Although Sullivan has consistently done well as a prospect, he has a relatively low ceiling. He sits in the upper-80s and tops out around 90 MPH with his fastball. However, he is a deceptive pitcher. Sullivan throws from a low armslot and has about 7.5 feet of extension off the mound. Not only does he make his fastball look faster than the radar says, but he gives the pitch plenty of ride. His upper-70s slider is his go-to breaking offering. Sullivan’s best pitch is his change-up, which looks like a plus offering. There is also hope for more velocity, given that he had labrum surgery last year.
Aside from a deceptive motion on the mound, Sullivan also has plus control over all of his pitches. Ranked as the Rockies’ 16th best prospect on Baseball America, Sullivan projects as a back-of-the-rotation type arm. He may also regain some velocity working out of the bullpen as a multi-inning reliever/spot starter, akin to Carmen Mlodzinski. The Pirates thinned out their pitching depth this offseason, and acquiring Sullivan could help replenish it with a near-MLB-ready hurler.
Rockies receive: Joey Bart.
Joey Bart has hit .257/.347/.398 with a 110 wRC+ over the last two years. He has gone yard 17 times in 617 plate appearances, with a .141 ISO. Bart has a 10.1% walk rate in a Pirates uniform, but has struck out at 27% of the time. Most of Bart’s production has come against lefties. Since joining the Pirates, Bart has had a 163 wRC+ against Southpaws, but only a 91 wRC+ when facing a right-hander.
Bart’s defense has not graded out well with the Bucs. His last 1203.2 innings behind the plate have yielded -10 defensive runs saved and -4.3 framing runs. However, Bart did improve from 2024 to 2025. He only had -.8 framing runs in 658.2 innings, compared to -3.5 in 545 innings in 2024. Bart also went from -7 fielding runs to -3 fielding runs.
The current Rockies back-up catcher is Braxton Fulford. Fulford demolished Triple-A pitching in 2025. He owned a 1.147 OPS, .479 wOBA, and 166 wRC+ in 171 plate appearances at Albuquerque. This was impressive, even in the extremely hitter-friendly PCL. The average OPS was .803 last season. However, Fulford had a poor.591 OPS, .259 wOBA, and 49 wRC+ in 120 MLB plate appearances. He also struggled defensively, with -3 DRS and -2.7 framing runs in just 249 innings behind the dish.
Hunter Goodman is the Rockies’ primary catcher. After belting 31 home runs with a 118 wRC+ last season, the Rockies probably want him hitting every day. Bart can allow him to play designated hitter from time to time to keep his bat in the lineup. Last year, Goodman played 39 games as a DH. Bart can also platoon with current Rockies DH Mickey Moniak. The former first overall pick owned a 119 wRC+ against right-handed pitching, but a meager 54 wRC+ when facing left-handed hurlers.
A fair trade, or complete fantasy?
The Pirates would likely accept a trade like this. They’ll likely want to get as much as they can for Bart as soon as possible. The Pirates love to develop pitching, and Sullivan would be someone they can work on. If he continues to pitch well, he could even make the Majors this year. After trading both Mike Burrows and Johan Oviedo this past winter, adding some near-MLB-ready depth would not be a bad idea, especially if it means trading a spare part.
Bart would certainly help improve the Rockies’ defense. They had the lowest wRC+ in the league last year at 74. They were even outpaced by the Pirates’ own lowly offense, which had an 82 wRC+. Bart is controlled through 2027 as well. That allows them to acquire a catcher who will get semi-regular playing time, and one they might be able to flip in the future for a better prospect down the line.
The only potential snag is that the Rockies may see a pitching prospect with six years of MLB control left more valuable than a solid bat-first catcher with two years of control remaining. With their current state, they may not want to trade a prospect unless it’s for a long-term controllable asset. Bart has a chance to do very well, playing half his games at Coors Field. However, they’d be taking more of a risk, hoping they could flip him for something better than Sean Sullivan in the future.
Either way, the Pirates need to find a way to unload Bart. The Rockies could use another catcher, and Bart can hit. Plus, he can supplement Moniak as a right-handed hitting platoon option at designated hitter. The Pirates also get a pitching prospect who fits a mold Ben Cherington usually likes.
Main Photo Credits: Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images