Farhan Zaidi says SF Giants 'need' Joey Bart to take a step forward

The pressure is on SF Giants catcher Joey Bart this season. While the 2018 second-overall pick has struggled early in his big-league career, the Giants have added some intriguing competition behind the plate this season. Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi broke down the situation in an interview on Tolbert and Copes on KNBR 680 AM. Zaidi reiterated the organization's belief in Bart but acknowledged that they expect more from him this season.

"We talked about how we want Joey to take a step forward," Zaidi said when asked about Bart. "I think for us to be a playoff team, we need that. Competition at that spot is good. Blake Sabol is gonna mix in. Roberto Perez is gonna mix in. There's one school of thought where you just give the guy the job and let him run with it. This is maybe the other school where we have other good options and want someone to take the reigns and be the guy. We're certainly hoping Joey can accomplish that, and he'll certainly be getting his opportunities."

"When you think about what Joey Bart can be, you think about a guy hitting fifth or sixth in the order, not eighth or ninth as he has for us. That's kind of the difference. He's got power now. We see the power from him, but it's the difference between being a .280-.290 on-base guy and hitting .210-.220 versus hitting .250-.260 with a .340-.350 on-base. We've told Joey that for us to go where we want to go as a team, we need to see some improvements from him. There are times I feel like it's unfair like there's too much of a spotlight on him. We need a lot of guys to carry their weight."

As he wrapped up his remarks on Bart, Zaidi made one thing clear; the Giants will need to eye an upgrade if the former Georgia Tech star cannot take a step forward.

"If he does the same thing he did last year, it's going to compel us to continue to look for other options," Zaidi said. "But I know he feels there's room for improvement, and so do we"

You can listen to Zaidi's full conversation with Copeland and Tolbert here:

Bart is coming off a rocky 2022, his first full big-league season of his career. Bart was fairly consistent defensively, but at the plate, he was unable to avoid prolonged slumps. While he showed off his impressive power on several occasions, blasting 11 home runs in just 297 plate appearances, he also struck out 112 times and finished the season with a .215/.296/.364 triple-slash.

In his conversation on KNBR, Zaidi mentioned Rule 5 acquisition Blake Sabol (Giants #33 prospect) and minor-league free agent signing Roberto Pérez, a veteran who has won two career Gold Gloves as two players who will compete with Bart for playing time behind the plate. If Bart struggles to find consistency, either one has a chance to become the primary option.

Joey Bart has been considered the SF Giants catcher of the future since he was drafted by the team back in 2018. Still only 26, Bart has all the tools to become one of the best catchers in the major leagues. However, its clear from Zaidi's comments that his time is running out in San Francisco if he cannot make some notable improvements.