SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Joey Bart did just about everything the Giants could have asked of him over the past month, but there was nothing he could have done to put himself on the Opening Day roster.
The plan all along has been for Bart, the organization's top prospect, to begin the season in the minors and get more reps behind the plate, and on Tuesday he was reassigned to minor league camp. Bart had seven hits in 16 spring at-bats, including a pair of homers. But the Giants want him playing every day, and there's no room for that with Buster Posey at the big league level.
The Giants have not yet announced where Bart will begin the season, but president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi has said in the past that the goal was for Bart to start in Triple-A. That would put him in position for a call-up this season, although the staff does not want Bart to come up to the big leagues and sit five days a week. That's why he never was really part of the competition to win the backup job, one now fully focused on Rob Brantly and Tyler Heineman, with the possibility that the Giants add someone at the end of camp.
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Bart, 23, had a .824 OPS and 16 homers across two levels last year, his first full season as a professional. But he has just 79 at-bats above A-ball and still is working on defensive adjustments. In particular, the staff has worked with him on being better at showing strikes to umpires.
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Along with Bart, Cristhian Adames was optioned to minor league camp. The middle infielder is a depth piece who will start the year with Triple-A Sacramento. Outfielder Joe McCarthy and right-hander Enderson Franco were also optioned to Triple-A.
The Giants now have 49 active players in big league camp.