It’s no secret that catcher was a position of weakness as the Pittsburgh Pirates looked to improve offensively this season.

While the front office invested in bats for both the infield and outfield, catcher was the one main position the Pirates left untouched this winter. In theory, the organization had four options to start the year behind the dish: Henry Davis, Joey Bart, Endy Rodríguez, and Rafael Flores.

Rodríguez was looking to get back on track after injuries disrupted yet another season for the 26-year-old. Flores, meanwhile, the catching prospect the Pirates received as part of the David Bednar trade with the New York Yankees, was looking to break through after rocketing up from Double-A to a big league stint by year’s end.

Both catchers had flashes in spring training, but the Pirates ultimately went with their same tandem as last year in Davis and Bart. But a quarter of the way into the season, both catchers are trying to shale off abysmal starts at the plate. Davis, who has played the majority of the time with the catcher’s mitt for the Pirates, has slashed .163/.272/.275 (.547 OPS).

Bart, meanwhile, was similarly struggling. In his first 15 games of the year, the 29-year-old was slashing .158/.214/.263 (.477 OPS) with one home run and three RBI. He had amassed just ten total bases, and his 17 strikeouts in 42 plate appearances put his strikeout rate at an alarmingly high 40.5%.

With Bart struggling on offense, Davis’ defensive strengths, and some fellow catchers starting to heat up, it looked like time was maybe running out for Bart.In this last week, though, he’s shown serious signs of life.

In his last six games, Bart is a combined 9-for-20, picking up a home run and three RBI over a winning west-coast road trip for the Pirates. His batting average has skyrocketed over 100 points since the Pirates returned home from a road trip to Texas and Milwaukee.

This recent run includes his first multi-hit game of the season back on April 29th, knocking two singles and scoring a run in a tight 5-4 to St. Louis at home. While that sweep at the hands of the Cardinals was a setback for the Pirates, they were able to rebound with a sweep of the Cincinnati Reds, a series win over Arizona, and a .500 road trip overall.

In the rubber match against the Diamondbacks, Bart drilled a solo home run to deep left field to give the Pirates a massive insurance run en route to a 4-2 win. It was just his second home run and third RBI of the year.

Two days later in his third consecutive start behind the plate, Bart recorded his third career four-hit game in a 13-3 rout of the Giants in San Francisco.

He was able to beat out a throw to first, aided by a challenge from the Pittsburgh dugout to get him on base in the fifth. The following inning, Bart notched a single to score Konnor Griffin from second base. In the seventh, another single brought home Spencer Horwitz. He finished his day with a single to center field in the top of the ninth.

Of course, some of Bart’s production over the weekend could have been motivated from playing against his old team. In 11 career games against his draft team, Bart has a career .355/.375/.484 slash line, with a home run and eight RBI in 31 at-bats. His .355 average is his fourth-best mark against any MLB team he’s seen more than once.

Or maybe he peeked at the numbers of the catchers down in Triple-A Indianapolis.

Though he got off to a slow start, Rodríguez is slashing .300/.432/.383 (.816 OPS) in his last 20 games and is performing very well against left-handed pitching.

Flores, meanwhile, has six RBI in May, and is slashing .239/.341/.408 (.750 OPS). Flores also has the luxury of headlining the Bednar return; even if his numbers aren’t the strongest, the front office might be eager to try and see a return on investment with him at the major league level.

But regardless of what has changed, it’s something the Pirates have to hope can be sustained. There’s no question this offense is an improvement over last year’s team, but they are struggling from a lack of depth batting.

The Pirates don’t necessarily need to add a 40-home run guy to this lineup, they just need some more consistent, rounded out contributions from the bottom third of their lineup.

Even if the Pirates can get something like the 2024 version of Bart back, that could serve as a major boost to this lineup. Two years ago in 80 games, Bart slashed .265/.337/.799 after the team acquired him from San Francisco.

Coming home to face Colorado on Tuesday and kicking off a six-game homestand, it will be interesting to see how much manager Don Kelly works Bart into the lineup, and if he continue this hot streak he’s on.