During the final week of games leading up to the All-Star break, four different players started at the catcher position for the San Francisco Giants.

After starter Buster Posey suffered a left thumb contusion that ultimately forced him to the 10-day injured list, Curt Casali, Chadwick Tromp and Joey Bart took turns behind the plate for a Giants club that finished the first half with an MLB-best 57-32 record.

The Giants are hopeful Posey will return to the active roster when the club opens the second half of the season in St. Louis on Friday and with Casali and Tromp already in the fold, the organization chose to option Bart to Triple-A Sacramento following Sunday’s 3-1 win over the Nationals.

Bart was recalled from Triple-A on Saturday to start against the Nationals and finished with two hits in five at-bats in a 10-4 victory. The Giants’ top catching prospect and 2018 first-round draft choice caught six shutout innings from Anthony DeSclafani before reliever Tyler Beede entered and gave up three runs in his first major league appearance since undergoing Tommy John surgery in March 2020.

Bart is set to rejoin the River Cats on Monday in Salt Lake City where the club will play two more games against the Angels’ Triple-A affiliate before returning home for a six-game series against Round Rock beginning Thursday.

Earlier this season, Bart appeared to factor into the Giants’ second-half plans as Casali’s batting average was hovering around .100. After a brief stint on the injured list at the beginning of June, however, Casali has looked like a completely different player and is batting .405 with four home runs and a 1.336 OPS, which has alleviated the need for the Giants to bring Bart up from Triple-A for an extended stretch of games.

Outfielder Mike Tauchman (knee) and infielder Tommy La Stella (thumb) are both rehabbing injuries with Triple-A and manager Gabe Kapler has indicated both players could be ready to be activated when the Giants play on Friday in St. Louis.

Adding La Stella back to the active roster will require the Giants to make a difficult decision as he’s on the 60-day injured list and San Francisco must clear a space for him on the 40-man roster.