Backup catcher position can get tricky for Pirates in spring training
Two former top prospects will be vying for playing time behind Joey Bart
The Pittsburgh Pirates originally acquired Endy Rodriguez from the New York Mets in exchange for Joey Lucchesi (whom they had acquired in the Jose Musgrove trade). Eventually, Rodriguez emerged as one of the best catching prospects in baseball.
He graduated from prospect status in 2023 and was set to be a key piece in the Pirates’ lineup the following season until Tommy John surgery forced him to miss the majority of 2024.
In that time, the Pirates added another catcher, Joey Bart, who should get most of the playing time behind the plate going into 2025.
Tommy John on catchers is tricky, but some success stories include Salvador Perez and Travis d’Arnaud.
Now back in camp, Rodriguez has declared himself 100% healthy and has looked solid in some of the throws early on.
The Pirates now have some interesting decisions to make when it comes to their catcher position. At 100%, Rodriguez fits perfectly out of what you would want from a backup catcher, and if the hitting continues to develop in the majors, he could work his way into being a starter.
They already have Bart, and former first-overall pick Henry Davis will be around, looking for some playing time behind the plate.
Davis and Rodriguez on the same team create an interesting dynamic for the Pirates. The former was drafted first overall for his ability to hit, and the latter posted positive defensive metrics in his debut.
The Pirates want Davis to develop as a catcher, which makes sense, given their investment in him.
Regardless of his position, his success will ultimately be decided by how well he hits the ball.
Rodriguez likely won’t be the hitter that Davis could be, but he wouldn’t need to be as a catcher. His value comes from his defense. Anything extra is a bonus.
I’ve mentioned here previously that the best scenario would be for Rodriguez to go to Triple-A to start the season to get consistent at-bats while Davis is the backup catcher behind Bart.
This isn’t to say that Endy needs more seasoning in the minors, it’s more the getting back in the swing of things after missing an entire year. Those consistent at-bats would go a long way in getting his rhythm back.
That gives one a chance to get back into the flow of playing every day and the other a chance to try and mast major league pitching.
If Rodriguez goes out and thoroughly outplays Davis in spring, that would lead to an even more interesting conversation.
The Pirates are setting it up that Davis has no backup plan if he isn’t the second catcher. Would that lead to a move to Triple-A? Davis has an OPS of .944 in the minors in 181 games. That’s compared to a .590 mark in 99 major league games.
It’s hard to imagine much more benefit he can get from facing Triple-A pitching, but it’s a scenario that may end up being back on the table, depending on how things go.
Generally, this is a good problem to have, and in year six, under Ben Cherington, the focus should be on the player who gives you the best chance to win.
But with the way the roster is set up, and the scenario surrounding Endy, it doesn’t exactly work out that way.
My take: On a previous podcast, we discussed the Pirates' struggle to have contingencies for when things go wrong.
I feel like that’s what they’ve done with Davis and his development. They tried the right field thing with almost no preparation, and it failed miserably.
They are now determined to make it work as a catcher, but if you’ve read the site, you’d know I’m not an overly big fan of Davis behind the plate.
Now they are setting it up to where if Rodriguez comes into camp and outperforms Davis, you are left in a bad position:
You can send down Endy and say that he needs more work to get back to ‘100%’ despite what the evidence showed, going with Davis as the backup.
Send Davis down to Triple-A because he is just a catcher and has no other flexibility to be on the roster. Now you have your 25-year-old former first-overall pick playing in Triple-A to either learn a new position or as depth.
Neither sounds ideal.
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For some reason I think there's a good chance they send Davis and Rodriguez to Indy, giving Endy more at bats and Davis more development time behind the plate. Basically 3 days catching, 3 days at DH (or at another position) for each. Having Delay getting 1 or 2 games a week while seeing if Bart's breakout was sustainable or if he is more of a short side platoon player and lefty masher off the bench.
I think they should go with whoever hits.
It would depend on how much other teams buy into Bart's '24 (and it only takes one), but the smart move might be to trade Bart and just roll with Rodriguez and Davis with Delay as insurance. This assumes that they're unwilling, as they've implied, to play any of their catchers at 1B or other position.
It might not be the best move for '25 (but haven't they already demonstrated that they're not that committed to contending in '25?), but giving Endy and Henry a full season to work with our staff and get adjusted to MLB pitching could set them up for more success in '26 and beyond.
OTOH, if Cutch retires after this year and the DH position becomes open, then we might be glad that we have all three in '26.