If Endy is ready to play, he is the best we have at Catcher and can go on to help the Pirates elsewhere in the lineup due being a switch hitter. Joey Bart had an excellent turnaround season in 2024, and I hope he does even better in 2025. Bart deserves the primary starting position.
Henry Davis had a very difficult MLB experience at the plate in 2024 (454 OPS), after having a very strong effort at AAA (956 OPS). What happened? It's between the ears - he started to struggle and the more he pressed the worse it got. He has all the tools, but lost a little confidence in himself at the plate. I think he will get beyond that and have a good ST. But, barring any injury issues, ERod is the best to be the backup Catcher coming out of ST.
Davis to AAA and then come up as needed. Remember, at AAA he will be catching Bubba Chandler, Thomas Harrington, and possibly Braxton Ashcraft, Mike Burrows, etc. That will pay later dividends for the Pirates.
My view is that there is a contradiction between saying that Davis should not get special treatment because he was the #1 overall pick and saying that he has to be in the majors because he has nothing to prove in AAA. He has basically done nothing in the majors except hit a couple home runs off Shohei Ohtani.
Objectively he should be in a straight competition with Endy this spring and may the best man win. I expect Endy to win this competition for two reasons: 1) he is a better defensive catcher and 2) his switch-hitting allows him to platoon with Bart and gives him the ability to serve as a pinch-hitter when needed in certain situations.
If Davis does well offensively in the spring I would support carrying all three players on the major league roster, even if it means carrying one fewer pitcher. I actually think Davis’ only likely path to success is as a DH, but by re-signing Cutch, the PIrates have cut off that option, at least for 2025.
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.
Yeah, and given Cutch’s age and history with knee/leg issues, there might be chuncks of the season where you need DH at bats while not shortening (I.e., giving Reynolds DH at bats and weakening the OF at the same time) the lineup that day.
Obviously, this assumes Bart continues to hit and Davis finds his stroke.
Pirates won’t get true trade value for either guy unless he shows it in the majors. And you can’t keep both unless one plays a different position. So I’d use Henry as back up catcher and send Endy down to be a part time catcher and either learn first base or outfield. Endy can play anywhere.
Endy played quite a bit of first basemen in the minors. He is actually pretty good. I heard or read Shelton say he wants him just to stick to catcher for now because he doesn't want too much on his plate.
If you have caught any of my previous posts, it is fully in line with your thinking with Endy in AAA to start to get regular swings and Hank in the majors likely catching 3 days a week assuming Bart is a middle of the order bat who gets ABs at DH maybe twice a week. I am not as worried about if Endy looks better than Hank in exhibition play unless Hank just tanks as the exhibition season sample size is still small for both of them and from an offensive standpoint will come against a crap shoot of pitching and wind gusts. I am not as worried any more about Hank having the label 'first round pick', first or tenth round, he has hit very well in AAA (graduated?) and needs to prove it at the top level. The best scenario is Bart hits like last year, Hank hits like he deserves 6 starts. a week and Endy shows he is more than ready. Then we can creatively talk about how to best use each player which could include trade considerations. I would love to have this problem.
My only counter is to have Davis start in AAA and get time at 1B to see if he can handle the position (without doing it at the MLB level like they did to him in RF). May totally be wrong, but I don’t think he has a future behind the plate and I’m guessing the staff will prefer Endy (and to a lesser extent Bart) as a battery mate. With more time behind the plate, I think Davis would have to hit at Piazza-levels to justify putting him back there.
Since the Pirates seem uninterested in exploring this scenario, though, what you and Murph are proposing makes sense. Being adamant that Davis is catcher may also be the team hoping he hits well in spring training and generates trade interest, but that might be giving this FO too much credit of actual forethought.
I don't disagree with your concerns with Davis defense and future, my only counter to your counter is (we could do this all day - smile), having Hank learn a new position not knowing if he can hit at the MLB level is somehow reverse growth. Until we know he can hit at the major league level he is not worthy of a major league roster spot, since offense will have to be his carrying skill. Having him learn 1B or RF and just come up and not hit seems like a waste. Let's see if he can hit. If he can, then maybe all next winter is spent shagging flys or scooping throws at first.
Ha! And the counter to your counter of my counter is that relieving Davis of the time required working on his defense behind the plate, and just as importantly working with the staff and game planning, might positively impact his ability to adjust to MLB pitching.
He’s definitely a tough player to crack! My thinking is simply sending him to AAA to (hopefully) continue to mash and learn a second position in a less stressful environment (while continuing to catch) so he has a couple different avenues to provide value long term.
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 you could get 2-3 games behind the plate for Davis in the majors. A day or two off for Bart and then have him DH another day. I would really rather him be in the majors unless it's to learn a new position, which, even then, I would hate that they waited till opening day to do that.
At this point, though, if Endy just looks ready to roll, go with him as the backup. It's not like Davis has done anything to guarantee a spot right now.
This makes sense, and I agree that a lot will depend on how spring training shakes out due to performance and/or injuries.
I’m hoping that Endy’s floor this season is him hitting just enough that his plus defense and work with the staff makes him an above average catcher.
Davis would have to absolutely mash to offset his work behind the plate. If he does, I think he’d provide greater value getting time at DH.
For the life of me, I don’t understand why they won’t test Bart and Davis at first to see if either shows signs of being able to handle the position if their bats play and they want to work them into the lineup when Endy catches. To going into the season relying on someone from a collection of Hall, Suwinski, Stewart, Triolo, Nunez to keep the seat warm with hopes that a dude (with a small sample of MLB success) returns from surgery and plays well the rest of the season is bonkers.
I'll never understand their mindsets with some of this stuff. Bart and Davis seeing time at first makes so much sense, yet Peguero is mentioning that he practiced there during the offseason.
Bart and Davis are below average at catcher, try them at first, it won't hurt anything. You also get one of your better bats (Bart) in the lineup more often without wearing him down and you get Endy behind the plate more.
If Endy is ready to play, he is the best we have at Catcher and can go on to help the Pirates elsewhere in the lineup due being a switch hitter. Joey Bart had an excellent turnaround season in 2024, and I hope he does even better in 2025. Bart deserves the primary starting position.
Henry Davis had a very difficult MLB experience at the plate in 2024 (454 OPS), after having a very strong effort at AAA (956 OPS). What happened? It's between the ears - he started to struggle and the more he pressed the worse it got. He has all the tools, but lost a little confidence in himself at the plate. I think he will get beyond that and have a good ST. But, barring any injury issues, ERod is the best to be the backup Catcher coming out of ST.
Davis to AAA and then come up as needed. Remember, at AAA he will be catching Bubba Chandler, Thomas Harrington, and possibly Braxton Ashcraft, Mike Burrows, etc. That will pay later dividends for the Pirates.
My view is that there is a contradiction between saying that Davis should not get special treatment because he was the #1 overall pick and saying that he has to be in the majors because he has nothing to prove in AAA. He has basically done nothing in the majors except hit a couple home runs off Shohei Ohtani.
Objectively he should be in a straight competition with Endy this spring and may the best man win. I expect Endy to win this competition for two reasons: 1) he is a better defensive catcher and 2) his switch-hitting allows him to platoon with Bart and gives him the ability to serve as a pinch-hitter when needed in certain situations.
If Davis does well offensively in the spring I would support carrying all three players on the major league roster, even if it means carrying one fewer pitcher. I actually think Davis’ only likely path to success is as a DH, but by re-signing Cutch, the PIrates have cut off that option, at least for 2025.
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.
If they hit keeping all 3 would be great if Bart or Davis could handle the short side at firstbase.
Yeah, and given Cutch’s age and history with knee/leg issues, there might be chuncks of the season where you need DH at bats while not shortening (I.e., giving Reynolds DH at bats and weakening the OF at the same time) the lineup that day.
Obviously, this assumes Bart continues to hit and Davis finds his stroke.
Pirates won’t get true trade value for either guy unless he shows it in the majors. And you can’t keep both unless one plays a different position. So I’d use Henry as back up catcher and send Endy down to be a part time catcher and either learn first base or outfield. Endy can play anywhere.
Endy played quite a bit of first basemen in the minors. He is actually pretty good. I heard or read Shelton say he wants him just to stick to catcher for now because he doesn't want too much on his plate.
He can. But Endy, long term, profiles as your best defensive catcher. He loses a lot of value moving off that position
Ideally Henry hits and becomes next years DH or gets traded
If you have caught any of my previous posts, it is fully in line with your thinking with Endy in AAA to start to get regular swings and Hank in the majors likely catching 3 days a week assuming Bart is a middle of the order bat who gets ABs at DH maybe twice a week. I am not as worried about if Endy looks better than Hank in exhibition play unless Hank just tanks as the exhibition season sample size is still small for both of them and from an offensive standpoint will come against a crap shoot of pitching and wind gusts. I am not as worried any more about Hank having the label 'first round pick', first or tenth round, he has hit very well in AAA (graduated?) and needs to prove it at the top level. The best scenario is Bart hits like last year, Hank hits like he deserves 6 starts. a week and Endy shows he is more than ready. Then we can creatively talk about how to best use each player which could include trade considerations. I would love to have this problem.
My only counter is to have Davis start in AAA and get time at 1B to see if he can handle the position (without doing it at the MLB level like they did to him in RF). May totally be wrong, but I don’t think he has a future behind the plate and I’m guessing the staff will prefer Endy (and to a lesser extent Bart) as a battery mate. With more time behind the plate, I think Davis would have to hit at Piazza-levels to justify putting him back there.
Since the Pirates seem uninterested in exploring this scenario, though, what you and Murph are proposing makes sense. Being adamant that Davis is catcher may also be the team hoping he hits well in spring training and generates trade interest, but that might be giving this FO too much credit of actual forethought.
I don't disagree with your concerns with Davis defense and future, my only counter to your counter is (we could do this all day - smile), having Hank learn a new position not knowing if he can hit at the MLB level is somehow reverse growth. Until we know he can hit at the major league level he is not worthy of a major league roster spot, since offense will have to be his carrying skill. Having him learn 1B or RF and just come up and not hit seems like a waste. Let's see if he can hit. If he can, then maybe all next winter is spent shagging flys or scooping throws at first.
Ha! And the counter to your counter of my counter is that relieving Davis of the time required working on his defense behind the plate, and just as importantly working with the staff and game planning, might positively impact his ability to adjust to MLB pitching.
He’s definitely a tough player to crack! My thinking is simply sending him to AAA to (hopefully) continue to mash and learn a second position in a less stressful environment (while continuing to catch) so he has a couple different avenues to provide value long term.
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.
I think you could get 2-3 games behind the plate for Davis in the majors. A day or two off for Bart and then have him DH another day. I would really rather him be in the majors unless it's to learn a new position, which, even then, I would hate that they waited till opening day to do that.
At this point, though, if Endy just looks ready to roll, go with him as the backup. It's not like Davis has done anything to guarantee a spot right now.
I agree with your take, just think this organization likes to kick the can down the road and over think it, instead of being proactive.
not enough talk about these rumors sending Bart to the Red Sox for Marcelo Mayer
This makes sense, and I agree that a lot will depend on how spring training shakes out due to performance and/or injuries.
I’m hoping that Endy’s floor this season is him hitting just enough that his plus defense and work with the staff makes him an above average catcher.
Davis would have to absolutely mash to offset his work behind the plate. If he does, I think he’d provide greater value getting time at DH.
For the life of me, I don’t understand why they won’t test Bart and Davis at first to see if either shows signs of being able to handle the position if their bats play and they want to work them into the lineup when Endy catches. To going into the season relying on someone from a collection of Hall, Suwinski, Stewart, Triolo, Nunez to keep the seat warm with hopes that a dude (with a small sample of MLB success) returns from surgery and plays well the rest of the season is bonkers.
I'll never understand their mindsets with some of this stuff. Bart and Davis seeing time at first makes so much sense, yet Peguero is mentioning that he practiced there during the offseason.
Bart and Davis are below average at catcher, try them at first, it won't hurt anything. You also get one of your better bats (Bart) in the lineup more often without wearing him down and you get Endy behind the plate more.
not to mention either one would be the perfect short side platoon mate with Horwitz
That too. Bart especially, had a 172 wRC+ against lefties.