Signing Ali Sanchez to a major league deal is most perplexing. Spring Training depth, competition with Delay or insurance in case of a trade doesn't require a major league deal. Cherington's infatuation with certain players is an odd way to build a roster.
Who played catcher in 2022? Jason Delay (57 games), Tyler Heineman (50), Michael Perez (38), Roberto Pérez (20), Andrew Knapp (11), José Godoy (eight), Zack Collins (two), Josh VanMeter (one).
The signing of Ali Sanchez is strange to say the least. He and Endy probably know one another from their days with the Mets, and he has a rep as being a strong defensive Catcher, but we already have a strong defensive backup Catcher in Jason Delay. Delay is one of those "we developed him from draft day to playing in MLB" types, where he achieved a 1.1 fWAR in 2023 which was primarily due to his defense, and he knows all of the pitchers. He is still about 80 days from reaching a full year of MLB Service, so he will still be paid minimum.
So, do the Pirates have a trade offer in play that somehow would involve Jason Delay?
That was my thought as well. It makes sense that a team would be interested in him, and it makes sense to deal with him (if you have a replacement backup). Davis is never going to be a backup catcher. He will be the starter if Endy has a season-ending injury or ends up being a .180 hitter next year. That's valuable to have, but having him catch 30 games a year and play RF isn't going to happen.
I wouldn’t over think it. Most likely this is just Cherington being Cherington and grabbing at straws hoping to find something that he almost never does. My concern is that, if they’re thinking about trading a catcher, Davis is the one with the most value who has no real regular position on the current roster. Cherington keeps saying that Davis is a catcher and that he will eventually catch, but he never actually allows him to play the position. I hope it doesn’t happen, but it just makes me wonder if he’s saying that to increase his value for a possible trade.
This FO never seemed to think much of Delay or Heineman, just place-holders. IIRC Delay survived DFA at least once, and stuck on the AAA roster. The merry-go-round of catchers is not the best arrangement for young pitchers either. But I'm ok with Sanchez over Delay, I always had Heineman above Delay anyway on the depth chart.
BC is unique in some ways, but he has never blatantly disregarded the available stats. Delay posted positive stats in both 2022 and 2023 - mostly defense with a Def of +7.3 in 28 games in 2022, and a Def of +9.5 in 70 games in 2023. Sanchez has been to the majors twice for a cup of coffee, but nothing much else. Waiting for the news about a trade or an injury to Endy or Delay.
My memory on Delay was slightly off but close enough. The Pirates offered for him to stay at Indy as a bullpen catcher. Delay was considering retiring at this time, which was May/June 2022. He was not in the Pirates plans until Heineman was injured and/or he had a family emergency as well. Sanchez is worth a shot, obviously BC thinks more of his potential than Delay.
Signing Ali Sanchez to a major league deal is most perplexing. Spring Training depth, competition with Delay or insurance in case of a trade doesn't require a major league deal. Cherington's infatuation with certain players is an odd way to build a roster.
Who played catcher in 2022? Jason Delay (57 games), Tyler Heineman (50), Michael Perez (38), Roberto Pérez (20), Andrew Knapp (11), José Godoy (eight), Zack Collins (two), Josh VanMeter (one).
Austin Meadows was another high draft pick that played for us for a half a season before we traded him
The signing of Ali Sanchez is strange to say the least. He and Endy probably know one another from their days with the Mets, and he has a rep as being a strong defensive Catcher, but we already have a strong defensive backup Catcher in Jason Delay. Delay is one of those "we developed him from draft day to playing in MLB" types, where he achieved a 1.1 fWAR in 2023 which was primarily due to his defense, and he knows all of the pitchers. He is still about 80 days from reaching a full year of MLB Service, so he will still be paid minimum.
So, do the Pirates have a trade offer in play that somehow would involve Jason Delay?
That was my thought as well. It makes sense that a team would be interested in him, and it makes sense to deal with him (if you have a replacement backup). Davis is never going to be a backup catcher. He will be the starter if Endy has a season-ending injury or ends up being a .180 hitter next year. That's valuable to have, but having him catch 30 games a year and play RF isn't going to happen.
I wouldn’t over think it. Most likely this is just Cherington being Cherington and grabbing at straws hoping to find something that he almost never does. My concern is that, if they’re thinking about trading a catcher, Davis is the one with the most value who has no real regular position on the current roster. Cherington keeps saying that Davis is a catcher and that he will eventually catch, but he never actually allows him to play the position. I hope it doesn’t happen, but it just makes me wonder if he’s saying that to increase his value for a possible trade.
This FO never seemed to think much of Delay or Heineman, just place-holders. IIRC Delay survived DFA at least once, and stuck on the AAA roster. The merry-go-round of catchers is not the best arrangement for young pitchers either. But I'm ok with Sanchez over Delay, I always had Heineman above Delay anyway on the depth chart.
BC is unique in some ways, but he has never blatantly disregarded the available stats. Delay posted positive stats in both 2022 and 2023 - mostly defense with a Def of +7.3 in 28 games in 2022, and a Def of +9.5 in 70 games in 2023. Sanchez has been to the majors twice for a cup of coffee, but nothing much else. Waiting for the news about a trade or an injury to Endy or Delay.
My memory on Delay was slightly off but close enough. The Pirates offered for him to stay at Indy as a bullpen catcher. Delay was considering retiring at this time, which was May/June 2022. He was not in the Pirates plans until Heineman was injured and/or he had a family emergency as well. Sanchez is worth a shot, obviously BC thinks more of his potential than Delay.
The signing would seem to indicate there is no serious consideration of us seeing a 'Tank' behind the plate unless in a emergency.