Battle For Pirates' Backup Catcher Spot Heating Up
PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates head into the 2025 season with a battle at the catcher position.
Joey Bart will all but certainly start for the Pirates when Opening Day comes around, which is next week, March 27 vs. the Tampa Bay Rays at home. Still, there is a battle for the backup spot, with that player undetermined at the moment.
The Pirates optioned Jason Delay to Triple-A Indianapolis on March 18, which leaves just Henry Davis and Endy Rodríguez behind Bart.
Davis struggled last season for the Pirates, slashing .162/.280/.206 in 23 games, before they sent him down to Indianapolis on May 3.
He would play in six games in June and eight games in late August/early September, but Davis hit even worse, .111, finishing with a season batting average of .144.
The Pirates took Davis first overall in the 2021 MLB Draft out of Louisville and hit well in the minors, before earning his call-up to the MLB on June 18.
He did hit well with Indianapolis in 2024, slashing .307/.401/.555 in 57 games, with 67 hits, 15 doubles, 13 home runs, 43 RBIs and 23 walks.
Davis has also had some success this season with the Pirates in spring training, slashing .273/.314/.515 for an OPS of .829. He also has hit two home runs, one of only four Pirates players with multiple home runs.
Rodríguez came to the the Pirates si arriv in a three-team trade from the New York Mets on Jan. 19, 2021, which involved the Pirates sending right-handed pitcher Joe Musgrove to the San Diego Padres.
He moved up quickly through the Pirates' minor league system, making it from Bradenton Marauders in Single-A in 2021 to Indianapolis Indians in Triple-A by the end of 2022.
Rodríguez started the 2023 season with Indianapolis, slashing .268/.356/.415, with 73 hits, 16 doubles, three triples, six home runs, 38 RBIs and 36 walks in 67 games.
The Pirates called him up on July 17, where he made his debut in an 11-0 loss at home vs. the Cleveland Guardians.
Rodríguez played 57 games for the Pirates the rest of 2023, slashing .220/.284/.328 with 41 hits, seven doubles, two triples, three home runs, 13 RBIs and 17 walks.
He suffered an injury during winter ball that offseason and underwent reconstructive surgery on ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) and flexor tendon on Dec. 12, which kept him out for the 2024 campaign.
Rodríguez did come back for 10 games at the end of 2024, playing six with the Double-A Altoona Curve and four with Indianapolis.
He has had a solid spring himself, slashing .360/.529/.640 for an OPS of 1.169., with nine hits, two doubles, a home run, six RBIs and nine walks.
Both players have done well this spring, but the Pirates will likely make a decision at backup catcher in the coming days before the season opener.
