Bucs confident in catcher trio entering 2025

This story was excerpted from Alex Stumpf’s Pirates Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

It’s no secret that the Pirates will be looking for more offense this offseason and next year. For a team that has a backbone of young pitching, they need to support them more. It’s why Pittsburgh is in the market for a new hitting coach and will be exploring free agents and trades for players this offseason.

At the GM Meetings in San Antonio this week, general manager Ben Cherington acknowledged the Pirates are willing to look at different ways to supplement the team, including potentially trading from the Major League roster if the right opportunity presents itself. It doesn’t sound like that would include their catchers, though.

“Right now, we feel some sense of strength in having all three of them,” Cherington said, in reference to Joey Bart, Henry Davis and Endy Rodríguez.

The Pirates have searched for stability at catcher since trading Jacob Stallings after the 2021 season. For three straight seasons, they have signed a veteran on a one-year deal to be the perceived starter: Yasmani Grandal (560 1/3 innings in 2024) and Austin Hedges (507 1/3 innings in '23) led the team in innings caught the past two seasons, and the same would have likely been the case for Roberto Pérez in 2022 had he not gotten hurt in early May.

Barring unforeseen circumstances, there’s no real reason for the Pirates to dive into the catcher free agent market this time around. There’s depth and each player has upside. Davis was the first overall Draft pick in 2021. Rodríguez was considered a Top 100 prospect in 2023.

But if you’re looking at which player has the pole position for 2025, it’s the newcomer, Bart.

“Joey certainly took a step forward,” Cherington said. “He’s certainly, based on what he did this year, earned a spot, and certainly a head start on a spot. We really believe in him and the changes he’s made.”

Bart was a pleasant surprise after being picked up from the Giants in April. He posted a .799 OPS with 13 home runs over 80 games, and despite a pair of trips to the injured list, he was one of the team’s most consistent hitters. He’s earned another look, but where does that leave the two young catchers that the Pirates thought they were building around?

There are still questions surrounding both that need to be answered. Davis was prolific at the plate in the Minors (.936 OPS), but struggled in the Majors (.454 OPS) in 2024. He fully recognized his issues and tried making some adjustments in-season, like reverting back to his old mechanics and using a smaller bat. He’s again working on some changes this offseason to try to live up to his offensive potential. While Cherington didn’t share what Davis is tweaking this offseason, being able to catch up to high fastballs and take outside pitches the other way would go a long way for him.

Rodríguez had a brief scare at the end of the season as he returned to catching after rehabbing a right UCL injury, but he is fine now. Cherington anticipates Rodríguez will be full-go for Spring Training, but recognized that it’s not always that simple with serious injuries.

“Especially at that position, we understand it can take a while to get back into the full speed of things,” Cherington said.

The Pirates don’t have set starters at first base or right field, so there is a case for moving Davis to the outfield – where he played in 2023 – and Rodríguez to first. There’s no rush to do that right now, though. Davis grew exponentially as a catcher, especially as a receiver, over the past year, and Rodríguez got strong reviews from his pitchers coming up through the Minors. Bart can’t carry the whole workload behind the plate, and the best version of both Rodríguez and Davis is as a catcher.

There’s plenty of time between now and Opening Day, so there’s no need to rush into a decision now. Pittsburgh is still months away from Spring Training, after all. Perhaps Davis’ tweaks take, Rodríguez’s elbow holds up and Bart builds off of a breakthrough season.

That’s obviously the best-case scenario for the trio, but with some depth finally at the position, it allows the Pirates to hedge their bet, too.

“We’re not anxious to move out of that group,” Cherington said. “We feel like it’s a strength to have all three. [We] anticipate going into Spring Training with them.”