Opening up the Bucs' spring mailbag: Pham, Davis, more

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.

BRADENTON, Fla. -- Mail call! The camp portion of Spring Training is done and we’re on to Grapefruit League games. I asked for your questions on Bluesky and X, so let’s run through them. (Some questions may be slightly edited for clarity.)

I’d like to hear another person’s perspective on Tommy Pham signing with the Pirates. Is he a good fit? Is he the veteran they need? – @jakegreen5x5.bsky.social

I’ll admit that I was initially a bit surprised that Pham was the team’s answer for their corner outfield question, but after a couple days in camp, I see the appeal. Oneil Cruz recruited him when they were playing winter ball, and Andrew McCutchen spoke about how refreshing it is to have more veterans in the clubhouse. This is still a young team, and Pham is a great example of a player to emulate. Plus he’s going to hold people accountable, which sounds like something the clubhouse needs after several key players (McCutchen, Bryan Reynolds, Paul Skenes) talked at PiratesFest about how they are going to be ready to speak up to the group if they feel something needs to be said.

Plus he could be an upgrade over what the Pirates had in right field last year, which I wrote about here.

Who has the leg up for the last 2 rotation spots? Bubba Chandler, Braxton Ashcraft, Johan Oviedo, Andrew Heaney, Mike Burrows? Or is there a sleeper option like Hunter Barco? – @JKuhns_10

Well let’s lock in one spot: Heaney was brought in to be a starter, so slot him in with Skenes, Mitch Keller and Jared Jones once that deal becomes official.

That leaves the fifth rotation spot, and as far as Opening Day is concerned, I’m looking at Falter and Oviedo as the front runners and Chandler and Burrows as dark horses. Oviedo is coming back from Tommy John surgery and is a bit behind where the other starting pitchers are at this time. Falter is coming off a quality season and is out of Minor League options, so he’ll be on this team somewhere. I’d imagine he’s the front runner for the fifth job, at least until we see Oviedo in games. Falter could also theoretically do well in a swingman role like Luis Ortiz did last year. I also believe Burrows could do well in that role, especially since his high spin stuff could play well in shorter relief outings too, if the Pirates want to go that route.

We’ll see Chandler at some point this season, and I’m confident the same goes for other top prospects like Ashcraft (Pirates' No. 4 prospect) and Thomas Harrington (Bucs' No. 5). No team uses only five starters in a season, and even if they don’t make the Opening Day team, there’s going to be plenty of opportunities for that next wave of pitching.

Is Henry Davis a corner outfield option anymore? Or are the Pirates trying to make him a primary catcher? – @bhigley_5

He’s a catcher. There are challenges bouncing between the two positions, including stuff that might not immediately come to mind, like weight. Davis played right field at 205 pounds in 2023 and catcher at 230 last year. Do you want him to move slower in the outfield or be undersized behind the plate?

But more importantly, he showed last year that he can be a quality defensive catcher, improving as a receiver and a game caller. It would be a shame to waste that growth, especially when there are other options in the outfield and the team needs two catchers.

Why haven't we seen Endy Rodríguez taking reps at first base knowing that Spencer Horwitz won't be 100% until the summer time? – @not_mrlebowski

Well, El Duderino, we don’t know exactly when Horwitz will be back in games (there’s still a chance we see him this spring). Horwitz is taking ground balls and swinging one-handed right now, so perhaps he’s back sooner rather than later.

But the heart of the question is why isn’t Rodríguez being considered as a replacement, and that’s because the Pirates want him to focus on catching in his first year back from his elbow surgery. There is some Major League opportunity to be had at first base, which he has played in the Minors, but having him get back into the swing of things as a catcher is more important to the Pirates right now than exploring another avenue to get him Major League at-bats in March or April. It’s a long-term vision for him instead of looking to use him to solve a short-term problem.

Hopefully you can abide with that.