Against all odds: Jason Delay embraces underdog role in Pirates' competition at catcher

BRADENTON, Fla. — Jason Delay knows the odds are stacked against him to make the Pittsburgh Pirates as one of two catchers on the Opening Day roster.

One spot is reserved for Yasmani Grandal, a 12-year veteran and two-time All-Star who last week signed a one-year, $2.5 million contract with another $1 million in incentives. Delay is competing for the other spot against 2021 No. 1 overall pick Henry Davis.

Delay has decided to keep his head down and focus on himself.

He has the self confidence that comes with beating out veterans Tyler Heineman and Kevin Plawecki for the backup job behind Austin Hedges last spring and becoming a trusted backstop and the preferred batterymate for All-Star right-hander Mitch Keller late last season.

“It’s something I take pride in, that I was able to do that,” Delay said. “Coming into a situation that’s not the same but has some similarities, that’s something I can look back on that can give me confidence. That is something I take pride on.

“Throughout my career, I’ve never been the top choice or the top pick or top prospect — I was never a top-30 prospect or anything like that — but I feel like I’ve been able to perform at every level and just surprise some people with consistency more than anything. I take a lot of pride in my consistency behind the plate and being a good teammate and everything I do. I think that goes a long way.”

That’s why Delay expressed to Pirates manager Derek Shelton in a meeting that he’s ready to embrace another challenge of being the underdog who exceeds all expectations.

“I think I’m comfortable with that at this point,” Delay said. “I’ve done that every step of my career. I feel like I’ve established myself, and I have a good rapport with these pitchers. I have great relationships and feel like I know them. I know there’s guys who have more service time or whatever it may be, but I feel like I’m ready to take that next step and be a leader on this team.”

Delay was ready to retire in 2022, becoming the bullpen catcher at Triple-A Indianapolis before an emergency elevated him to the majors for his debut. His 57 games behind the plate gave Delay the confidence that he belonged and proved to the Pirates that they could count on him.

“He’s very steady,” Shelton said. “The quality of his at-bats, the fact that he makes contact. The biggest compliment that you can pay someone like that is they go unnoticed in a really good way. What I mean by that is, when they’re back there you feel really comfortable about the job they’re going to do, the fingers they’re going to put down, the quality of the at-bat that they’re going to perform. I think that’s the thing that stands out: He’s just consistent. And that’s really important.”

Delay spent this offseason in Nashville working on his mental preparation, making the visualizing of success and speaking it into existence an important part of his daily routine. He spent time working out with and picking the brain of former Pirates catcher Jacob Stallings, who went from afterthought who was designated for assignment to developing into an NL Gold Glove winner in 2021.

“I like to tell myself good things, whether they’re true or not. If you say it enough times, you start to believe it,” Delay said. “I’m a big believer that success doesn’t bring confidence; confidence brings success. So I feel like it’s a super, super important part of my offseason.”

As much pride as Delay takes in being a defense-first catcher, he also concentrated on improving his power at the plate after batting .251/.319/.347 with 11 doubles, one triple, one home run and 18 RBIs in 187 plate appearances over 70 games last season. He did sprints to improve his explosiveness and worked on increasing his launch angle to turn singles into extra-base hits.

“I’m more of a situational hitter,” Delay said. “If I can tap into that power, I can provide a lot more value for the team.”

Delay, who turns 29 on March 7, also knows the alternative. He has options remaining, so the Pirates can send him to the minors if they feel Davis is ready for a more prominent role behind the plate. Last July, Delay was demoted to Indianapolis for two weeks as Endy Rodriguez made his major-league debut.

Being a backup catcher requires him to be ready to play even if it’s only once or twice a week, so Delay is learning to prepare for a sporadic schedule. He was hitting .319 on May 30 but batted .143 in 22 games from June 3 to July 6. After returning to the Pirates once Hedges was traded to the Texas Rangers, Delay hit .238 over his final 20 games.

“I think there’s a point in every person’s career where they realize something happens to them that this is really business. For me, that was a little bit last year,” Delay said. “As you get more time and experience, you realize that it is a business. Again, that’s really not something I’m going to worry about. If I make the team, I make the team. If not, I’ll try to be the best I can at Triple-A or wherever I am. I’m going to try to keep my head down and keep working.”