Josh VanMeter ready, willing in case Pirates need to break glass on emergency catcher

When Roberto Perez took a foul tip off his left quad, the Pittsburgh Pirates turned to backup catcher Andrew Knapp but knew that they had to have someone else ready, in case of an emergency.

That’s how Josh VanMeter learned he was the backup to the backup catcher, when Pirates bench coach Don Kelly asked the infielder/outfielder, “When was the last time you caught?”

“I was like, ‘I think I was like 14 or 15,’ ” VanMeter said with a laugh. “It’s just catching the ball. I got into a little one knee-down stance to show him I could get in the stance. It’s all good. Hopefully, it doesn’t come to that, but if it does, I guess I’m the guy.”

The Pirates used a little levity to offset the seriousness of the situation. Perez, who is day-to-day, was still sore Saturday but was seen walking through the clubhouse and playing catch on the field before the game against the Washington Nationals. Perez said he prepared as if he could have been the backup Saturday night, if necessary, and he returned to the lineup for the series finale Sunday.

“I told (VanMeter) I was available if an emergency comes,” Perez said. “I’m not going to let VanMeter catch. I’m sure he hasn’t caught ever.”

The Pirates got a scare in the first inning, when Knapp was called for catcher’s interference when Josh Bell’s swing hit his glove. After being checked by Pirates trainer Rafael Freitas, Knapp stayed in the game.

“It made my heart flutter a little bit in the first,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “I think he made Josh VanMeter’s heart flutter a ton.”

This was after Shelton joked hours earlier that VanMeter might have to reacquaint himself with wearing a facemask, chest protector and leg guards for the first time since he was a teenager.

“We’ll have to make sure he actually puts on gear,” Shelton said. “Maybe he remembers that the straps go on the outside.”

VanMeter has played every infield position and left and right field in his four-year major-league career, so center field and catcher are the only positions he hasn’t played. He tried on one of Knapp’s gloves during Friday’s game, finding it a bit bigger and stiffer than normal.

VanMeter also contemplated catching some balls off the velocity machine in the batting cage before the game, just in case the Pirates had to break the glass on their emergency catcher.

“I was actually thinking about doing that (Saturday) because, crap, you just never know,” VanMeter said. “Go into the cage and crank that machine up a little bit and get the catcher’s glove on and catch a few because I would hate for it to happen and my first inning is catching a 97-mph heater or something like that.”

If VanMeter needed pointers, he had plenty of people to ask for advice on the Pirates coaching staff. Shelton was a catcher in the New York Yankees minor league system, and third-base coach Mike Rabelo caught in the majors the for Detroit Tigers and Miami Marlins.

If the Pirates had to resort to using a coach as their catcher?

“Rabelo caught in the big leagues, so 100% Rabelo,” Shelton said. “Rabs would do a way better job than I could. I can’t see. Geez. And I couldn’t catch or hit. It’s a full gambit. You get the trifecta.”

Shelton said he wouldn’t keep VanMeter out of the lineup just to keep him available as a catcher, then joked again that such a tactic might have been employed on him when he was in the minors.

“That happened my whole career,” Shelton said. “They purposely kept me out, in case there was a bullpen emergency that I needed to be ready for.”

Shelton noted that when the Pirates celebrated Kelly’s 15 years in the majors as a player and coach Friday, they made a video tribute that showed their bench coach behind the plate. Kelly caught six innings in a game for the Tigers on July 3, 2011.

“It’s a fun role to play,” said Kelly, who played seven positions that season. “You never know what’s going to happen. It keeps you on your toes. The day that I caught was probably the most fun that I ever had. When I woke up the next morning, not so fun for my legs. It gave me greater respect for what those guys go through on a daily basis, what they put their bodies through catching.”