Pirates by Position: Once a strength, Endy Rodriguez's injury makes catcher a concern

When the 2023 season ended, general manager Ben Cherington called catcher a position that appeared to be a strength for the Pittsburgh Pirates, in terms of talent and depth.

After a mid-July call-up, Endy Rodriguez showed off a strong arm and a positive personality in his rookie season. Jason Delay established himself as a backup who earned the trust of the staff ace. And the Pirates wanted to give 2021 No. 1 overall pick Henry Davis a longer look behind the plate after he spent his rookie year in right field.

When Rodriguez was injured while playing winter ball in his native Dominican Republic and lost for the season after surgery on his right (throwing) elbow, a strength suddenly became a serious concern.

“The news was a blow, no doubt,” Cherington said in December. “The truth is, in the second week in October, as we thought about our team, we certainly envisioned Endy playing a really important role. … We’re just going to have to make up for it in 2024. That’s the bottom line. We feel good about the catchers that are on the 40-man.”

Pirates by Position

• Starting job at second base could be biggest battle of spring training
• Can Oneil Cruz's return spell the end of revolving door at shortstop?
• Third base in good hands with Gold Glove winner Ke'Bryan Hayes
• Spring training could see competition at center in a crowded outfield
• Rowdy Tellez hoping to make 'big impact' in possible platoon at 1B

In addition to Davis and Delay, the Pirates signed free agent Ali Sanchez for depth. The 27-year-old Venezuelan has seven games of major league experience — playing five games for the New York Mets in 2020 and two for the St. Louis Cardinals in 2021 — but spent the past two seasons in the minors. He slashed .311/.375/.492 with 10 doubles, 11 homers and 43 RBIs in 67 games last year at Reno, Arizona’s Triple-A affiliate.

“Sánchez has not had as much run in the major leagues,” Cherington said. “He’s been a very good defensive player and produced some offense at the Triple-A level.”

Instead of signing a seasoned veteran like he did the past two offseasons, when Cherington gave $5 million deals to Roberto Perez in 2022 and Austin Hedges last year, Cherington appears inclined to give Davis and Delay a chance to show what they can do.

Delay enters spring training as the frontrunner, given his 127 games over the past two seasons. He beat out veterans Tyler Heineman and Kevin Plawecki for the backup job last spring, then batted .251/.319/.347 with 11 doubles, a homer and 18 RBIs in 70 games.

Although he lacks pop, Delay has proven adept at pitch calling and framing. Delay credits playing behind Hedges for learning the leadership and pitch-calling aspects of playing the position in the majors and believes he built confidence and established himself last season.

“I would certainly like to take on a little bit more of a role because of that,” Delay said. “I hate for any opportunity to come at someone else’s expense. But that’s kind of where we are. I feel like I’m ready to take that step. … I think I certainly showed that I’m capable of doing it.”

That All-Star right-hander Mitch Keller showed a preference for Delay over Rodriguez late last season could help his cause. Delay was behind the plate when Keller threw eight shutout innings against the Chicago Cubs on Aug. 25, one of his top performances of the second half.

“I love throwing to Delay. I have no issues there,” Keller said last month at PiratesFest. “It’s gonna be fun in spring training, just jell with these guys, get to know them, they can get to know me and what I like to do. Excited for the opportunity.”

So is Davis, who caught only two innings in the majors last season. After two injury-plagued seasons, he concentrated on gaining weight to improve his durability. Davis has spent the offseason working with Pirates pitchers and third base coach Mike Rabelo, a former major league catcher, in Bradenton, Fla.

“Henry’s getting after it this offseason where he’s going to get every opportunity to come into camp,” Cherington said. “As Henry does with everything, he’s working his tail off on the defensive part of his game. He’s going to get every opportunity in spring training to catch.”

The Pirates want Davis’ bat in the lineup. He hit .213/.302/.351 with 10 doubles, seven homers and 24 RBIs in 62 games, displaying his prodigious power by becoming the first MLB player to homer twice in one game off two-time AL MVP Shohei Ohtani in only his 27th career game. And Davis showed off his arm in right field, especially by starting a 9-2-4-2 double play with a one-bounce throw to home plate against the Philadelphia Phillies last July. Davis said he plans to be a “Swiss Army knife” capable of playing in right field or serving as designated hitter.

But the Pirates now need him behind the plate, where talent evaluators consider Davis something of a project. Although he is raw, Davis is renowned for his work ethic and has focused on his catching mechanics, particularly his pitch framing.

“I think for me, that’s the most important piece of catching,” Davis said. “I know there’s a lot of different ways and certain things are easier to measure than others, but at the end of the day, I’ll grade myself on if guys want to throw to me or not, and that’s a really good indicator of if you can really get on the same page as a guy.”