One of the most promising things about the Pirates this year is that for the first time in the Cherington era, there feels like the position player group has multiple options for who can play and contribute all over the diamond. Arguably, the most competitive position among these would be the catcher position. However, so far this has not been a fierce competition where there have been a couple of front-runners. Instead, fans are looking at the four options at their disposal, and there is no clear answer as to who has fully earned the right to be starting catcher on Opening Day.
Henry Davis
Henry Davis is the clear favorite for the Pirates to catch come Opening Day, and it is not because he has been lighting the world on fire with the bat. While the eye test says he has been unlucky this spring, ultimately he has not recorded a single hit since the Pirates have been playing games in 2026. Spring training stats are and forever will be useless in terms of projecting how a player will do in the regular season. Davis is slightly different though because he is not dissimilar from how he was hitting in all of 2025, where he posted a meager .167 batting average. Ultimately, Davis will be on the roster and for a good reason—Paul Skenes and Bubba Chandler love him behind the dish. For a team built on pitching, you want to keep those young arms happy, but Davis is a former number one overall pick, and Davis being a backup catcher is just disappointing.
Joey Bart
I am frankly surprised Joey Bart is still on the roster at this rate. Not because Joey Bart is a terrible player, but because there is such a logjam at catcher and he is the easiest to deal. Bart lost his starting role to Davis over the course of last year, as Davis’ glove proved the most valuable asset between the two catchers. Bart’s main thing is that he’s a lefty killer, and with a lefty-heavy team like the ‘26 Pirates, you can deal with the poor defense in some games to help the offense against opponents’ southpaws. Bart posted an .891 OPS against lefties last year, and it is something he’s been able to maintain in his professional career. Bart has not covered himself in glory this spring either, batting under .100, which is not what you want to see from a person who is selling his bat as his main benefit. Especially when he is blocking the main piece of the Bednar trade, Rafael Flores.
The Prospects
The Pirates also have two potentially MLB-ready prospects waiting in the wings and desperately vying for a spot on the plane to New York. Flores was the centerpiece for David Bednar, with Cherington going on record saying they valued him over several higher-rated prospects in the Yankees system. During his cup of coffee with the team last September he was playing a mix of first base and catcher, and with the current roster construction there is no way he is seeing the field at first base.
The team clearly rates him highly, but as it stands, there is no clear path to Flores breaking into the team with Davis and Bart already having MLB experience. Flores has not been forcing the Pirates’ hand with his spring either, continuing the trend of catchers not hitting very well in Bradenton. He has posted a sub. 500 OPS in his limited at-bats, technically better than the other two catchers mentioned but not nearly enough for him to force his way onto the MLB roster a la 2024 Jared Jones. Most likely, the Pirates do not want him playing twice a week and will settle for having him start the year in Triple-A Indianapolis until an injury hits the team. Flores has real potential, but it really makes it feel like the Bednar trade was shortsighted with the team’s efforts to win this season.
Endy Rodriguez, a former top 20 prospect, has also been battling for a spot after fighting injuries for two whole seasons. Endy has actually hit the best in spring, posting an impressive OPS over 1.000. My main concern for Endy is that I’m not sure he has the ability to play the catcher position, and his defensive struggles have continued in the spring. He can play some first base and outfield, and if he wants to make the team, then he is more likely going to have to break through in those positions as opposed to catcher.
Conclusion
It’s impressive that the Pirates are struggling so much to fill this position considering that they have a first overall pick (Davis), a second overall pick (Bart), a former top 20 prospect (Endy), and traded their beloved hometown closer for the fourth (Flores). However, none of these guys have established themselves as necessary roster spots during their time with the team. The best guess is that Cherington decides to roll with his 2025 options in Davis and Bart and pray there is enough offense there to not cause serious issues. The best news is that the Pirates are not relying on catcher to be a large part of the offense this season, and Henry Davis will be batting 9th most days for Don Kelly once the regular season starts.
Leave a Reply