Francisco Cervelli's mission, the one that began last fall, only eight days after his second consecutive injury-shortened season, is about more than staying on the field. He wants to be the top defensive catcher in Major League Baseball.
So, in addition to overhauling his offseason workout regimen, Cervelli, with the help of two coaches, changed his stance behind the plate. He's no longer bending his left knee in or turning his body slightly towards the pitcher. The results have shown since he reported to Pirate City for spring training last month.
The 32-year-old is framing pitches as effectively as he did in 2015. Additionally, he's controlling an opponent's running game with a quicker release on his throws from behind the plate. And for Cervelli, the motivation for such an overhaul in his 12th major league season is simple.
"For me, I want to win a Gold Glove," Cervelli told DKPittsburghSports.com. "I want to be the best. The first goal is to control the running game to win games. It doesn’t matter if I throw 50 percent and we don’t win. Or if I win a Gold Glove and I’m going home in October. I prefer to win a championship than to win everything for myself. But I want to be the best."
Cervelli was far from his best the past two seasons. He was limited to 101 games in 2016 because of a broken hamate bone in his left hand, which required surgery. Cervelli ranked eighth among National League catchers in defensive runs saved, throwing out 16 runners on base.
The hand bothered him throughout last season, too, when he played only 81 games because of various injuries, including disabled-list stints for a concussion, left wrist discomfort and a left quadriceps irritation. The injuries caused Cervelli to develop bad habits behind the plate.
Catching low strikes was still painful after surgery on his hand, which made it difficult for him to try to throw out runners or frame strikes. He threw out only 20 percent of baserunners, which was well below average among major league catchers, and registered a negative-6 runs above average, a stat by Baseball Info Solutions that measures the number of runs above or below average a catcher was worth based on baserunner kills and baserunner advances.
He also recorded a negative-6 defensive runs saved, according to FanGraphs, which ranked 36th of 41 NL catchers with at least 100 innings played.
His pop time — which is the time elapsed from the moment the pitch hits the catcher's mitt to the moment the intended fielder is projected to receive his throw at the center of a base — was 22nd among major league catchers with at least 15 stolen base attempts at second base. Additionally, his arm strength was measured by Statcast at 81.2 mph, which ranked 33rd.
"It was everything," Heberto Andrade, the Pirates' bullpen catcher who works with Cervelli, said. "It was a different thing to catch for him. You need to be quiet behind the plate. You can’t make too much noise behind the plate. You have to be in an athletic position. It’s not only when runners are on bases. You have to be able to do it with nobody on. The last two years he’s been trying to perform, but he was changing his position to compensate."
Cervelli would bend his left knee to the right when behind home plate, which put pressure on his left hip and made him slower when trying to throw. That often led to errant and weak throws. At the conclusion of the season, Cervelli found a trainer who put together a workout plan to strengthen his core and improve his flexibility. But it was only one part of his plan to become the type of catcher he was in 2015.
After all, Cervelli recorded 6 defensive runs saved in 2015 and threw out a career-high 29 baserunners. First, Cervelli spoke to Angels catcher Martin Maldonado, who won a Gold Glove last season, and Maldonado recommended his personal catching coach, Carlos Coste, a former Red Sox prospect now giving lessons to professional and amateur catchers in Orlando.
Coste drove from Orlando to Tampa four to five days per week during the offseason for two-hour workouts. He worked with Cervelli on correct hand placement and how to stay square to the plate. Coste would throw underhand to Cervelli, who would catch the ball bare-handed with his left hand and practiced transitioning quicker to his right. The workouts were built on slow repetition. Coste would throw to Cervelli over and over, and Cervelli would work on staying in position square to the pitcher.
Here's the result:
"He wasn't in a steady position," Coste said in a phone interview. "He wasn't balanced. That's why he had some of his injuries. His hips weren't steady and direct to the pitcher. He was too tight. We worked on muscle memory to teach him to stay in the same spot."
The two recorded the sessions, and Cervelli would send footage to Andrade, who resides in Venezuela during the offseason. Andrade called Cervelli to offer notes and suggest additional adjustments, sending him screenshots of the videos to point out any flaws in his stance.
"I can do a lot of things," Cervelli said. "It’s different. In a lot of past years I had bad habits, and I wasn’t able to throw the ball the way I was supposed to because of injuries. I don’t like to make excuses because the way I was taught was it doesn’t matter how you feel, you go in and make it happen, but right now I feel really good with my body. I changed. I’m square now and I can move better, side to side. It’s a lot of work. I was patient and we put it together."
The results were immediate. He threw out three stolen base attempts in spring training and has already thrown out a runner this season.
"Some of his throws he’s made have been extremely accurate," Jameson Taillon said. "He’s getting the ball out quick. He looks strong."
Health has helped Cervelli perform at the plate, as illustrated by his .405 average in 37 at-bats this spring. However, that new offseason workout regimen, which included capoeira, an Afro-Brazilian martial art, could have an even greater impact behind the plate.
"What he’s doing right now is he’s the whole package," Andrade said. "He’s better than he was in ’15."
MORE PIRATES
• Tyler Glasnow will remain in his current role for the foreseeable future. The Pirates have no interest in trying him in any sort of high-leverage situation. Instead, they'll continue to utilize him with either a sizable lead or sizable deficit until he proves he's capable of consistently throwing strikes and getting hitters out. -- Lysowski
• Joe Musgrove's shoulder injury is connected to his stint on the disabled list last season. Todd Tomzyck, the Pirates' director of sports medicine, said as much when speaking to reporters Wednesday. Although Tomzyck said the two injuries are treated as "separate events," this has to be a red flag for the Pirates. Musgrove had a tendency to tire out after a few innings with the Astros, which led to his struggles and, eventually, his move to the bullpen. He wasn't pleased with the Pirates' decision to put him on the disabled list, but it's clear they are taking a long look at his right shoulder before agreeing to let him throw again. -- Lysowski
• Gregory Polanco's superlative opening week — 1.163 OPS, two home runs, seven walks — is drawing serious raves around the clubhouse. But those come with caution, too, and they'll speak about it openly. "He's got to stay on the field, that's all," Jordy Mercer was telling me this week. "There's nothing he can't do. We all know that. We all see it. But he's got to stay on the field." Simple translation: Keep that hammy loose. — Dejan Kovacevic
PENGUINS
• Bryan Rust provides an invaluable service to the Penguins. He can play either wing and doesn’t look the least bit out of place whether he’s skating on the top line or the fourth. In many ways, he’s every coach’s dream player. This summer Rust will be a restricted free agent, so it’s doubtful he’s going anywhere (RFAs rarely move). But how do you put a monetary value on a player with his unique skill set? In many ways he will always be linked to Conor Sheary as the two youngsters provided the Penguins with a much-needed boost in 2016. Sheary received a three-year, $9 million contract last summer. Here’s thinking Rust will get something a good bit north of that this summer. — Chris Bradford in Columbus, Ohio
• The other two intriguing RFAs this summer are Riley Sheahan and Jamie Oleksiak, two players for whom Jim Rutherford traded in-season. Sheahan is in the final year of a two-year, $4.15 contract signed with the Red Wings. Oleksiak is in the last year of his one-year, $964,688 contract signed with the Stars. Like Rust, those two are also in line for pay raises. The NHL’s salary cap is expected to rise between $3-7 million next season, which should be good news for all parties involved. — Bradford
• The Blue Jackets are among a growing number of teams that do not routinely hold game-day skates. And that’s with John Tortorella, perhaps the oldest of old-school coaches, who doesn’t mind his team “playing guilty” on occasion. It’s only a matter of time before the morning skate goes the way of the aluminum stick. — Bradford
• Bill Guerin would love to be an NHL general manager, but he'd love even more for that to be in Pittsburgh someday. Not that anyone's shoving Rutherford out the door, to put it mildly, but Guerin's got a good relationship with the ownership and upper management, specifically the trust of Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle. It wouldn't surprise me at all if that's why Guerin recently turned down a chance to interview for Carolina's opening. — DK
• This is no reason to scratch a player, much less trade him, but one of Mike Sullivan's issues with Ian Cole was that he was a little too chummy with some of us in the media, at least in the coach's eyes. There were times, both this season and last, when Cole was told not to be available in the locker room once reporters entered. Sullivan pays a good amount of attention to what's written and spoken about his team, almost entirely from the perspective of wanting to keep an eye on his players. — DK
• This isn't Penguins-related but, parenthetically, Mike Tomlin's the same way. — DK
STEELERS
• The re-signing of Stevan Ridley by the Steelers should quash any idea the team will be in the market for a running back early in the draft. Not that it was going to happen, anyway. The Steelers aren't going to draft one in the first round to spend the year watching behind Le'Veon Bell. And one way or another, they're going to be paying Bell a lot of money in 2018 — either $14.5 million or whatever they give him on a long-term deal. The Steelers are paying Bell that kind of money to get him the ball 400 times, not to watch from the sideline. — Dale Lolley
• Ridley was brought back not just to battle Fitzgerald Toussaint, but to push James Conner for the No. 2 job, as well. Conner has been very brittle thus far in his young NFL career and the Steelers want to see him stay on the football field. Having a back capable of taking away his job is a good way to do that. That's not to say the Steelers won't draft another running back. They just won't go out of their way to do so. And they won't likely be doing so early. — Lolley
• With the signings of Nat Berhe and Ridley, the Steelers could be done in the veteran free agency market. Done, that is, unless they get shut out at certain positions — safety, inside linebacker and outside linebacker — in the draft. There will be some veteran players cut loose following the draft, including perhaps one or two by the Steelers, such as J.J. Wilcox if the Steelers select a safety early. The Steelers will continue to scour the waiver wire looking for help. The key spot to keep an eye on could be outside linebacker. — Lolley
PITT
• With the firing Thursday of Suzie McConnell-Serio as women’s basketball coach, Heather Lyke has another coaching search on her hands shortly after making the impressive hire of Jeff Capel on the men’s side. One name that was floated out immediately was that of Duquesne coach Dan Burt, who has taken the Dukes program to its highest level of success. But, Burt is a former McConnell-Serio assistant, and fairly or not, that could work against him if Lyke seeks a clean start. Lyke has shown she’s not afraid to swing for the fences with her hires, and while no one is expecting Van Chancellor to come walking into the Pete, don’t be surprised if she at least tests the waters on some young and nationally known assistants — perhaps a call to someone like former Pitt and current UConn assistant Shea Ralph, 40, could be in order. — Matt Grubba
• On the men’s basketball side, it seems the remaining players who have not decided whether or not they will transfer are waiting to see who Capel hires to fill out his staff. Capel hasn’t said much to that end, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t been hard at work in his first week. He spent Thursday in Mercer County at the gym of Class A state champion Kennedy Catholic, which has two top 2019 prospects in 6-foot-4 guard Maceo Austin and 6-9 forward Oscar Tshiebwe. Both players had offers from the previous Pitt staff, but West Virginia, Virginia and Penn State are among the schools also in play for both. — Grubba
• If there was one unanimous thought amongst Pitt’s football coaches who spoke to the media this week, it’s that Saturday’s closed-door scrimmage will be more instructive to the staff than next week’s Blue-Gold Spring Game at Heinz Field. Unlike the spring game, in which players are distributed between the two teams, Saturday’s scrimmage will pit the No. 1 offense against the first-team defense, and the position coaches will be watching to see how their depth chart will shape up going into August. — Grubba
PENN STATE
• Tony Carr's decision to turn pro was one that those close to the situation weren't surprised by. While Carr played it close to the vest, even Carr's teammates weren't surprised the standout sophomore opted for the NBA, something Shep Garner told me moments after Carr told the public he planned to sign with an agent. Carr leaves behind his high school friends and teammates and one has to wonder if Lamar Stevens, a rising junior, will be here for four years. Welcome to the new age of college basketball, one everyone else has dealt with for years, but something new at Penn State. - Audrey Snyder in State College, Pa.
• Quarterback Sean Clifford is one of the important names to know coming out of spring ball and, so far, he's helped himself with the added reps. Clifford, who is the No. 2 quarterback with Tommy Stevens off crutches but still in a walking boot, beat out Jake Zembiec for the backup job last year after just a few months on campus. If there's an odd-man out at the quarterback spot it could be Zembiec. If Penn State invests five scholarships at quarterback — especially given its success on the recruiting trail in the past few classes — I'd be surprised. — Snyder
• I've rarely seen a practice scenario more bizarre than this week's kicking competition where the lone kicker in camp, Carson Landis, missed five of six field goals. Now, it didn't seem like this was a rarity and why Penn State elected to put the kicker in the spotlight when the media was there — granted we watch only 15 minutes per week — leads me to believe they wanted to see how he'd do in front of a crowd. It didn't go well. — Snyder
RIVERHOUNDS
• Look for a couple lineup changes Saturday against Toronto, with Romeo Parkes (knee) and Joe Greenspan (calf) banged up, but also in terms of performance. Particularly in the midfield, where I'm told Bob Lilley is pushing for big-time improvement. That'll mean more time for Kenardo Forbes, and it could come at the expense of Joe Holland. Everyone loves the talent Holland shows, especially on set pieces, but two ghastly giveaways in as many games shows he's got learning ahead. — DK
• No one's exempt from Lilley's evaluations, which is a big difference from the recent past. Even Kevin Kerr, the gifted and dedicated captain, drew criticism after the scoreless draw last week with Penn FC. But the neater part is that Kerr takes it supremely well. He told me, "I've never enjoyed football more," and he means it. — DK
