With the 2022 regular in the books and the offseason approaching, this is the first installment in a six-part series taking a look at the Pirates' roster and where they need to focus as they prepare for the 2023 season.
We begin with the catchers, a position with a bright future but plenty of questions in the short term.
PLAYERS ON THE ROSTER
Zack Collins, Jason Delay, Tyler Heineman, Roberto Pérez, Ali Sánchez
FREE AGENTS
Roberto Pérez
SEASON STATS
Team: .192/.256/.275, 9 HR, 41 RBI, 0.1 fWAR
Notable Individual Performers: Jason Delay .213/.265/.271, 1 HR, 11 RBI, -0.4 WAR; Roberto Pérez .233/.333/.367, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 0.6 WAR; Tyler Heineman .217/.276/.268 0 HR, 9 RBI, 0.2 WAR
SEASON AT A GLIMPSE
The Pirates took a gamble shortly last offseason by trading away Gold Glove catcher Jacob Stallings and signing Roberto Pérez to replace him. On paper, Pérez could do just that, but he had a lengthy injury history and the Pirates had no real Plan B behind him, so they were left scrambling when Pérez suffered a season-ending hamstring injury in early May. Pérez did stick around in the clubhouse while he rehabbed his injury and was a positive voice for a young pitching staff, even if he wasn't playing anymore.
The Pirates ended up using eight different catchers in 2022, tying the 2011 team for the most used at that position in franchise history. The most memorable catching moment by far was when Josh VanMeter was thrown to the wolves for one inning the day Pérez was injured because backup Andrew Knapp was ejected from the bench earlier. Knapp, Michael Perez, José Godoy and Zack Collins all cycled through behind the plate, usually out of necessity and to very poor results.
Fortunately for them, the Pirates found a couple catchers in Jason Delay and Tyler Heineman who graded out well defensively and managed the pitching staff well. Neither hit much, and they more or less lucked into Delay becoming a big leaguer after telling him early in the season that he was going to mainly be their bullpen catcher in Indianapolis. But after scrambling for most of the first half of the season, that duo at least provided some much-needed stability. Sánchez was claimed off waivers Tuesday.
Don't undersell the importance of offense, though, as Pirate catchers finished last in baseball in OPS (.531) and RBI (41).
PROSPECTS ON THE RADAR
This is where things get interesting for the Pirates. It's rare for a team to have the luxury of two top 100 prospects, but the Pirates have Henry Davis and Endy Rodriguez, both of whom appear destined to reach the majors in 2023.
Of the two, Rodriguez is definitely the hotter prospect, absolutely tearing up the minors by hitting .323 with 25 homers and a .997 OPS, rising from Class High-A Greensboro to AAA Indianapolis.
“He’s a dream, man," Curve manager Kieran Mattison said. "It’s fun to watch. That kid plays above every moment. He’s a gamer.”
Davis, last year's No. 1 overall pick, was shelved for a good portion of this year with a wrist injury after being hit by a pitch in May. It was far from a lost year though, and he worked to learn how to better "control what I can control," as he put it.
"I made a lot of strides in how I can work with pitchers," Davis told me towards the end of the Curve's season. "It's great to hit and hit well, but that's not what a catcher's role is. That's the bonus. My goal everyday is to run the staff well. I want to be at a point where I'm trusted to run out there and handle the game. Have pitchers believe in not only my game planning, but that I care about them."
Davis said between the Arizona Fall League and winter ball, he's convinced he can get what would be a full season's worth of playing time.
There's also a wild card in this mix with Blake Sabol. He doesn't have the pedigree of those two, but he was quite possibly the organization's best performing hitter this year, excluding Rodriguez. He hit .284 with 19 home runs and an .860 OPS for Altoona and Indianapolis this season and even performed better at the higher level in his limited sample size. He's Rule 5 eligible this winter, and as a catcher who can also play right field, he seems like the type of player who could be poached away. Is he going to steal the catcher job away from Rodriguez or Davis? No. Could he be a major-league contributor? Quite possibly.
Abrahan Guttierez and Carter Bins are also Rule 5 eligible, but the former played the whole season for Greensboro and the latter struggled both at the plate and trying to throw out bases in 2022. Neither seems like a roster candidate at this time.
WHO IS ON THE MARKET?
Wilson Contreras is the big free agent for a market that really has only one bona fide stud at the position. Omar Narváez, Mike Zunino and Gary Sánchez are all bounce back candidates who should still get multiple offers since there is always catching demand, as will Christian Vázquez.
Pérez is very interested in returning to the Pirates, and there's some interest on the Pirates' side, though Ben Cherington seems to want to wait before seriously exploring a reunion.
"I think for his sake and ours, we want to get into the offseason to learn where his recovery is going," Cherington said at his year-end availability. "Obviously he got back into baseball activity by the end of the year but wasn’t running yet. I just think we need a little more information there to see where he’s at."
At the end of the season, director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk said Pérez is expected to be cleared for all baseball activities Nov. 4.
If it's not Pérez, there are still a couple backstops who should be available for one-year deals. Tucker Barnhart is a former Gold Glove winner, Austin Hedges is consistently one of the games' best pitch framers and Kevin Plawecki was an above average hitter as a backup in 2020 and 2021. The catch is all three are coming off horrible offensive seasons in 2022 and none are complete players. They would be placeholders for Davis or Rodriguez.
WHAT SHOULD THEY DO?
Unless the Pirates are willing to go with either Davis or Rodriguez on opening day -- something they were not willing to do with Oneil Cruz, who even had a bit more experience in the upper levels of the farm system than them -- they need to solidify the catching position by bringing in a veteran. Pérez is the logical choice, but if they don't feel comfortable with where he is in his rehab, there are other short-term options available.
Davis and Rodriguez are the future of this position, so the Pirates need to keep them on their mind with whatever they do this winter. A one-year deal for a defensive-minded catcher to pair with Delay and/or Heineman makes sense.
