Perrotto: Pirates GM Cherington Unconcerned About Position Needing Upgrade (+)
The New York Mets selected journeyman catcher Hobie Landrith with the first pick in the National League’s first expansion draft.
When asked why the Mets chose Landrith, legendary manager Casey Stengel said that having a catcher was a necessity because otherwise every pitch would roll to the backstop.
That is about the best thing that could be said about the Pittsburgh Pirates’ catchers this past season. The eight players the Pirates deployed at the position in 2022 – including “super?” utility player Josh VanMeter – combined for seven passed balls.
Otherwise, the catchers weren’t so great for a team that finished 62-100 for its second straight triple-digit loss season.
From an offensive standpoint, the Pirates got nothing from their catchers. The backstops’ aggregate .531 OPS was the lowest among the 30 major league clubs and .002 behind the Cleveland Guardians, who were still able to win the American League Central title.
The Pirates catchers combined for a slash line of .192/.256/.275. They hit just nine home runs, struck out 127 times and drew just 36 walks.
The production was hampered to an extent by the long-term absence of Roberto Perez. He sustained a torn left hamstring May 7 that required season-ending surgery.
Perez hit .233/.333/.367 with two homers in 21 games, which was right around a league-average performance. The .333 on-base percentage stood out on a team with a season mark of .291, which was 28th in the MLB.
No other catcher came close to those numbers.
The Pirates finished the season with the duo of Jason Delay and Tyler Heineman splitting time behind the plate. Delay started a team-high 49 times and Heineman was in the lineup 44 times.
Delay batted .213/.265/.271 with one home run in 167 plate appearances. Heineman hit .211/.277/.254 with no homers in 158 trips to the plate.
Heineman had an OBP that was 23 points higher than his slugging percentage. That’s hard to do.
Heineman did finish with five defensive runs saved and Delay had three. That is part of why general manager Ben Cherington says he is not as concerned about the Pirates’ catching situation for 2023 as some might be.
Cherington feels particularly good about the Pirates’ catching for 2024 and beyond as they have two top-tier prospects at the position. Henry Davis and Endy Rodriguez figure to play at Triple-A Indianapolis next season.
Still, it is surprising Cherington doesn’t seem to have a greater sense of urgency to upgrade the Pirates’ catching for next season considering the putrid offensive numbers.
“We feel increasingly good about that position, organizationally, certainly,” Cherington said. “At the major league level, really like the job that Jason Delay and Tyler Heineman did. Obviously, neither of them were there for the entire season, but when they were behind the plate, we felt really good that they were going to do a good job with the pitcher, handle the defensive part of the game.
“They both came up with some big hits. We like both those guys. We got to stay open-minded. We like the position, that becoming a position of strength in the organization and other guys getting closer. But we gotta keep an open mind. If there’s opportunities to strengthen that going into 2023, then we’ll do that.”
Unless, of course, the Pirates plan to continue tanking for a third straight season and lose 100 games again. Shudder that thought.
And how did Landrith fare for the 1962 Mets? He hit .289/.389/.422 with one home run in 23 games before being traded to the Baltimore Orioles.
A performance like that would have made Old Hobie a star on the 2022 Pirates.
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