Perrotto: Pirates Shouldn’t Be Caught Short at Key Position in 2023 (+)
The old baseball adage says you can never have enough pitching.
There is a reason why that phrase has become a cliché. Because it is true.
One of the painful lessons the Pittsburgh Pirates learned during a 100-loss season last year is you can never have enough catching, either.
That explains why the Pirates moved to sign Kevin Plawecki to a minor-league contract on Feb. 12 as a free agent, just two days before pitchers and catchers reported to spring training. When the Pirates had a chance to add another veteran catcher, they didn’t hesitate this time.
Plawecki has spent all or parts of eight seasons in the major league, including being a full-time big-leaguer each of the last four seasons. While the 32-year-old is just a .235 career hitter with 22 home runs in 447 career games, he has developed the reputation of being a solid defender and backup option.
“He’s a veteran guy who understands how to handle pitchers,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “We talked about him throughout the offseason. It was just a matter of how it was going to line up and the situation. The fact that he understands pitchers, we have a wide variety of pitchers. We have some veteran guys now. We have some younger guys. His ability to communicate … and he can catch. That’s really important for us.”
Though he is not on the 40-man roster, Plawecki seems the favorite to be the Pirates’ No. 2 catcher behind Austin Hedges when the season begins. Plawecki is in competition with fellow non-roster players Tyler Heineman and Jason Delay.
Heineman and Delay were two of eight catchers used by the Pirates last season. When starter Roberto Perez sustained a season-ending torn hamstring last May, the organization got caught short at that position.
Heineman and Delay were two of many non-descript guys the Pirates tried behind the plate, a group that included Andrew Knapp, Michael Perez, Jose Godoy and Zack Collins. Even utility player Josh VanMeter was forced to put on the catcher’s gear in one game.
“Just the fact that the two guys that were catching a lot for us the second half of the season are still here but off the roster and competing to get back on the team, hopefully, it means we’re deeper,” general manager Ben Cherington said. “It’s a long season. I don’t think we felt like we were short at catcher going into last spring training. It’s kind of like pitching, you can never take it for granted. Feel good about the depth we have. Looking forward to how that plays out.”
The Pirates have two top catching prospects in Endy Rodriguez and Henry Davis. Both are likely to make their major-league debuts at some point this season.
However, the Pirates look at Hedges and Plawecki as two solid catchers to bridge that gap.
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Plawecki is intrigued by the Pirates despite them finishing last in the National League Central each of the last four seasons. He played against them last season at PNC Park while a member of the Boston Red Sox.
“They were really interested in me, and I liked the direction of this group,” Plawecki said when asked why he signed with the Pirates. “Obviously playing against them, they had a lot of talent, so I’m happy to be here and be a part of it.”
Plawecki could be one of many new faces with experience on the opening-day roster. He liked what Cherington did in the offseason by adding Andrew McCutchen, Carlos Santana, Rich Hill and Hedges as well as other veterans.
“I think it’s a good mix,” Plawecki said. “I think that you need that kind of mix of young and old and then mesh well as a group. So hopefully, between us older guys and the younger guys in between, we’re able to show them to play the game and to play hard – and win a lot of games.”
Catching didn’t win many games for the Pirates last season. Perhaps Plawecki can play a hand in changing that in 2023.
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