Perrotto: Could Jacob Stallings Return as Pirates’ Catcher in ’23? (+)
Professional athletes often say the most difficult trades in their careers are the first ones.
Jacob Stallings was dealt for the first time last Nov. 29 when the Pittsburgh Pirates shipped him to the Miami Marlins for a three-player package.
Stallings had spent six seasons in the major leagues with the Pirates. Furthermore, all of 10 years of his professional career had been in the organization after being the Pirates’ seventh-round pick in 2012 from the University of North Carolina.
Last weekend, Stallings returned to PNC Park for the first time since the trade as the Pirates and Marlins played a three-game series.
It was not necessarily an emotional time for Stallings. The Pirates visited the Marlins two weeks ago, and Stallings admits a lot of memories came rushing back then when he saw his old team.
However, Stallings said over the weekend that he was disappointed that the Pirates dealt him just weeks after he was named the National League Gold Glove catcher.
“I always kind of thought I’d be here to see things through,” Stallings said. “I hadn’t really caught wind of any potential trade until right almost until it happened.”
Stallings went through some lean years in Pittsburgh, including the Pirates finishing last in the National League Central each of the past three seasons. So, it stands to reason he would want to be with the Pirates if their rebuilding plan works and they become a contending team at some point.
While Stallings won’t be eligible for free agency until after the 2024 season, he has a rough first year with the Marlins. The 32-year-old is hitting .189/.253/.235 with two home runs in 75 games.
Stallings also hasn’t performed up to his Gold Glove billing. He has minus-4 defensive runs saved and thrown out just 16% of runners attempting to steal. The MLB average is 25%.
The Marlins have started giving more playing time behind the plate to rookie Nick Fortes. Stallings is making $2.45 million after losing his salary arbitration earlier this season. The Marlins may deem him expendable and nontender him in November, which would make him a free agent.
While Henry Davis is clearly the Pirates’ catcher of the future, it’s doubtful that future is the beginning of next season. He has missed significant time at Double-A Altoona with a wrist injury and logged just 214 professional plate appearance since being the first overall selection in last year’s draft.
It is hard to imagine the two catchers currently on the major league roster, Jason Delay and Tyler Heineman, being the No. 1 backstop to start 2023. Thus, the Pirates will likely be on the lookout for a starting catcher in the offseason to be a placeholder until Davis is ready for the big leagues, then perhaps remain as a mentor.
Roberto Perez has expressed a desire to return next season. The Pirates signed the two-time Gold Glover to a one-year, $5-million free agent contract right after trading Stallings. However, Perez sustained a season-ending torn hamstring May 7.
The only way the Pirates would bring back the injury-prone Perez is if he took a fraction of what he made this year or maybe even accepted a minor league contract with a non-roster invitation to spring training.
Even though the Pirates traded Stallings, they would likely prefer him over Perez. Stallings was only dealt because he netted the Pirates right-hander Zach Thompson and two prospects now at Altoona – righty Kyle Nicolas and outfielder Connor Scott.
The Pirates still have a lot of affection for Stallings. Manager Derek Shelton asked Rawlings to delay the pre-game ceremony in which the sporting goods company awards the Gold Glove until the Pirates played in Miami.
There is certainly some connecting of the dots in this whole scenario. Still, the idea of Stallings being the Pirates’ opening-day catcher next year has at least some plausibility.