Pirates Position Group Breakdown: Crowded Catchers Room; Can Henry Davis Emerge Offensively?
It’s a luxury to have four capable catchers on the 40-man roster and the Pittsburgh Pirates are able to make that claim.
Joey Bart, Henry Davis, Endy Rodríguez and Rafael Flores are all vying for a spot on the team’s Opening Day roster, though the first two listed have the inside track.
Bart is entering his third season with the Pirates after they acquired him from the San Francisco Giants early on in 2024. The former No. 2 pick finally realized his potential offensively in his first season in Pittsburgh. Bart finished the year with a robust .265/.337/.462 batting line with 11 doubles and set career-highs with 13 home runs and 45 RBI in 80 games.
Bart’s 2025 season was riddle with a couple injuries and his power regressed heavily from the previous year. He did, however, finish the year strong and finish with a .249/.355/.240 batting line (96 OPS+), 12 doubles, one triples, four home runs and 30 RBI in 93 games. From July 26 through the end of the season, he slashed .294/.417/.471 in 31 games.
Davis, meanwhile, established himself as a fine defensive catcher and became the personal battery mate of Cy Young winner Paul Skenes. The 26-year-old posted a .996 fielding percentage, had eight defensive runs saved and a 28.3% caught stealing rate.
It’s been a complete reversal for Davis, who many thought had the potential to be an impact hitter but questioned his ability behind the plate. In 87 games for the Pirates last season, Davis hit just .167 with a .512 OPS, seven doubles, seven home runs and 22 RBI.
But the Pirates are hoping Davis can show the same improvement at the plate as he’s showed behind it. After all, Davis’ minor-league track record consists of a .290/.407/.529 batting line with 42 doubles, four triples, 38 home runs, 126 RBI and 30 steals in 189 games.
The biggest key for Rodríguez this spring and during the season will be health. He underwent Tommy John surgery during the 2023-24 offseason. After returning to the Pirates in 2025, Rodríguez missed extended time dur to a finger laceration and later underwent a second elbow surgery that kept him out of action the rest of the year.
Like Davis, Rodríguez’s minor-league performance has yet to translate to the big leagues, although the latter’s sample size is only 75 games and 261 plate appearances, and he’s still just 23-year-old.
The indication is that the Pirates will let Rodríguez continue to work behind the plate despite the two arm surgeries. While he should receive plenty of work in catcher’s gear, he’ll also play some first base and perhaps a couple other positions.
Flores is the newest addition to the room after coming over from the New York Yankees as part of a three-player return for David Bednar at last year’s trade deadline.
It was an impressive minor-league season for Flores, who combined to hit .280/.354/.470 with 27 doubles, two triples, 22 home runs and 88 RBI in 133 games across two levels and two organizations.
The Pirates, who are quite high on the 25-year-old, got a look at him at the end of the season. Flores appeared in seven games in September and had three hits (two doubles) in 15 at-bats while playing six games at first base and one at catcher.
The early prediction is that Bart and Davis will receive the bulk of the reps to begin the season, unless the former is traded before then which can’t be totally ruled out just yet. Rodríguez needs to make up for missed time the last couple years and would get that with Triple-A Indianapolis. Flores has only played 46 games at Triple-A.
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Try Rodriguez at Third if he still has the arm for playing there and, of course, if he hits.. It’s an obvious position of need.