Pirates’ Bart ready to live up to expectations

In the span of one year for the Pittsburgh Pirates, catcher has gone from a precarious position to one with enough depth that there promises to be plenty of competition in spring training. But the Pirates were clear that the catcher who wasn’t on their Opening Day roster last season will enter holding the edge to be the starter.

After being acquired from the San Francisco Giants in April, 2018 No. 2 overall pick Joey Bart finally showed signs of living up to his highpick pedigree at the plate. By batting .265/.337/.462 with 11 doubles, 13 home runs and 45 RBIs in 80 games, Bart is the odds-on favorite to open the season as the starter.

“Joey, going into the season, I think he deserves the opportunity that he proved over the last half of the year to get a lot of the starts,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said last month in a Pirates-Fest Q&A session.

The Pirates, however, have four catchers on their 40-man roster. Henry Davis, Jason Delay and Endy Rodriguez will battle Bart, with Shelton emphasizing that he views Davis and Rodriguez as catchers “first and foremost” despite their ability to play other positions.

That’s quite a reversal from last season. Rodriguez was expected to be the starter but underwent Tommy John surgery on his right (throwing) elbow. So the Pirates signed Yasmani Grandal in mid-March, only for the two-time All-Star to have a bout with plantar fasciitis that delayed his debut and bothered him for the first half.

Davis, the No. 1 overall pick in 2021, started 49 games in right field in 2023 but returned to receiving behind the plate and earned the Opening Day start. But he batted .162 through May 1 and was demoted to Triple-A Indianapolis, where he spent the majority of the second half.

When Delay required surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee, the Pirates traded for Bart. Joining a new team after the season started and learning the pitching staff proved to be his biggest challenge.

“That’s probably the hardest part, just really getting on the same page and understanding which way their balls move,” Bart said. “That will be huge, getting into spring and spring training with those guys, catching a lot bullpens, catching them in the game, getting familiar. That’s all stuff that really helps out, really helps everybody slow things down. It’s best for both the pitcher and me.”

Bart had minus-4 defensive runs saved last season, when he allowed four passed balls and threw out 18.3% of baserunners, so he’s spent the offseason tweaking his stance to improve his defense. The Pirates avoided arbitration with Bart by signing him to a oneyear, $1.75 million contract, and hope that the 6-foot-2, 238-pounder can tap into his power potential and bat in the heart of the order.

“I’m excited, man,” Bart said. “I’m a competitor. I like to come and compete and get after it. I love trying to get better. That’s really what drives me is, finding a way in the cage, finding a way this offseason behind the plate, find a way to get better and improve my game, you know what I mean? Once you come out there and play, you come out there and let it all out. I really enjoy it. I think it’s very important to enjoy the game. A lot of people get caught up in the stress, and obviously it’s real. Just going out there, letting it all go and having fun, that’s my approach to it.”

While the Pirates believe in Bart, they also want their investments in Davis and Rodriguez to pay off.

The 25-year-old Davis had 10 doubles, seven home runs and 24 RBIs in 62 games but batted only .213 as a rookie, when he became the first major leaguer to homer twice in one game against two-time MVP Shohei Ohtani. But Davis had a 36.9% strikeout rate last season, puzzling the Pirates by struggling against fastballs (.123 average).

“He’s been a very good performer at literally every level of the game except yet in the major leagues,” Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said last September. “This is the place he still needs to figure it out — and we believe he will. … He doesn’t have to be anything more than the best version of himself.”

The Pirates also believe in Rodriguez, their 2022 minor league player of the year. He started 52 games behind the plate in the majors in 2023, throwing out 30% of base stealers but batting only .220/.284/.328.

The 24-year-old claimed that his elbow feels “like a baby,” but the Pirates shut him down last September after only 10 games in the minors because of soreness. Rodriguez is the most versatile of the backstops, which could make him a candidate to platoon at other positions. He has value as a switch hitter who played first base, second base and in the outfield in the minors.

“I’m a catcher, but I’m prepared to play whatever they want,” Rodriguez said. “I just want to help the team. Whatever they need, I’m going to play there.”

Don’t forget about Delay, who has the most games (107) and starts (134) for the Pirates of their four catchers. Shelton called him a “really elite receiver” – one who hasn’t allowed a passed ball in 966 2/3 career innings – and he hit .251/.319/.347 in 70 games in 2023.

“So we’re going to have some catching competition,” Shelton said. “I’m excited that we have some depth at that position. We have two young players that we like a lot. … That’ll be a good problem to have if that is the situation, but we’re going to have some good competition in spring training. But Joey has put himself in a situation where he’s going to get the bulk of play early on.”

Christopher Horner / TribLive