Backup Catcher’s Hot Spring Puts Pirates in Difficult Spot

Endy Rodríguez’s Hot Start to Spring Training

So far this spring, Rodríguez has eight hits. Two of his hits have been home runs, and he also has four walks with just eight strikeouts over 30 spring training plate appearances. Rodríguez is mopping the floor with the rest of the Pirates’ catchers. Joey Bart, Rafael Flores Jr., and Davis all have combined for six hits. All three have an OPS below .500, with Bart even below .300.

How Does Rodríguez Affect the Pirates’ Depth Chart?

The question now becomes: who pairs with Henry Davis behind the plate? Rodríguez was originally behind both Bart and Flores Jr. for the secondary catcher role, but it would be hard to justify breaking camp with him not on the roster over either fellow backstop. Flores Jr. has options left, so the Pirates can send him to Triple-A to open the year. Bart, on the other hand, has no options remaining.

The Pirates have attempted to shop Joey Bart this past winter. The former second overall pick has been a solid hitter for the Bucs. In 614 plate appearances, Bart owns a .257/.347/.398 slash line, .331 wOBA, and 110 wRC+. Bart’s 27% K% is below average, but he does have a solid 10.1% walk rate. He has also gone yard 17 times in a Pirates uniform. Defensively, however, Bart hasn’t graded out well. He has -10 defensive runs saved and -4.3 framing runs over 1203.2 innings behind the dish. Bart may have made improvements in his framing last year, but was still slightly below league average.

However, sending Flores Jr. to Triple-A also raises a set of questions of its own. For one, the Pirates gave up a lot to get Flores Jr. He was the headliner of the David Bednar swap. Sending him down would not be a vote of confidence in this trade. The other question is whether Rodríguez is prepared to platoon with Spencer Horwitz at first base. Flores’ bat is his calling card, so the Pirates can hide his below-average catcher defense at first base, and he is a right-handed hitter.

Sending Rodríguez to Triple-A right now would be a tough choice. He’s been one of the best hitters in spring training for the Pirates, and the rest of their catchers haven’t looked all that great. Obviously, it is a Spring Training sample size, but what other justification do the Pirates have to send him down? The regular season is just around the corner, so the Bucs will have to decide on Rodríguez very soon.