2 players in the Pirates organization who would benefit from a role change

The Pirates have a very big season approaching in 2025. If they show no improvement, Ben Cherington and Derek Shelton could be on the hot seat, which will require them to make some decisions to prevent that from happening.

Aside from bringing in players to improve the team, there are decisions to be made with internal options that could help fill the holes on the Pirates roster. Some of these needs could be papered over through position and role changes.

These two players in the Pirates organization might be able to impact the team more positively if their roles shifted year-over-year.

These two players could help improve the Pirates just by changing positions or roles.

Joey Bart: Catcher to First Base

Getting Bart from the Giants has been arguably the best trade during the Ben Cherington regime, as he made an immediate impact and revived his career. Although his offensive numbers looked great, belting 13 home runs, posting an OPS of .799, and having a wRC+ of 121, his numbers behind the plate didn't quite match.

At catcher, Bart had a -4 defensive runs saved (DRS), along with a -5 fielding run value (FRV) and -2 framing in 2024. His pop time sat at two seconds, and his blocks above average (BAA) clocked in at -5. Not a positive to be found among these numbers, which makes him a strong candidate to change positions.

To add on, Endy Rodriguez is returning from injury after missing the entire 2024 season. His bat was a bit below average in 2023, but his defense was excellent. Rodriguez had three DRS, an FRV of two, and a neutral framing of zero. Additionally, his pop time ranked in the 86th percentile at 1.90 seconds, and his BAA ranked in the 79th at three. All of this production came in 410 innings behind the plate, which proves he is fully capable of being the Pirates' go-to catcher.

Bart has never played first base in his professional career, but the switch is not uncommon for catchers. Former Pirate Carlos Santana started out as a catcher, and is now a Gold Glove first baseman. Moving slugging catcher Bart to first base would help the Pirates a lot in 2025. He can still catch on Rodriguez's off days, but this allows him to stay in the lineup even more with fresher legs, all while filling a position of need.

Braxton Ashcraft: Starting Pitcher to Bullpen

The Pirates' No. 4 ranked prospect, and 85th in MLB, is Braxton Ashcraft, who put together his best professional season in 2024. Like nearly all his seasons with the Pirates organization, even his progress was marked by some sort of injury. In fact, 2024 was the year where he threw the most innings of his career at 73. Despite it being a career high, he was on the injured list four seperate times.

Ashcraft is starting to shape into a really good pitcher, but his health is not allowing him to take the next step. In 2024, across Triple-A and Double-A, Ashcraft posted an earned run average of 2.84 with a WHIP of 1.07, while opposing hitters had a batting average of .234 against him.

Clearly, he has good enough stuff to shut down opposing hitters, but he cannot handle the workload of a starting pitcher. To get Ashcraft to the big leagues to contribute towards the Pirates' ascent, he needs to be moved to the bullpen. This will help manage his workload and help him stay healthy.