#10 – Catcher Francisco Cervelli
Catcher Francisco Cervelli was voted 10th among our writers. The catcher finished up his Pirates’ tenure last season, batting .264/.362/.374, which was good for a solid 106 wRC+. While his overall line wasn’t super impressive, he was still ranked 3rd in catcher on-base percentage (min. 2000 PA’s), only passed by Buster Posey (.371) and Joe Mauer (.376) for the decade. His wRC+ ranked just behind Yadier Molina’s 107 wRC+.
Defensively, his Fangraphs defensive rating puts him as the Pirates 5th best defensive catcher since 1950, and 2nd in all time Pirates’ catcher DRS, placing just behind Ronny Paulino (Min. 2000 innings played).
After the Pirates lost Russell Martin to free agency following the 2014 season, the team traded reliever Justin Wilson to the New York Yankees for Cervelli. Cervelli quickly made an impact for the Bucs by posting a 5.9 fWAR in 2015. He was a key cog both offensively and defensively for a Pirate squad that won 98 games.
Cervelli would sign a contract extension with the Bucs in 2016 and became one of the top catchers in the NL. Unfortunately, Cervelli’s tenure may always be remembered for the injuries. Between wrist/hand issues and concussions, Cervelli missed time in every season as a Pirate except 2015.