Pittsburgh Pirates Still Searching for Catcher Help

With MLB’s Winter Meetings now in the rear view mirror the Pittsburgh Pirates are still searching for catching help

When looking at the 40-man roster of the Pittsburgh Pirates there are certainly holes. The team still needs starting pitching help, they could use a right-handed hitting outfielder, and their bullpen is still shaping up to be one of the worst in baseball.

One other major glaring hole continues to be catcher. Right now, the only catcher the Pittsburgh Pirates have on their 40-man roster is highly touted prospect Endy Rodriguez, who has quickly developed into one of the best catching prospects in baseball.

While Pirate fans would love to see Rodriguez start the year with the team that is not going to happen. If there was anyone holding out hope manager Derek Shelton even said during the Winter Meetings that Rodriguez would not start the season on the MLB roster.

Seeing the Pirates leave the Winter Meetings without signing a catcher did come as a bit of a surprise. During the meetings it was reported by Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that the Pirates are interested in veteran Tucker Barnhart, but no deal has yet to be made.

It also seemed possibly a reunion with Roberto Pérez could occur during the meetings, but the Pirates may still have concerns over Pérez’s medicals after his 2022 season was cut short. Not to mention his injury history.

Moving forward, the Pirates likely need to add a pair of catchers this offseason. The team obviously needs to find a starting catcher, but right now the only internal backup option would appear to be Jason Delay. Due to this, the Pirates likely need to add both a starting and backup catcher before Opening Day.

Free agency is an area the Pirates can turn to in their search for catching help. The trade market is also a place they could look to. Regardless of where they find it at, the Pirates need to add catching help between now and Opening Day. Likely, they will need to add a pair of catchers.