Henry Davis has solved one Pirates problem but can't escape another

The Pittsburgh Pirates have had a revolving door behind the plate this season. Early in the year, it was Joey Bart handling the bulk of the catching work; however, he spent a lot of time on the IL and was ultimately dealt in a minor trade with the Braves. Endy Rodríguez seemed to grab the reins and leveled up the position offensively, but lagged with the glove. His hip injury brought forth the one constant, Henry Davis, into a larger role.

Davis has felt like a player on thin ice for a while now, but for one reason or another, he just never goes away. On the one hand, he's a fantastic defensive catcher, but on the other hand, he's so inept with the bat that he negates practically all of his value behind the plate.

Davis has an impressive 48.6% caught stealing rate that is a byproduct of 1.91 pop time and a cannon for an arm. He's an above-average pitch blocker and an average framer as well. In total, he's produced eight defensive runs saved over 635 1/3 innings.

With that said, his .170/.267/.300 line has produced a 58 wRC+ through 256 plate appearances. It's normal for catchers to hit worse than the average hitter at other positions, but anything below a wRC+ of 85 is way too low even for this offensively-challenged position.

Now that he's no longer Paul Skenes' personal catcher, it would seem that Davis's days are numbered; however, without Rodríguez, the Pirates really have nowhere else to turn.

The Pirates missed the boat by not acquiring another catcher at the trade deadline

Pittsburgh was rumored to be targeting Colorado Rockies catcher Hunter Goodman at the trade deadline, but ultimately the price tag was too high. The Pirates were also thought of as a potential suitor for Adley Rutschman, but after seeing the price the Boston Red Sox paid for his services, it's easy to see why they bowed out.

The catcher market overall was a tough landscape to navigate, especially once other top-tier options like Shea Langeliers and Ryan Jeffers were pulled from the trade block. At the same time, the club is probably kicking itself for not coming up with something, especially after Rodríguez went down shortly after the deadline passed.

A mid-tier option like Tyler Stephenson from the division rival Cincinnati Reds would have been a nice add, for example.

So, once again, the onus is on Davis to perform. It's hard to believe now, but he was once a No. 1 overall draft pick in 2021 and ranked No. 24 on MLB Pipeline's top 100 prospects in 2023. He does have elite bat speed, coming in at 74.3 miles per hour, and if he can ever utilize that in conjunction with the tools that made him such a highly-regarded prospect, he could really turn into something.

Davis is still only 26, but it's hard to envision the offensive side of things ever truly coming together for him. He's closing in on 1,000 career big league plate appearances and has not done anything more than show the occasional flash of power.

The Pirates would be well served with him as the No. 3 catcher waiting in the wings in Triple-A, but as a starter, he's problematic. Unfortunately, there aren't any other real options. Rafael Flores Jr. has struggled with his limited opportunities, and the move for Christian Bethancourt is an indictment of both Flores Jr.'s ability to produce and Rodriguez's injury prognosis. Maybe paying a premium for a catcher at the trade deadline is something they should have given more thought.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow