Pirates add potential catching depth solution (with a catch) in trade with Padres

During Wednesday's Indianapolis game, Pirates Triple-A outfielder Bryce Johnson was subbed out early, not even getting an at bat. Some fans thought that it could have meant an emergency promotion, but it turns out he was reportedly traded to San Diego.

According to sources, the Pirates sent Johnson to the Padres in exchange for Brett Sullivan, a utility guy who primarily catches. He was recently DFA'd too, but stayed in the San Diego organization for a few more weeks. Neither of the two have significant playing time in the major leagues, but there is some reasoning as to why each player was swapped for one another.

Pirates and Padres make a minor league swap, sending Bryce Johnson to San Diego and Brett Sullivan to Pittsburgh.

Pittsburgh went after Sullivan following the Endy Rodriguez injury. The only other catchers on the 40-man roster are Joey Bart and Henry Davis. Bart has not been in the lineup since April 11th and was pulled from that game after the first inning. That leaves Davis as the only healthy catcher at the moment. Bart may be close to returning, but the Pirates want to be prepared in the event that either goes down.

For the same reason, Abrahan Gutierrez was added to the taxi squad yesterday. The Pirates saw a need to add more depth to the position with Sullivan (though he is not on the 40-man roster, and must be added to be used). He has played in just 40 games in the major leagues across two seasons, posting a wRC+ of 49 and a .542 OPS.

San Diego was after Johnson after Jackson Merrill and Brandon Lockridge suffered hamstring injuries. Both players could be back soon, but in the meantime, San Diego wanted to add more depth in center field. Johnson was hitting .080 (1-for-25) with a strikeout rate of 32.1% in Indianapolis.

Both of these players are off of the 40-man roster, so neither should be in the major leagues at this point, but that obviously could change with the injuries both teams are facing.

Sullivan may not exactly be a player that Pirates fans were hoping for with the way this offense has been to open up the season, but it is a move that was necessary to make. After the Pirates sent Jason Delay to Atlanta, the depth at catcher took a hit, so now Sullivan will take over that role, likely in Indianapolis.