Pirates had an obvious Henry Davis opportunity and let it slip away

The Pittsburgh Pirates had a clean, logical and relatively painless opportunity to reset their catching situation this weekend. But they let it pass.

Pittsburgh reinstated Henry Davis from the paternity list Saturday after he spent three days away from the team for the birth of his first child. That should be a happy moment for Davis, and nothing about his roster status changes that. But from a baseball standpoint, the timing created an obvious opening for the Pirates to make a move they are probably going to have to seriously consider soon anyway.

Instead of using the moment to send Davis to Triple-A Indianapolis for a reset, the Pirates brought him right back to the active roster and optioned Rafael Flores. That keeps Davis and Endy Rodríguez together on the 26-man roster for now, while Joey Bart continues his rehab assignment as he works his way back from a left foot infection. But Bart’s return is looming, and when it happens, the Pirates will have to make a real decision. And right now, Rodríguez is making that decision much harder than they probably expected.

Since joining the team after Bart’s injury on May 12, Rodríguez has been the Pirates’ best offensive catcher by a wide margin. He is slashing .268/.423/.482 with a .905 OPS in 22 games, with three doubles, three home runs, seven RBI and more walks than almost anyone could have reasonably expected from a catcher still settling back into regular Major League work.

There are still adjustments happening behind the plate, but the bat has been too good to ignore. He has given the Pirates exactly the kind of offensive production they have not gotten from the position in years.

Pirates had clear opening to option Henry Davis to Triple-A for a reset and didn't take it

Davis remains valuable defensively. He works well with the pitching staff, he received Gold Glove votes last season and he has become Paul Skenes’ personal catcher. But that also can't be completely separated from his slash line.

Davis is hitting .135/.236/.278 with a .514 OPS in 46 games. He has just 17 hits in 126 at-bats. In June, his only hit was the grand slam he launched in the Pirates’ 11-9 loss to the Houston Astros on June 3. Since then, the offensive struggles have continued, with too many empty at-bats and zero evidence that a turnaround is imminent.

The Skenes factor complicates the conversation, but it doesn't end it. If Skenes were still dominating every fifth day with Davis behind the plate, the argument for keeping that partnership untouched would be much stronger. But Skenes has a 4.22 ERA over his last six starts, with the Pirates failing to win any of them.

Some of that is defensive support, some of it is offensive support, and some of it is just a young ace navigating a rougher stretch. But it does weaken the idea that Davis’ presence alone is indispensable.

That's why the paternity list presented such an obvious opportunity. Davis was already away from the club. The Pirates already had Rodríguez producing. Bart was already working toward a return. Davis still has minor-league options remaining. Bart does not.

There was a path here that made sense: let Davis remain in the organization’s plans, send him to Indianapolis for regular at-bats, allow him to rebuild his swing away from the pressure of a Major League lineup and continue sorting through the catching picture with Rodríguez and, eventually, Bart.

But instead of acknowledging reality, the Pirates chose the least disruptive short-term move and kept the more difficult decision for later.

The Pirates may have entered the season expecting Davis and Bart to be their catching tandem. But injuries opened the door for Rodríguez, and he has done enough to kick that door down. Now Pittsburgh has three catchers with legitimate claims to roster spots, but only two practical places to put them.

Davis’ paternity stint gave the Pirates a chance to handle that problem before it became more awkward. They passed. Now, the same decision will be waiting for them when Bart comes back — only with less cover, more pressure and an even stronger case that the obvious move should have already been made.

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