Pirates' Joey Bart offer says what they won't about Henry Davis

Every once in a while, the Pittsburgh Pirates make a move so on-brand that fans don’t even have to squint to see the message behind it. Tendering Joey Bart — at a projected $2.7 million — is exactly that kind of move.

First, let’s be honest: this isn’t really about Bart. This is about Henry Davis and what the organization still seems to think — or fear — about their former No. 1 overall pick.

Put simply, the Pirates don't spend $2.7 million on a backup catcher... unless they don't trust their starter. Remember, this is the famously frugal franchise that treated “non-tender candidate” like a personality type this offseason. Yet suddenly, Ben Cherington is happy to cut a nearly $3 million check to keep Bart? Come on.

You don’t do that unless you’re terrified that your primary answer (Davis) isn’t ready to carry the load. The Pirates can sell this as “catching depth” all they want, but if they believed in Davis as their 120-game catcher in 2026, they’re not tendering a guy whose main job last year was bail-out duty every time Davis’ bat went ice cold.

The Pirates have talked for two years now about Davis’ elite work ethic, swing adjustments, improving approach and all the other vague phrases teams use when a top pick isn’t producing the way they hoped. But if they believed those adjustments were finally clicking, they wouldn’t feel the need to pay someone else nearly $3 million to be the adult in the room.

Tendering Bart tells you everything the front office won’t say out loud: They are not convinced that Davis is going to hit. Not consistently. Not enough to justify being "The Guy." Not yet –– and maybe not ever. If they were, Bart would be a non-tender without a second thought.

Pirates tendering Joey Bart shows they don't trust Henry Davis to take over as No. 1 catcher

Cherington loves to preach competition, but there’s a difference between competition and hedging your bets. This is hedging, which means the Pirates are sending a message that 2026 is going to look a lot like 2025: Davis gets the runway, Bart gets the safety net, and the team hopes that one of them emerges as an everyday MLB hitter by Memorial Day.

The problem? This team isn’t at a point in the rebuild where you can spend precious payroll spots hoping your former No. 1 pick suddenly puts it together. They need answers, not “have you tried turning the swing plane off and on again?”

Bart isn’t a bad player. He’s a plus defender and a great game-caller, and pitchers clearly like throwing to him. But that’s exactly the point: he’s the safe option. The emergency brake. The fallback. Tendering him at this number is an organizational confession that they don't fully trust Davis with the No. 1 job because he can't create runs with any sort of consistency.

This should have been the offseason where the Pirates said, “We drafted Davis first overall. We developed him. We believe in him. He’s the guy.” Instead… they paid Bart. Which is fine — unless you’re expecting this team to finally take a step forward.

If the Pirates truly trusted Davis, Bart wouldn’t still be here. And the longer this dance continues, the more obvious it becomes that the Pirates have a Henry Davis problem they aren’t ready to admit — except through moves exactly like this one.