Pirates' latest free agency pursuit spells bad news for Henry Davis

The Pirates have not made a major league move this offseason, but the rumors are swirling at the MLB Winter Meetings. MLB Insider Robert Murray reported this week that the Pirates are involved in the catching market. This comes as a surprise, as the current catching group in Pittsburgh is one of the team's biggest strengths.

This particular market has been very active recently, as most of the top available catchers have been signed. Some of the notable free agents remaining include two former Pirates in Yasmani Grandal and Elias Diaz. The Pirates are returning four catchers that are serviceable, which makes this report very strange, but there are couple of takeaways from this, including the possibility of moving the Pirates' former number one overall pick.

Recent rumors linking Pirates to catching market could result in roster shakeup

One reason as to why the Pirates would be targeting a catcher, such as Grandal, could be because they want to keep him as Paul Skenes' personal catcher, which is what he was all last season. On top of that, he surged in the second half, posting a wRC+ of 172 with a .987 OPS and six home runs.

It wouldn't be unreasonable for them to return Grandal to catch twice a week with Joey Bart and Endy Rodriguez, who can also play other positions. That just doesn't leave room for Henry Davis and Jason Delay. All four listed are on the 40-man roster, and adding Grandal (or an equivalent) would make it five catchers, which cannot happen.

Davis and Delay both have two minor-league options remaining, but they could probably get away with designating Delay for assignment and then outrighting him to Indianapolis. Davis, on the other hand, would immediately get interest from other teams, which could be why a potential trade for him is possible. He can't just languish at Triple-A forever as he falls down the depth chart.

There are no rumors out there are indicating Davis is on the trade block right now, but the catching room is very crowded in Pittsburgh, and Murray reported that they are looking to add to it. Davis obviously didn't have a great year in 2024, dropping his value, but the tools are all there and there are probably a handful of teams that would buy low on him.

At the MLB level last season, Davis batted .144 with a home run and an OPS of .453. His wRC+ reached just 30 and he struck out at a 36.9% clip. That was very poor, but he proved in Triple-A that same season that he has more in the tank. With Indianapolis, Davis batted .307 with 13 home runs, driving in 43. His OPS was great at .956 and he put up an outstanding wRC+ of 148.

This rumor that the Pirates are active in the catching market is quite surprising, but there are some positives that could be taken away from it, like helping an ace in Skenes have his own catcher at a cheap price. The catching room featuring four on the 40-man roster is quite crowded, which could lead to some moves to alter that group, with a Davis trade standing out as highly likely.