Should this latest taxi squad addition make Pirates fans nervous?

In the Pirates' wild ninth inning against the Giants, Yasmani Grandal hit a double and scored a run. After he scored the run, he came into the dugout but was substituted by Joey Bart in the tenth inning. Derek Shelton said in a post-game interview that Grandal said to make sure Bart was loose and ready to go in. News later broke that Grandal was pulled with a left groin injury.

With Grandal once again getting hurt, the Pirates will need another catcher. Henry Davis has been hitting very since being demoted, but this afternoon we found out that the Pirates were going a different route. This afternoon, Alex Stumpf reported that Grant Koch was being added to the taxi squad.

Koch is the right choice for this situation because Grandal has not been hurt for 24 hours. No one knows the future for this injury so recalling Davis this early would be bad for his much-needed Triple-A playing time.

Koch was drafted by the Pirates in 2018 out of Arkansas. He has not been a successful hitter in the minor leagues throughout his career. He did find success in 2023, however, as he had a batting average of .255 with five home runs and 23 runs batted in. He also had an OPS of .708, which included an on-base percentage of .318 and a slugging percentage of .391. His wRC+ was a poor 77, and his strikeout percentage sat at 26.5 percent.

This season has been much worse. Through 17 games, Koch is hitting just .167 with a home run and five runs batted in. He also has an OPS of .470, which includes an on-base percentage of .211 and a slugging percentage of .259. His wRC+ is extremely low at 16, and his strikeout percentage is through the roof at 42.4 percent.

One positive about Koch is that he was the primary catcher for Paul Skenes during his time in Indianapolis. Skenes was dominant in the minor leagues with him behind the plate, so that connection could benefit Skenes on the mound.

With offensive numbers like that (in the minor leagues, no less), it is difficult to justify him being on the team, but Davis getting consistent at-bats in Triple-A is very important for his development. Let's hope this injury is not serious, but if Grandal does need to go on the injured list, it appears that Grant Koch will see some time in Pittsburgh.