Pirates catcher Endy Rodríguez underwent surgery to repair the UCL and flexor tendon in his throwing arm, the team announced. He won’t begin baseball activity for 10-12 months and will miss all of 2024.
Rodríguez had been the presumptive favorite to open the season as the Bucs’ primary catcher. Unfortunately, he suffered the freak injury on a swing while playing winter ball in the Dominican Republic last month. Next year will go down as a lost season for the switch-hitter.
Regarded as one of the sport’s most talented catching prospects, Rodríguez made his big league debut not long after the All-Star Break. He served as Pittsburgh’s starter down the stretch despite struggling in his first look at MLB pitching. Over 57 games, the 23-year-old hit .220/.284/.328 with a trio of home runs.
While Rodríguez doesn’t have a ton of power, he has shown excellent strike zone discipline in the minors. He walked at an 11.4% clip while keeping his strikeout rate south of 15% in 315 plate appearances for Triple-A Indianapolis, where he hit .268/.356/.415. He combines that with rare athleticism for a catcher and solid defensive reviews from scouts. Statcast graded him as an average receiver in his first 410 big league innings but credited him with better than average arm strength.
Between Rodríguez and 2021 first overall pick Henry Davis, Pittsburgh entered the season with two high-end catching prospects. The Pirates preferred Rodríguez defensively, keeping him behind the plate as a rookie while moving Davis almost full-time to right field. At last month’s GM Meetings, general manager Ben Cherington said the organization still planned to give Davis extended run behind the dish. Rodríguez’s unfortunate injury opens a path for the Louisville product to assume the #1 job.
Like Rodríguez, Davis made his MLB debut last summer but didn’t produce much at the plate. He hit .213/.302/.351 with seven longballs in his first 255 plate appearances. The 24-year-old also received well below-average defensive marks in right field. His MLB track record at catcher consists of two innings, but scouts have raised questions about his receiving skills in college and during his minor league tenure.
If the Pirates want Davis to continue developing defensively in Triple-A, their top in-house options are light-hitting defenders Ali Sánchez and Jason Delay. Veteran options available in free agency include Martín Maldonado, Tom Murphy, Austin Nola, Tucker Barnhart and old friend Jacob Stallings.
Wonder if that means Henry Davis goes back behind the plate or if the Pirates keep him in RF and add a Catcher
They already stated he would be a catcher this year. This makes me think that this is the reason why.
According to the Fan, they knew of his injury last month and decided it would be best to sign a catcher to backup Davis
Apparently Delay will start the season at Indy
If Davis hits to his potential they can play him anywhere. So far he hasn’t shown the ability to catch or play rf at mlb level. I heard he is working hard and improving at catching. Hopefully that continues. If not they went with Hedges Delay so they should be fine at catcher..
Hedges went back to Cleveland but i would not at all be surprised to see the Pirates add a cheap Catching option (Reese McGuire, Jacob Stallings, Cam Gallagher) just in case
They already have… Ali Sanchez on MLB deal.
The Pirates have already started to get him ready to work behind the plate this off-season.
Henry Davis was a #1 pick?? Was this the correct decision at the time?? Was Davis the unanimous guy to go #1 by all the “experts?” Was that a subpar draft year overall ??
Davis was projected to go top three. He wasn’t the consensus #1 guy, as many had Marcelo Mayer going #1 or #2, but Davis was definitley up there and more than good enough in college to be a considered at number one, and with the Pirates having no catching in the system at the time, other than Endy (who they acquired that previous off-season), it made senes to take Davis as well. They took Davis number one because they knew they could go slightly underslot so they could sign Bubba Chandler, Anthony Solometo, and Lonnie White Jr., Owen Kellington, and Braylon Bishop. Taking Davis meant that they were able to get those guys later in the draft.
Thank you, that’s very helpful.
very few people were pushing for Davis number one but to me he seemed like the logical choice. Pirates were in desperate need for a catcher. Other than pitching it was what they ‘should’ get. His hitting was good and his catching was improved his last year in college and seemed to improve some early on in the minors. Not a gold glove improvement though.
Everyone else drafted within the top 6, with the exception of Mayer (who gets an incomplete) has not fared all that well. Jackson Jobe has been hurt, but putting up OK AA numbers. Jack Leiter has been bad up to this point. Colton Cowser and Jordan Lawler (the other guys who were possible #1 picks) have both made their MLB debuts already and have poorer stats than Davis.
Mayer could be the real deal, but is still probably two seasons away from really getting a shot at the majors. The best player so far out of that draft has been Jordan Wicks (taken #21). The Pirates would have been crucified for taking him with the top pick.
You’re selling Lawlar a bit short; he’s ~5 months older than Mayer and 13 days older than Jobe, all of who were drafted out of high school. The rest of the Top 6 were college players.
And Lawlar already made MLB in spite of missing a full season of developmental reps due to a shoulder injury, and showed more than playable defense at SS. He still doesn’t even turn 22 until around the All-Star Break; he has time to figure things out at the plate.
they already added a catcher
Watch then still play Henry Davis in the outfield
Oh man, another young guy w upside goes down… sad
I guess if Pittsburgh really wanted to see whether Davis can stick at catcher long-term, they’ve got the next year to give him the reins and see what happens.
Got until April. They should be trying to contend.
Do you think the FO will make a decision on Davis catching at the end of ST or send him to Indy for a month if he still sucks defensively?
Sanchez and Delay could handle the MLB load while the Bucs figure out what Davis is moving forward.
I know nothing about catcher development but if an entire off-season, spring training and month of exhibition games doesn’t do the trick what is 1 additional month going to do? I would keep him in the minors all year if it would make him significantly better.
His 2024 season is being deferred to 2025.
That’s sad to hear, I was excited to see him play this season. But this does explain why we signed Ali Sanchez
Wow, well that sucks. Probably my favorite catching prospect.
Jake Rogers of the Tigers missed a full season because of TJS. When he came back, he had regained all his arm strength and was fine. But losing a year of development is tough to overcome, especially for catchers that have a more limited career length.
Yeah, good point. Who knows he could back better and stronger than ever. I have faith in this guy and he was a great get in the trade with the Mets.
Amaya also had UCL surgery for the Cubs and it took him almost 2 years to get back, But he also had an Achilles injury while he was DHing on the way back. He’s finally back for the Cubs but it’s just as hard on a C as it is on a P. Good luck to him though. Talented kid.
Why was he on a swing in the Dominican? That was always going to be risky!
What do you expect…Cruz got hurt on a slide last year. Might as well be Endy on a swing. I certainly hope they keep Bednar away from the monkey bars.
Who cares. More stuff about Ohtani!
Pirates fans care
Guess this explains their recent catcher signing. Man, the hits just keep on coming
I wonder if the Pirates would be interested in trading for Danny Jansen. What do you think?
Only if he can frame, block, and is cheap to aquire both prospect and salary wise.
Jansen’s is a solid defender and is getting better when it comes to his batting. And to answer your statement, he is going to be a free agent after the 2024 season so I do reckon that it is possible for a deal to be made. And on top of that, Pittsburgh has plenty of prospect depth needed to swing a deal and Danny Jansen would be a great temporary fit for them until Rodriguez comes back. The question is “can Jansen stay healthy?”
They signed the guy who officiated his wedding today.
Package deal.
Tough break for the kid. Hope he recovers nicely.
With Mauricio and now Endy do we see a crackdown on letting guys play winter ball especially with all the technological advancements today….i know these guys love playing in their home countries and deserve to but the mlb is a business and I can’t imagine they haven’t noticed
I feel bad for these kids too. Try to keep in mind that it is impossible to replicate live game experience and that’s incredibly important to learn your craft better. Being amongst other talented young people just pushes you further and they all learn together from each other. It’s a game. You get hurt sometimes. It sucks that he’s gonna lose an entire year, but this is what they need to try to be the best at the MLB level.
This season ending injuries outside of MLB, should give teams pause. These players may be playing too many games overall without enough rest which could be leading to these injuries. Even young people can break down. Winter Ball may not be good idea after reaching the majors. .
Canario trashed his ankle and his shoulder plying in the Dominican last off season. Mauricio and Rodriguez this year. I don’t think the fields they play on are anywhere near MLB quality and maybe not even Minor League quality. Somebody might want to think about that when you send your prospects there.
Agreed and I know they all want to play in their home countries and deserve the chance but these guys make a lot of money when they get to the show and with it being a business I’d rather find a middle ground Endy and Mauricio even more so are future mlb regulars hurts the game not having them on the field this year
So if they haven’t reached the majors yet, its ok to let them get hurt playing winter ball?
Players get hurt in the regular season. Should they stop playing in MLB games as well?
Two injuries out of how many players in winter ball? I don’t think its any thing to worry about.
Joel Zumaya hurt his arm, and ended his career, by playing Guitar Hero at home. Injuries happen everywhere.
Understandable they all want to play back home I mean even Acuna is doing it and I think they deserve that opportunity just being a fan but I know with injuries it’s just gonna lead to more tension between players and teams
They should sign Eric Haase on a minor league deal. Good rebound candidate.
Now we know why they signed Sanchez & told Hank to grab his catching glove
Yup… we were hoping BC was setting up a trade for pitching. This is just about the worst possible news for Pirates fans.
There are not words that can describe my pain right now.
Yum yum eat ’em up?
This actually works out well
See what David got behind the plate
Bring back McCutchen for a year to DH if Davis stinks catching he can move back to RF or DH in 25
Trade Priester & Contreras for Polanco & Kepler
Resign Cutch
Sign Wacha
Sign Marin Perez
You’re right we should re-sign Cutch twice, just to prove a point.
Then after spending all that money take Nutting to the ICU when his stroke hits. Yeah, I doubt not much of that gets done.
Priester and Contreras aren’t worth much at the moment after their horrid showings in 2023. I could see Contreras turning it around, but Priester looks like a bust so far to me.
Priester, in my opinion, looked a lot better after getting sent down and getting recalled in September. Velocity was back up to the 93-96 MPH range, was locating a lot better, and had his best outings in September.
I would say the opposite is more likely. Priester got some tough lessons in learning about pitch sequencing and hitting locations; Contreras seems more like a head case at this point. He’s lost trust in his stuff and he’s lost velocity.
Contreras should be past the point of MLB adjustment for the most part, it’s hard for a pitcher to rebuild trust in their arsenal or especially learn how to actually pitch in lieu of elite stuff – which is what both need to learn – Priester seems ahead of Contreras in that respect.
Might want to consider replacing Marino, the pitching coach. A lot of young pitchers seemed to have regressed after coming under his tutelage in the majors. I can’t think of one guy he has made better!
Working extra hard on his game by playing Winterball. Must be heartbreaking for him. Hope he comes back even better
Something came up back in late-April where he was pulled from the game with an apparent arm injury. They sent him for a MRI, and it came back clean at the time and he only missed a few days. Makes me wonder if this was a reaggravation.
Mr. Murphy is still available
What’s with all these position players needing TJ surgery? I don’t remember this happening 20+ years ago.
Players just played through it as their careers came to an early end?
It’s the endy of the road.
I’m not sure that 40 HRs between his age 21 and 22 seasons in the minors really constitutes “not much power” especially for a catcher… but regardless sad to see this happen to a young kid with promise. I know he’ll be back but still… the Pirates are fun to root for (assuming you, like me, root for a team that their success has no impact on — the Red Sox in my case lol)
I’m sure Rowdy can catch!
Sign Barnhart to 2 seasons, team option 3rd. He’s LH hitter, good defensive C. Pair him with Davis. Assess after 2024 going forward. Davis’ progress, Endy surgery considered. Make the move and solidify C situation. In a perfect world Barnhart is fine, Endy recovers and pairs with him 2025 and Davis plays 1B for next 12 seasons.
Why would they do that with Delay and Sanchez already on 40-man roster?
Reasons would be: Delay is 28, and in career of little has 20 extra-base hits and 14 errors at C. Sanchez is 27 and has 7 games played in his MLB career.
So, baseball reasons. Barnhart(33) good receiver, bats LH and is obviously better than both those players. Plus he can help tutor younger Davis.
Barnhardt obviously better?
Fangraphs have all three guys projected at 0.5 WAR over approx 50 games in 2024. They look pretty much identical to me apart from two of the players are cheaper, younger, controllable and already on the roster!
Not a bad idea to pick up Barnhart, but not for multiple years.
And would be a fairly typical Pirates move – he’s signed and paid already for ’24 (year 2 of Cubs contract) so they can sign him for the minimum for ’24,, then see what happens.
And re Contreras above, he’s out of options so his value is low as a result.
C Sanchez is out of options too so expect him to back up whoever else sticks or is acquired at the spot.
At least at the season’s outset anyway.
That was my point. The Bucs aren’t signing Tucker to start and Sanchez will share time with Davis at the beginning of 2024. It was a silly suggestion.
dang.
Settles why they signed a catcher. Would’ve rather have seen Stallings though but thats just because I like him.
Unless he falls flat in spring I see Davis starting going into the season
Just awful news and I feel terrible for Endy (and Pirates fans overall).
Looks like Davis will be doing a ton of catching next year and I’m not mad about that, excited to see what he can do.
It was smart to keep this quiet. Didn’t over pay Sànchez. They’ll now have to “make lemonade.” See what Davis can do behind the plate, promote an outfielder. It’ll increase Delay’s value to the team and everyone else, should he or Sànchez find themselves on the block. Depending on his recovery throwing wise will dictate whether he’s a catcher or first baseman in 25. Stinks that he was injured, but that’s what needs done now.
Too bad the Guardians already signed Austin Hedges. (kidding)
Andrew Knizner is a free agent, too. He might provide production close to a number of the others mentioned but at a cheaper price.
Well that sucks!!!!!!
Though now Henry Davis can suit up at Catcher and focus on his development with the pitching staff