Former first-overall pick Henry Davis will return to his natural position behind the dish in 2024, says Pirates manager Derek Shelton (as relayed by Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette). Davis began his professional career as a backstop but transitioned into an outfield role this past year. Throughout his first few months of big league action, he started 49 games in right field and played just two innings at catcher.
Davis has never been the strongest defender, and he lost out on playing time in 2023 to defensive wizard Austin Hedges, fellow young backstop Endy Rodríguez, and breakout backup catcher Jason Delay. All three provided Pittsburgh with positive defensive value behind the plate, per FanGraphs and Baseball Savant, and with so many capable catchers on the roster, it’s not hard to see why the Pirates were hesitant to drop Davis into the mix. Moreover, Shelton also mentioned that a right hand strain in mid-August prevented the 24-year-old from getting a chance to catch at the end of the year.
However, Davis will be more valuable and productive for the Pirates long-term if he can stick at catcher; if he reaches his offensive upside, he could be one of the best-hitting backstops in the game. For precisely that reason, catching will be the “focal point” for Davis in 2024, per Shelton. He could still see time at DH or in right field, but his manager is planning to give him a legitimate opportunity to develop his catching skills at the big league level.
In other news from around the NL Central…
- After signing top prospect Jackson Chourio to a record-breaking contract extension, the Brewers are listening to trade offers for the rest of their young outfielders, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post. While Heyman doesn’t go into much detail about any potential trade offers on the table, he names Sal Frelick, Garrett Mitchell, Joey Wiemer, Tyrone Taylor and Blake Perkins as the cost-controlled outfielders Milwaukee could be willing to sell. With Christian Yelich a lock in left field and Chourio the favorite to start in center, the Brewers have a bevy of talented outfielders and only one more spot to fill in the starting lineup. Given the team’s need for an impact bat and starting pitching depth, the Brewers could trade from an area of strength to address those concerns.
- The Reds are not planning to trade second baseman Jonathan India this winter, according to president of baseball operations Nick Krall (per Mark Sheldon of MLB.com). However, they could give him a chance to play a new position as the team attempts to break up a logjam in the infield. Specifically, Krall suggests that India could “maybe” play some first base in 2024. The 2021 NL Rookie of the Year has not played a defensive position aside from second base since the 2019 Arizona Fall League season, and he has never played first in his professional career. However, with Elly De La Cruz at shortstop, Noelvi Marte at third base, and Matt McLain looking like a good fit at second – not to mention Spencer Steer, who has played all four infield positions in his pro career – the Reds will need to get creative to fit India into the lineup. Cincinnati has no shortage of options at first base either, including Steer, Christian Encarnacion-Strand, and Tyler Stephenson, but the more flexible India can be, the better his chances of earning regular playing time.
Boom. Brewers doing work. Exciting to see which OF of the 5 they move and what they return as a result. So many players they could move in like a 4-7 player deal with another team to bring back someone completely off radar.
I hope they keep Frelick. Dude will only be 24 next season and showed some flashes of potential in his rookie season. Defense, Speed and contact is hard to replace!
Now if some team just blows you away with a trade….different story but I’d like to keep him.
Frelick I was surprised checking out Savant and his arm had 90 pcts. Something I thought his knock was a weaker arm of the trio. He’s elite among them in terms of contact. But that contact is at a much lower exit velocity. He’s not going to be a 15HR hitter unless that improves. Unlike a Mitchell or Wiemer who have 30HR exit velocity potential. Swing and miss problems though. One would think with Chourio- you’d want somebody who gets on base and keep Frelick to accomplish that(besides Black)
Mitchell coming back from injury/ how was his speed affected permanently? Sell high or low would it be? Wiemer is the highest ceiling of them all if they find a way to reduce his moving parts.
Taylor should be gone. Seems like a fit for a team trading a 6th inning type RP or 7th inning RP type in the minors but close to Majors. Util inf/SS say the Brewers move Adames to backup Turang/Black/Monasterio.
Perkins if has options I hold on to.
Frelick has perennial all star written all over him and has a home in RF. Can’t imagine he’ll move unless it’s for another team’s top infield prospect.
Mitchell is an interesting case. He has a very high ceiling but they’d be selling low after the injury. It probably makes more sense to keep him for now and platoon CF as Chourio acclimates. See what you have at mid season.
Wiemer is what he is. Not a bad guy to have on the bench or in AAA next season. But if the A’s or whoever want him, get what you can. His glove is enough to make him an everyday CF somewhere.
Tyrone Taylor, it’s been nice to know you. Unless the Crew shock everyone and trade Frelick, he’s outta here.
I wonder what Weimer or Taylor would cost the Braves in a trade. Perhaps as a potential bench piece or occasional platoon in LF. I know they both can play CF but the Braves could use some bench depth.
Taylor ought to be tied towards what he is. A utility who backs up starters. Crew would definitely use that type with an Adames trade. Otherwise get a prospect that profiles like a utility inf or 7-8th inning upside relief pitcher in the minors who has a decent spin rate for them to work with.
Weimer would need to see a top 100 prospect return coming back that the team desires. Obviously not OF-so infielder or pitcher. No catcher. His upside is too high to sell low.
I don’t think Frelick has the power to be a star. That’s ok with me if he can be a .400 obp guy and lead off. Pretty sure he has the contact skills, but he can’t just spin worm burners all the time.
Frelick getting OB in front of Chourio would be better imo than the upside of Mitchell. Wiemer can spend time in minors I’m not trading him without an equal type top 100 prospect upside at a position the Brewers need. By far the highest of the trio.
All that said, you’re dealing with the returns of a trade that can counteract what the plus is for Frelick in the OF with who they get in the infield or pitching return.
They better keep Frelick and Mitchell.
As someone in Wisconsin who isn’t a true brewer fan but a fan of baseball first… I can’t believe I agree with you all… frelick as the 3rd starting outfielder…. Mitchell as the 4rth and first man up for injury..
Hurts a bit because I loved how much ground Weimer covered on the grass, but it’s pretty obvious he is the one who needs to go… don’t get me wrong if someone likes Mitchell that much more, yeah move him.. but all things equal it has to be weimer.. taylor either move him too or he is the best 5th OFer in the league.
Move Weimer.. trade Williams and change to the O’s for mayo… burnes and adames to the dodgers for 1 of vargas/lux/Busch and Sheehan with some change added and call it an offseason.
I concur! Something along those lines anyway…
Frelick will be kept as the starting LF
Don’t know how the revolving catching pair will help the pitching for the Pirates but good to know they believe in Davis.
Brewers will probably trade one or two outfielders but most don’t look like more than bench or platoon pieces. Weimer and Taylor would be my guesses.
There’s always a chance those Reds rookies regress or slump a little in year two so I get keeping India. Just don’t jerk him around too much like Senzel
I think Endy Rodriguez is going to be a Mariner. I think that pitching will entice the Bucs to make a move from a perceived strength.
The value asset the Reds have for trade is McLain. He’d bring back more than India and at the same, if not traded, represents regression risk – he significantly outperformed his 2023 StatCast metrics…
I am more concerned about Elly than McLain. Now there’s someone who would bring value if traded, at least right now. Overall, he did not really live up to the hype. We will see if he finally makes adjustments now that the league figured him out.
As for India, figure on him being the DH a lot if they indeed keep him.
I’m just going to ask because I’m curious as hell – Why did the Reds bother tendering India? He’s bad in the field and just average at the plate. For the life of me I can’t figure out how he has positive fWAR or any trade value. Now the Reds are planning to install him at 1B/DH??? A below 100 wRC+ bat at a premium bat position? I’m sorry Reds fans, but I don’t understand these decisions at all, not when you could have just walked away.
If you just look at stats and didn’t actually WATCH the games, you wouldn’t get it, so there is no need to try to enlighten you.
His presence as a leader in the locker room/dugout is invaluable to this young team.
You aren’t watching the games. You are gauging your response from metrics you read. India is the real deal. Injuries are his only concern. He played at an all star level last season til he got hurt. Then he played hurt and his stats reflect it.
Reds aren’t moving him bc they aren’t getting the traction for what they feel he’s worth. He’s never been a non tender candidate and that’s just ridiculous
This one belongs to the Reds – A weird response. I wasn’t trying to offend. I’m genuinely curious because I don’t watch Reds games and the stats and story don’t align. The fact that India is being considered for 1B/DH with that bat suggests the Reds hoped a market for India would develop and it hasn’t done so yet.
Thanks Whiffa and BeingaRedsFan. I appreciate the info.
Not sure why you have to be rude, This one. Stats are a numerical collection of what guys do on the field, so I’m not sure what your point is.
But as a season ticket holder and avid watcher on Bally, I watched India routinely miss balls in the field and miss basic throws too often.
At the plate, he’s a shell of who he was in 2021. I think it’s great that he’s a leader but how many empty ABs is that worth?
MP, I see your point. However, teams almost never non-tender guys before the last year of arbitration. India is two years away from that.
For example, the Reds tolerated five years of injuries, weird behavior, and lack of production from Nick Senzel before cutting him loose. Comparatively, India is far superior to Senzel.
But your ultimate point is spot-on. First, they moved India from 3rd to 2nd because of his weak arm and lack of range. That’s the same reason he can’t play CF or RF. Now he can’t stick at 2nd because he is the worst fielding regular 2B in the NL.
That only leaves 1st, LF, or DH. But now the problem is that his hitting has plummeted since 2021 and his bat doesn’t justify the production you look for from those positions.
This all feels like a train barreling down the path to a guy who had a flash-in-the-pan first season and ultimately regressed to becoming a part-time (300-400 abs/yr) utility bat.
He’s a very nice guy who works hard and is a great teammate, so I hope he rebounds. But I need to see it before I believe it.
Because you are vastly underestimating his hit tool. When India has been healthy, which is a big when, he has hit very well
I don’t know how you can make that claim. We’re not around the team to know when he’s playing at 50%, 75%, or 100%. All we can do is judge what we see.
In India’s first year, he hit .269/.376/.459 with 21 HR & 69 RBI. That is enough offensive production at 2B to make up for poor fielding. If that’s the baseline for his production when healthy, that’s not enough to justify 500-600 ABs at 1st or DH on a team competing for a WS.
That’s not even addressing the fact that he only put up that production for 1/3rd of his career. If you’re going to claim that the other 2/3rds are explainable simply because he wasn’t healthy, 1) I’m going to need some proof, and 2) if he was so unhealthy that his production plummeted so severely, why was he even on the field?
I’m not saying India is total garbage. I’m saying that maybe he’s regressing to his mean of being a weak fielding .240-.250 hitter with 10-12 HR pop. That type of player is not deserving of 500-600 ABs each season.
These are idiotic responses to your good question. Leadership is such a cop-out as why he should be on the roster, as if any of the other young players don’t have similar qualities. He’s useful as depth but that’s really it as his average bat at 2B is weighted down by his awful glove. Yeah they could move him to 1B but that bat looks even worse when you’re potentially taking Steer or CES out of the lineup. He has zero flexibility whereas every other IF can play multiple positions. Not saying he NEEDS to be traded but he’s not leaving a gigantic void if he were dealt
If you just look at stats and didn’t actually WATCH the games, y
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I’ll bite. What did you see in the games that is different than what his stats are? Most of the sites I see suggest he is a poor fielding. Are you suggesting that he is not?
Reds aren’t moving him bc they aren’t getting the traction for what they feel he’s worth.
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Therein lies the problem. He isn’t really worth anything to the Reds, unless he has a starting gig, which he won’t.
You have DLC, Marte, CES, McLain, and Steer to play 5 positions. And I don’t consider India a multi-positional candidate.
I’m not saying India is total garbage.
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I think your comments are spot on. As a RS fan, I like him for two reasons.
1-We need a 2B, and even if he doesn’t return to 2021, he should definitely be a solid platoon with the lefty Valdez.
2-He is a former 1/5 and a top-50 prospect, so he has a pedigree.
But the one thing I would NOT base my liking of to is his ML results. His career OPS+ is 105 with a weak, maybe bad glove.
NeilK4 – I’m a Rays fan, and the Rays are ruthless with guys that have the profile of India. He’d have been traded already for an A ball pitcher no one has ever heard of.
I have been saying for a while that India is just what the Reds are looking for. A RH bat with some pop to work in the corner OF positions with the 2 LH bats. They should be able to play him there along with 1B, 2B, 3B and DH. To make it work, he has to be willing and able to also play both LF and RF. Before anyone mentions Senzel, everyone is different and Senzel’s problems were being able to stay healthy and hit RH pitching. . Senzel’s problems were Senzel and not switching to the OF. Also, don’t pay a ton in prospects and money for a top end pitcher who has been injured and is only aboard for a year or so. They need to sign one more reliever and one more middle of the road starter and be finished.
If India doesn’t have the arm for 3B, he certainly doesn’t have the arm for RF. And his bat seems to be a bit weak for LF, 1B, and DH, which are premium hitting positions. With the logjam in the infield, if the Reds get a compelling offer they should certainly consider moving him.
Ricardo cabrera is the best they have at short or second base.. I would absolutely shop elly right now.
Ship him to the Tigers for pitching. They have lots and he’d be a great fit at 2B or better yet at SS with Baez fitting on the bench if he cant get his act together.
Trading India? Reds fans, you won’t know what you have until you lose him. Can’t believe some of the comments I’m reading that suggest India should be shown the door or traded for whatever the Reds can get.
Those young Reds prospects might all be good someday. Maybe even this year for a few. But to expect all of them to blend in and succeed all at once is pure fantasia.
This is why they say we catchers are smart and make good managers.
People go crazy about one year stats on both ends. Until a young player has a few years track record, the whole story isn’t there.
You can see trends on players, such as making adjustments on the fly. Benson, India, Friedl and CES have all done that early on in various ways. A lot of people forget India was hitting at a .280 clip or so before bogged down by injuries. Kid can really turn on a fastball. Last two seasons was the same story as far as injuries.
As far as pitchers, Ashcraft and Williamson were making good adjustments as well. On a brief look, I think Phillips is going to be a find as well. Kid knows how to pitch already.
Sorry I went off on random thoughts. The Reds have a good group of young players, but the jury is still out, especially with no veteran leadership around. Some of the young pitchers especially really need that, in my opinion.
No mention in the article of the MLB deal given to catcher Ali Sanchez last week.
If Davis is catching for the Bucs in 2024 then Endy Rod will have been traded for pitching. Let’s just hope BC gets a decent deal and doesn’t have to give up too many prospects.
I don’t see Endy being traded. Wasn’t he player of the year his last 2 years in minors? He’s a bettet catcher than Davis, plays a few other positions competently and has offensive upside. I read this as they are going to give Davis a chance to prove he can catch maybe one-third of games.. RF and DH also in the mix.
Who’s BC trading for pitching then?
He’s on record as saying the trade market is the most likely route for the Pirates. The only pieces with enough value are: Endy, Davis, Cruz, Suwinski, Bednar, Skenes, Temarr and the AA pitching prospects.
Depends on what aisle you are shopping. Braves will be salary dumping Marco Gonzales. Not a sexy pickup but IMO it would not take anything close to your list. To get a legit high likelyhood of success pitcher – you are spot on.
Some of the trade candidates are with teams looking to dump salary, in which case the Pirates won’t need to part with top prospects you mention. They very possibly have three potential 2B and a few promising SPs at A and AA.. Bae and even C Joe could be included in a package. Possibly.
I personally think they can pull off a job share with Davis and Rodriguez knowing they can get some time at DH and possibly a handful of starts elsewhere. Delay has options so I think he gets the bad end of the deal and is depth at AAA.
The no comment of Sanchez is a good observation as it was a major league deal. I guess my assumption is while a major league deal, it is likely close to league minimum so the financial commitment (yes I know Bob is cheap) is not significant. They can try to option him and risk losing him if they feel Hank/Endy are all they need at the MLB level. If they truly want Endy and Hank to catch then any third catcher really becomes the return of Keith Osik who caught the 10 innings not covered by Jason Kendall back in the day.
It does take legit prospects to get legit returns in a trade, but IMO they are still better served by seeing what they really have in Hank/Endy. If they can truly become middle of the order (Hank) and top half league catcher (Endy) then they will find at bats for them long term and they can be key pieces. My guess is this is Cutch’s last year and DH will open up more in 2025.
The reason all these guys eventually made it up last season was injuries. Sure, it’s a “problem” if all those infielders stay healthy all season, but it’s unlikely. India at 2nd most of the time with the occasional stint at first or even DH would be fine.
Steer’s gonna play LF almost every day.
Another experiment?? They screwed up Senzel, so now it’s Indias time? Just trade him already. Defensively, he just doesn’t have it, and he is is a very streaky at the plate. Fans like that he hustles and his long locks for the ladies… There is no way he is better than any of the rookie core. He’s s too young to be a veteran… rather have Votto on the 1B /bench. They all went to him for advice. Krall needs to go! I just hope after they fail, I hope he gets canned quickly! Krall suxs!
On that team, he IS the veteran along with Stephenson because Po Boy can’t actually bring in established major league talent.
They had Votto- didn’t perform. They had Moose- didn’t perform. They had Wil Meyer- didn’t perform. Reds had some “Established ML talent”, then had to pay them off to go away.
You just proved my point with two of those guys witout realizing it. You forgot bringing in Weaver, which was a disaster. You need to bring in LEGITIMATE major league talent, not cheap ones or past their prime guys whose welcome wore out everywhere else.
Votto had a major injury that he never really recovered from, and was on a long term deal, so that’s a different story.
Kralls been apart of 4 rebuilds. Doubt he’s fired if this don’t work and he’s built a really young roster while having a super deep farm still. So he deserves a little credit for that.
And it was the vertigo that wrecked senzel. Moving him off 3rd didn’t make him unable to hit. He absolutely mashed, then was diagnosed w vertigo and was never the same player
My points exactly on Senzel’s hitting.. We will never know if he would have hit even without the vertigo. Senzel was also an injury waiting to happen.
Krall: “Tbh we don’t know what to do with Jonathan India.”
I would hope CES plays 140-150 games at first with the exception of injury or he forgets how to hit. Stephenson or Steer can fill in the other games. India can get plenty of at bats and field time cycling the infield thru DH and an occasional day off.
cycling the infield
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That’s unlikely since he can scarcely play 2nd.
Reds must believe they can round out the rest of their roster via free agency. That’s good news !
Reds have average power w a lot of speed so india at 1st may fit into their lineup but doubt india can carry any trade value playing first. My guess they are just postering and still looking for a trade partner
Krall should keep “all hands on deck” as the transitioning is not yet complete. By ASB Reds will have a much clearer picture of who to play and who to trade.Pitching as well as position players. Meanwhile Krall will try to execute another Benson or Moll type deal. as well as sign a veteran sp.
Brewer hitters strike out a lot. Thus, I wouldn’t be too quick to trade a hitter like Frelick who makes excellent contact. Sometimes contact is what’s needed to keep an inning going. Instead, and all too often last year, had to watch Brewer hitters swinging from their heels when a simple ground ball would have scored a run or advanced a runner into scoring position.
One of these days, putting the ball in play and not striking out is going to come back into vogue. Can’t come too soon for my tastes.
Milwaukee hitters struck out 1512 times in 2023 and ranked dead middle at 15th in mlb.
Don’t bring stats to my speculation party!!!
Keep striving for mediocrity then?
Maybe 15th is OK if we’re talking about payroll or season attendance, but why not try and improve an area of on-field performance?
IMO Taylor should be the first to go. Talk about lack of chances if you want, but when he’s had them he’s either red hot for a week then ice cold for a month, or injured.
Seems they can stash Weimer at AAA for a while, and without looking it up I’m thinking at least 1 of the others has options.
That’s still way too many. Damn near averaging 9 to 10 per game. Just because the rest of the league also strikes out a lot doesn’t make it any more digestible.
Put the ball in play!
Rangers had more strikeouts and won a world series so what are you on about?
Wouldn’t mind having Mitchell in the OF mix in NY.
LOL Blake Perkins has trade value? That is hilarious!!!!!!!
I think Reds’ GM is negotiating in public. Too many position players and not enough positions and the Reds need more pitching to win the NL Central, so it makes no sense to hold on to a surplus of position players and not meet a need.
Trade Elly get young controllable mlb pitching and the team is so much better. India despite his 3 years of control doesn’t have great value. The realty is you can go sign Whit Merrifield, Elvis Andrus, Tony kemp for a reasonable contract and be better off than trading prospects for India.
100% correct, but everyone knows he has to trade India. So the posturing won’t work. And he probably can’t wait for one of his suitors to go in a different direction. I like India for the RS, but it could just as easily be Merrifield for the RS.
Pittsburgh is against the wall in their catching situation. Platooning both Davis and Endy is not going to improve their stock at catcher. And both could get exposed from a hitting and/or defensive perspective.
BC needs to look at Davis’ tape and make a hard decision on whether he will ever be a ML catcher.
As a hitter, I don’t see Weimer being successful at the Major League level with his current swing. His mindset is as good as it gets. But, If they can quiet down all the pre-swing movements and that nasty hitch, he can possibly be a really productive hitter. Power bats that can play defense at multiple OF positions isn’t a bad thing.
I think the brewers should keep all the OF, and move Weimer to 1B. He’d be better suited for the transition than Yelich (who’s only transition should be to DH)
I would love Garrett Mitchell on the Yankees. Brew Crew, we’ll trade you Gleyber Torres straight up for Mitchell… What do you say??
Might have to sweeten the deal with Andujar and Frazier.
The best I can do is Jesus Montero