The Pirates announced this evening that they’ve placed catcher Henry Davis on the 7-day concussion IL. Catcher Jason Delay was recalled from the minor leagues to take Davis’s spot on the active roster. Andrew Destin of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette first reported earlier today that Delay was joining the Pirates in Denver.
Davis, 24, was selected by the Pirates first overall in the 2021 draft. He made his big league debut with Pittsburgh last year but has generally struggled on offense in 91 games in the majors over the past two years with a .197/.292/.319 slash line in 357 career trips to the plate. Those struggles at the plate have been combined with somewhat lackluster marks behind the plate; Davis was actually used almost exclusively as an outfielder in his first taste of big league action last year, but an offseason injury to Endy Rodriguez allowed Davis to work his way back into the mix for starts at catcher. In 27 games at the position this season, Davis has posted -2 Defensive Runs Saved.
The youngster nonetheless figured to work in tandem with veteran Yasmani Grandal while Joey Bart was on the injured list due to a thumb issue. Those plans were scuttled, however, when Davis was struck in the face mask by a foul ball during yesterday’s game against the Rockies. Davis went through concussion protocol after the game, and evidently the Pirates had enough concern that the felt it best to place him on the IL. The seven day injured list for concussions offers teams additional flexibility when dealing with possible concussions, offering them the opportunity to shelve a player for just one week in order to minimize the incentive for players to try and play through what could wind up being a dangerous head injury.
With Davis now out for at least the next week, the Pirates will turn to Delay to fill out their catching corps. The 29-year-old was a fourth-round pick by the Pirates back in 2017 and broke into the big leagues with the club back in 2022 as the primary backup to Roberto Perez, although he quickly stepped into a larger role when Perez suffered a season-ending injury. Delay remained a key piece of the club’s catching mix in 2023 alongside Austin Hedges and Rodriguez, offering offered quality framing skills despite his lackluster offense (68 wRC+ in 354 trips to the plate).
Delay found himself buried by the acquisitions of Bart and Grandal on the club’s depth chart headed into the 2024 season and ultimately appeared in just one game this year before suffering a knee injury. Delay ultimately required surgery back in April and missed six weeks while rehabbing the injury, but was reinstated from the 60-day IL earlier this month and has been playing at the Triple-A level while awaiting his next opportunity since then. That opportunity has now arrived, and Delay figures to serve as the backup to Grandal for the big league club for at least the next week, though neither Davis nor Bart have a specific timetable for their return to action.
Hope he checks out ok.
Been there, done that several times. Not even a t-shirt.
I still don’t understand how Davis obliterates minor league pitching but seems lost at the major league level. Obviously it’s not that easy because if so every prospect would be a hit, but I just expected more progress from a first overall pick. Even if catching doesn’t work for him, i’m fine with him playing at first but he has no use if he can’t hit. They were a bit more patient with Gonzalez and he turned things around, I am hoping the same happens for him. Pirates have no chance at being a good team if they can’t hit with their top young players.
Last year i thought at the very least, he would be a great platoon guy vs LHP. This year he has regressed everywhere. Hope he gets healthy soon and finds his stroke
if hitting minor league pitching was so easy, every hitter would be batting over .400 and have double digit homers
Every one knows how I feel about Haines, he tinkers with batters stance and swing and the result is guys not hitting their weight
The best hitters on the team right now are a 37 year old and Reynolds which should explain why their offense is so bad
AAAA
The pirates are desperate to reach the post-season. If they took a step back and let their talent get use to the majors they would get better results.
Huh?
Davis has been given ample time to get used to majors and has failed miserably
1 homer, 5 rbi and more strikeouts than hits
if they were desperate to reach the post season they would have signed better players instead of has beens and never will bee as
Should I name them?
Or hired a hitting coach who wasn’t fired from his previous job for being a failure
( Milwaukee Brewers)
Indy’s hitting coach straightened out both Davis’ and Gonzalez’ swing and stance in the batter’s box
After Tellez had his recent 3 rbi game to go along with a homer against the Cardinals last week, he was asked after the game about his sudden resurgence
Rowdy said that he went back to what worked for him in the past, which I took to mean his swing.
The same swing that Haines has tinkered with on just about every player on the team
Take notice of Hayes’ swing this year in comparison to his swing from late last year
Last year, he’d lift his left foot as he would swing the bat, this provided him more leverage and lit
He doesn’t do that anymore
Hole-You saw last year with Endy how difficult it is to be a rookie catcher in the major leagues and hit well.
Who knows how much Haines has screwed him up.
Plus he had not been in AAA very long at all.
Bart has been added to the mix and he and Endy should do fine next year.Bart and Grandal will catch when he gets back.
At that point the best thing to do with Henry is to let him play the rest of the year in right field in AAA and let the AAA hitting instructor work with him to get his confidence up.
Bigger bust ? Davis or Bart?
Bart. Davis is younger less experience. You can still have hope. Davis was a $ saving pick to draft Bubba. Lot of similarities though when drafted. Combined they could make a passable duo.
The jury is still out on this one
I still have hope for Davis but am convinced that if he does find success, it’ll be in a different uniform
Biggest bust, Derek Shelton and Andy Haines
It’s a dead heat
I seriously think the Pirates have the on-field talent to win the division. Unfortunately, Shelton seems to be incapable of managing the team. When Grandel let the runner steal home with his pathetic throw back to the pitcher, I can only imagine how Billy Martin would have responded if he had been managing the Pirates. (For those of you who are young, see Billy Martin Reggie Jackson fight.). The problem is leadership not absence of talent.
Honestly don’t know what you’re seeing in terms of “on field talent”.
I can’t remember a batting order with worse hitters and averages.
They’re average defensively and have a pitching staff that still hasn’t quite arrived yet but will hopefully be stellar and shortly where starters are concerned
Middle relief is beyond shaky and you can’t really count on the late inning guys yet
As for Shelton, it appears he wants to be a “players’ manager”but you’re right, a team of young guys needs the whip cracked every so often
To me, they’re still two years away… from being two years away
your leading homerun hitter is 37 years old
What does that say about your overall offensive capabilities?
Add to this that the Jared Jones phenomenon has hit a bit of a snag and again, it only detracts from their one strength, which was starting pitching. He’ll likely be alright and again, they’re going to have a nice starting staff shortly with he, Skenes, Keller and someone from the Burrows/Ashcroft/Bubba/Solometo et al grouping rounding it all out, but there is literally no hitting here.
If the idea of competing comes down to the idea that the NL is generally weak where wild card teams are concerned, fine. I get it. But this team is the epitome of the word “anemic”
Again, they have not developed one position player under Cherington’s tenure. He and his staff need to move on
they lost yesterday to a team with one of the worst pitching staffs in the league and in a ballpark where hit balls leave the field like a rocket
And bringing in Santana to the team is another in the long line of dumpster diving that Cherington is known for
Please don’t tell me that their bullpen is depleted from injuries. Every competitive team finds ways to overcome injuries
We aren’t a competitive club and Cherington isn’t a good general manager
Their strategy is confounding. They give up on young pitchers very easily where middle relief is concerned in favor of bringing in castoffs from other organizations. If guys like Heller and Santana are your answer, might as well bring VanMeter back to bat 4th on occasion again and to have similar outings as a pitcher in throw away situations
Cherington is going to get a great deal of credit for “rebuilding” the minor league system. I get that. Huntington left the cupboard bare. But guys aren’t developed here and stagnate
Dream says scouts and development guys don’t grow on trees, like anything else. Sure. But just as the majority of their young pitchers beyond the Skenes and Jones-types never seem to find themselves, guys like Davis, Termarr, and even Hayes, who looks completely lost at the plate, just can’t push forward
Is it scouting or development?
And hey, I didn’t even mention Suwinski who despite hitting around the Mendoza line, got two days of ooohs and ahhhs for hitting a long home run on Friday. Sheesh.
Can we get him into the All Star game?
It’s both scouting and development, tiredolderdude
You’ve said several times in questions to others here. Name one position player drafted by this regime that has made a substantial impact on the major league team
Gonzalez could be that position player but he’s had his struggles, too
Cherington has drafted several position players that have potential but for whatever reason, are having horrible seasons
Johnson and Davis are probably the highest regarded players he drafted that have regressed from last year and for some reason, management hasn’t determined the cause
That is a result of bad player development
If Cherington and his equally as bad management and coaching don’t return for 2025, expect a rebuild under new management
which players in particular do you see as “ on field talent “ that could take this team to the division title?
Jack Suwinski who 64 games into the season barely hits his weight, and has hit an incredible number of homers, 6?
Rowdy Tellez who finally hit his second homer of the season last week
Michael A Taylor who strikes out almost as often as jack?
Triolo who like Jack is barely hitting his own weight?
Hayes who has regressed from last year!
Cruz who is in the top five of strikeouts in the league?
Connor Joe who was hitting close to .300 a month ago and has dropped nearly 50 points off his average?
The only consistent hitters lately have been Gonzalez, Cutch and Reynolds and even the latter has regressed his power numbers this year so far
I mention this often, and in a form of a question
How can every player all be in a hitting slump at the same time?
Skeptical-Shelton is not capable of managing a winning MLB team.
But is not all him and Haines.
Both Hayes and Cruz are far too lackadaisical,and it pollutes the team.
Grandal should be replaced as starting catcher by Delay,and released when Bart gets back.
Fleming should start until they get one of the two injured starters back.They can follow with Ortiz and hopefully get 6 or 7 good innings out of them.
There is no impetus to win by management,and no energy play gets rewarded too often.You can say what you want about Suwinski and Davis,but both of these guys hustle and always try their best.Several others cannot say that.
Unfortunately,Nutting is a hands off owner,but even he has a breaking point.The question is will BC go with them.
The Pirates are 25 and 35 since their 9-2 start.That is a 68 game season. long win total.
Not sure that they are a talented hitting group,but I think that their potential is a lot more than shown.
Well stated and agree 100%
Hayes plays like he wants out of town. Perhaps his dad was right last year
Cruz often seems aloof and dogs it when he hits a routine grounder or fly ball. Exactly opposite of how I’d teach a young kid to play
And just on the basis of this series, Grandal should be on a train out of town
The worst thing you can say about a team is that they play with no fire, no passion, no hustle.
Maybe it’s not the entire team but it’s a good percentage of them
I’m adopting the Orioles as my team. Young guys who hustle with solid management. Built from the ground up. The right way
Here, we have an owner who won’t spend , a GM who has drafted poorly and signed castoffs while hiring poor development and scouting personnel, and a manager who wants to be friends with his players
I’ll say it and keep saying it till they finally get rid of their albatross….Derek Skelton has no business managing any team. BIG,MINOR,LITTLE OR IN ANY LEAGUE.
HES THE BIGGEST REASON WHY THIS TEAM ISNT AT LEAST 5 GAMES OVER 500
I watched the Orioles beat the Phillies yesterday and marveled at how the O’s manager and coaches influenced the game in a positive manner. Hit and run. Deliberate efforts to just lift a sac fly. Smart pitching with regards to the count on dangerous hitters. Proper decisions in terms of relievers and pinch hitters. Sheesh
Refreshing. Just good to see the proper ways things should be done
Reliever Josh Fleming is the starter for today’s game
It will probably be another slugfest for the Rockies and another embarrassing loss for the Bucs
A+ decision using Fleming. He was fantastic.
after the fact you’re saying that. While he was fantastic, your favorite player was horrible again
Michael A Taylor was a wasted free agent signing
My favorite players are Skenes Jones Keller. Anyone else they are free to trade or dfa anytime.
Agreed there. Because again, this regime still hasn’t developed an impact player
And as long as this GM is around, they never will
Michael A Taylor needs to be dfa and Gorski added to the roster and promoted
Runners at first and third nobody out and in typical Pirate fashion, they don’t score even one run
Swinging at pitches nowhere close to the plate is a big problem with these batters
Triolo swung at his k on a pitch a foot off of the plate and Jack swung at his k on a pitch below the zone
Regarding Taylor, his average is barely above the Mendoza line with just one homer after hitting 22 last year for the Twins
They need to do something to get this offense going, cutting dead weight would be a step in the right direction. It would also send a message to the other players that mediocrity will not be tolerated
15 hits. Slump is over.
Yes they did well today on offense and scoring runs, but it’s just one game. They could return to the team’s typical lack of runs in tomorrow’s game
If they are consistent then yes the slump is over
By the way, Rowdy had a really nice game. Opposite field 2 run single and 3 hits and Delay’s 3 run double was something Davis probably wouldn’t have accomplished
You’re hilarious, Dream. You ought to consider a career in deadpan, sarcastic comedy
Paul-They should send Jack back down and,yes,bring up Gorski.He is 26 and may not work out but CF is a dead hole at this point.I presume that he is a decent CF,and Taylor can go in in the late innings if necessary he may be a flash in the pan but it helps to give minor leaguers hope that they can move up.Maybe Jack can turn it around under Munson.
Brutal matchup with the Reds pitching. Lodolo Green should start the hitting slump again. Spiers isn’t as nasty but could easily look like he is vs this lineup. Hopefully win 1 game. That’s why they play the games. Maybe someone has a bad game or the Haines approach gets to the pen.
As we saw in the Oakland series, any opposing staff has the ability to be “brutal” with this gang
I write this in full knowledge that some I’m critiquing them, they’ll likely now sweep the Reds
Reds should win this series with these starters but starters don’t go 9 innings and any starter can walk a guy and give up a hr and a solo hr later etc and you put up 2 3 or 4 runs on them. Or with the Pirates a hustling double, ground ball advance runner then a passed ball. Judging by the comments here a sac fly isn’t much of a possibility so has to be a passed ball. Maybe a ground ball. 1 out of every 5 of those pirates won’t get thrown out at home.
the reason why Gonzalez and I think Rowdy tried a double steal in Saturday’s game was because Shelton knew Taylor wouldn’t drive in Gonzalez with a single
If they know Taylor is unreliable or clutch, maybe it’s time to eat what’s left of his contract and bring up Gorski
It’s sometimes hilarious waiting for Taylor to get a hit only to watch him swing and miss at all three pitches thrown to him