For a few years now, the Pirates have had a couple of catchers as two of their top prospects. Henry Davis was taken with the first overall pick in the 2021 draft and has been under the microscope ever since. Endy Rodríguez was acquired in the January 2021 three-team trade that sent Joe Musgrove to the Padres and was declared Pittsburgh’s top prospect by Baseball America going into 2023.
There’s now a third name in the mix as Joey Bart had his long-awaited breakout in 2024. Selected second overall by the Giants in 2018, he struggled to establish himself at the big league level in San Francisco and had exhausted his option years by the end of 2023. He held onto his roster spot until the end of spring training 2024 but was designated for assignment at that time, getting flipped to the Pirates for minor league righty Austin Strickland.
Bart missed some time due to injury this year but got into 80 games for the Bucs and hit 13 homers. He slashed .265/.337/.462 overall for a wRC+ of 121, indicating he was 21% better than league average. His defense wasn’t highly regarded but that kind of offense behind the plate is hard to come by and was especially valuable on a Pittsburgh team that found it difficult to score runs. Among catchers with at least 250 plate appearances, Bart’s 121 wRC+ was fourth behind the Contreras brothers and Iván Herrera. With the same plate appearance threshold, he led all Pirate hitters in that stat.
Now there is theoretically a logjam with the three guys, as most clubs only roster two catchers at a time. The designated hitter spot probably doesn’t help, with Andrew McCutchen likely to be in there. He’s technically heading into free agency now but he and the Pirates seem to have an agreement whereby they can keep reupping with each other until he’s ready to retire. He’s now 38 years old but was one of the club’s only good hitters in 2024. For guys with 250 plate appearances, only Bart, Bryan Reynolds, Oneil Cruz and McCutchen were above average by wRC+.
Rodríguez debuted in 2023 and didn’t hit much, with a .220/.284/.328 batting line and 65 wRC+ in his first 204 plate appearances. However, his defense was universally praised and he has hit better in the minors. He has slashed .295/.383/.506 on the farm overall and .285/.362/.450 at the Triple-A level. In December of last year, he underwent surgery on the UCL and flexor tendon in his throwing elbow and missed the entire big league season in 2024. He started a rehab assignment in mid-September and played in a handful of minor league games, suggesting he should be good to go for 2025.
Davis has had a more infuriating career so far, as he has destroyed minor league pitching but struggled badly in the majors. In 377 major league plate appearances thus far, he has struck out in 30.2% of them and hit .191/.283/.307 for a wRC+ of 61. But since the start of 2023, he has a 13.7% walk rate and 21.5% strikeout rate in the minors, helping him produce a combined .302/.424/.550 line and 158 wRC+.
All of this will lead to some interesting decisions for the Bucs. Bart isn’t great defensively but is a big bat on a club that didn’t have many this year. Rodríguez has played some other positions but a big part of his appeal is his strong work behind the plate. Davis has also dabbled in playing the outfield but the offensive expectations are even higher at that position than at catcher, so moving him into the outfield mix would put even more pressure on his bat.
Davis and Rodríguez still have options, so it’s possible that the Pirates could keep all three, with two of them in the majors and one in Triple-A. But Rodríguez is already a solid defender by big league standards and has done plenty of hitting in the minors, making it fairly wasteful to have him back down there. Davis doesn’t have much left to prove on the farm with his big numbers there. Arguably, the best thing for him is to see more big league pitching and get accustomed to it.
Another path they could choose is trading one of these three. Doing so would sacrifice some depth but Jason Delay is also on the 40-man roster and is still optionable. But there are also arguments against trading each of the three.
Davis might feel expendable at the moment with his relatively weaker defense and the fact that he hasn’t put it together offensively just yet, but the path of Bart is a cautionary tale. The Giants would surely love a mulligan on letting him go and the Pirates are probably aware that they could end up on the other side of such a trade. Given that Davis was such a highly regarded prospect, it’s not hard to imagine them flipping him and quickly regretting it when they have to watch him have his breakout elsewhere.
It wouldn’t be an ideal time to trade Rodríguez either, as he’s coming off a completely lost season. With some health and a step forward at the plate, he could improve his value tremendously this year and down the line.
Selling high on Bart might be appealing because they grabbed him at such a low point and saw him take a big step forward. But as mentioned, the club had so few productive hitters in 2024 and subtracting one of them would be a risky ploy.
Though there’s potential downsides with these considerations, the Pirates might think about it anyway. They generally don’t spend a ton of money in free agency but need to upgrade the roster somehow. General manager Ben Cherington has had his job since November of 2019 and the club has been stuck below .500 since then. They were rebuilding for the first few years of his tenure but expectations have been raised with some flashes of winning baseball in the past two campaigns. Unfortunately, they finished with a 76-86 record both last year and this year, perhaps leading to a bit of desperation in getting over the hump in 2025.
It’s possible that the free agent catching market could work in their favor this winter. The best available backstops are guys like Danny Jansen, Carson Kelly and Kyle Higashioka. Jansen is coming off a nightmare season and is a big question mark right now. Higashioka is coming off a career year but will turn 35 in April, making it fair to wonder if he just peaked. Kelly has been inconsistent in his career and more okay than great even when at his best. The Cardinals will likely make Willson Contreras available on the trade market but he has a pricey contract and is about to turn 33 years old. Christian Vázquez is in a similar situation to Contreras as a pricey veteran but with the offense and defense flipped, as Vázquez is a glove-first guy and Contreras bat-first.
Several clubs could use help behind the plate, with the Rays, Padres, Nationals, Cubs, Reds, Phillies and Braves just some of the possibilities. All three of Pittsburgh’s catchers are cheap, with Davis and Rodríguez still in their pre-arb years and Bart just getting to arbitration for the first time. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects Bart for a modest $1.8MM salary in 2025, not much above next year’s $760K league minimum. Those affordable salaries would naturally appeal to clubs with budgetary or competitive balance tax concerns.
What do you think the Pirates should do with their many catching options? Have your say in the poll below!
The pirates need to sign a defensive catcher to help their pitchers
This team has so many things to worry about I’m not sure where catcher falls
Ugh, I can’t read
Bah I mean it’s not like the article talked about the pirates having a highly regarded defender in Rodriguez
TJECK109;
The poll should have been:
‘Will The Pirates Acquire A Major League Catcher?’;
I really like Endy’s potential behind the plate.
Bart and Endy is a nice combo behind the plate , both have massive upside still.
As far as Davis, not sure why he was cast in RF when the need is at 1B..
But the reality is (and always has been) that he’s a DH.
If Cutch comes back again, then probably trade Davis if the return can help the team now
Toronto (who has a need for a catcher) has entered the chat (cue Shatkins “c’mon Ben, you owe us a favour for rebuilding your value as an exec”).
Moreno trade will become infamous
Upvoted zee Canuck just for the username. Top-shelf chuckles and I thank thee! Cheers
Took the Pirates job so he didn’t rebuild much value. He was either insane and thought that was the best job available or no one else wanted him.
ATL could use some help behind the plate? Sure, Murphy had a down year from a G1 oblique injury that derailed his season to offensive career lows, but nothing to suggest the same with a healthy year, partnering with d’Arnaud returning when they pick-up his option and one of their top prospects being C Drake Baldwin, currently impressing through AFL play.
They’re fine, and not a possibility.
The Mets probably will need a backup catcher and not the Braves.
Doubtful they get it from the Pirates. Davis just learned to be a bad catcher last winter and never learned to hit. Pirates value defense and game calling so if Endy can do that they will keep him. Bart can hit and passable at catcher but pirates need 2 catchers and a 1b. Endy can be put at 2b and outfield as well and pirates need that. Unless you overvalue Davis and can teach him how to play baseball you are out of luck unless you want Delay who can’t hit.
Cherington wants to move Reynolds to first base for next year which would open up an outfield position.
Endy has also played first base before and to keep his bat in the lineup, he could play first while Reynolds could switch positions to outfield or DH.
Isn’t Delay a free agent this year and if so they will need to sign a catcher to a minor league contract to take his place
Delay not close to being free agent. If Cherington could develop he would be a non tender. Still could be if need be.
What’s Endy done again? No need to have his bat in lineup. Hopefully he becomes that but no reason yet.
They need to keep Bart and trade one of the others for a sure fire hitter. Not sure who that is though. Pirates have to add two good hitters this off season. I assume they get one by trading away one of their minor league pitchers or maybe one of these catchers. The other needs to be an uncharacteristic free agent signing. The fan base is getting impatient and Cherringtons run may be ending if he doesn’t produce a winner this year
Agree keep Bart trade one of the others. Davis has that draft pedigree someone would probably like.
Bart had draft pedigree, even more than Davis who was #1 in draft spot only, not talent. Pirates were only team in baseball who really wanted Bart. Unless 2 teams see something they can drastically improve on Davis he is isn’t getting you any impactful talent.
Davis hasn’t really had an extended shot in the bigs. A rebuilding team could give him that. Marlins could give him that.
Pirates last winning record barely was 2018. Last playoff 2015. Last division win 1992. Last playoff series victory 1979. It doesn’t get more rebuilding team than that.
32 years since they won the division good gosh.
45 years since they won the World Series
I’m suggesting just the opposite. Why sell low on Davis? Yes Bart had a fine year with the bat but defense is more important in today’s game and you might be flipping him high.
They gotta keep Bart he’s the only one you can count on in 2025.
Pirates aren’t concerned with 2025. If they were Cherington Shelton would have been fired.
They’re in a difficult position with the catchers. Hard to trade Bart because he’s a decent hitter. Hard to trade Rodriguez because his ceiling is high. Hard to trade Davis, because although his ceiling may be high offensively, his value defensively is low and they’d be trading at his lowest value.
Move Davis to RF and Bart to first base.
Neither is a good catcher and Davis would benefit by concentrating on another position that is less attention consuming.
Reynolds stays in left for another year,
Sign Stallings to split time with Endy.
I think that Delay is out of options.
Cherington previously said that he wasn’t going to be signing any significant free agents and instead add players through trades
Do we really have any reason to believe a word he says? He also said he was adding bats 2 months before the trade deadline, and waited until the last day. I guess we can believe no significant FA signings anyway.
And didn’t actually add bats. Just look at Cruz IKF stats.
I pointed out the Cruz deficiencies last year at the deadline. Pirates disagreed loudly and thought he was a middle of the order bat.
He was awful. He was 6 7 8 even if he put up his Marlins numbers. Didn’t come close to that.
DLC is pre-arb.
It was a “why not” pickup who gives them some flexibility in the OF but not a guy they have to commit to.
IKF actually faired pretty well, especially as a utility guy.
I still like the idea of bringing Josh Bell back
Which one they trade may depend on their trade partners.
They need 2 catchers and only have 2 catchers. Davis can’t catch. Cant hit. Unless another team has a answer to improve him any trade will be insignificant. I wouldn’t expect a huge return and wouldn’t expect many of the other teams fans to be excited about getting Davis. You can certainly out develop the Pirates but at 25 years old time is ticking.
No. The should have traded one LAST offseason when the prospect value was still intact on Davis and Rodriguez. They still could have picked up Bart midseason and nothing would have changed, When you have two star prospects coming through your system at the same position, you get more bang for the buck by moving one of them in a trade instead of trying to keep both and wedging one into an unfamiliar position. That usually doesn’t work.
At this point, the best you can do with Davis is a change of scenery deal. If I am the Pirates, I would still go with that because otherwise they will be in the same position as the Giants were with Bart last year. End up losing him for nothing.
the problem is Davis’ value is going to be fairly low at this point. Free Agency is awash with catchers who hit .190–and while I think he’s an ideal change of scenery candidate, that still doesn’t make him particularly valuable. Not to mention AAA is loaded with C’s that can rake (and then hit .190 in the majors).
Pirates have had so much inconsistency at C that I’d say just keep them all and see what sticks next season. If they trade one and one of the others gets hurt or regresses, they’re right back where they started. I don’t see any of those guys getting back an everyday hitter, so why bother if the value is minimal?
I bet Davis will be the odd man out
He either gets traded for peanuts or DFA’d like Bart
Dude put up a 145 wRC+ in AAA. I get that its still AAA, but not many MLB catchers can do that. I doubt you DFA someone like that with 4+ years io team control.
but not many MLB catchers can do that.
=========================
But is he a catcher?
Henry Davis doesn’t look like a catcher to me.
Milwaukee would be the best landing spot for him as a catcher. If they can’t teach you to catch—no one can.
Looks like 5 years of control. If you can’t develop him you trade or dfa him unless you are a hoarder of bad baseball players and Ben Cherington is.
AAA stats are 100% meaningless. You aren’t going to be facing AAA pitchers in the majors. If you cannot hit in the majors, you are not going to stick on the roster no matter where you were drafted.
@superstar
The only thing Davis has going for him is team control, which is admittedly useful, but his value is still a lot less than most folks seem to think here.
AAA is full of vet, non-prospect, and C2/3s that can hit very well there, but can’t hit in the majors. Or they’ll have one surprise good season and then back to hitting .190. Folks put too much stock into AAA numbers, especially when there’s plenty of MLB track record to show the skills just aren’t translating
The only thing Davis has going for him is team control,
=========================
IMO, that is way overstated. He was a bad pick at #1/1 if he can’t catch. But he was a good hitter in the minors. He looks like a 20+ HR, .280 hitter.
That’s not what you want from your #1/1, but that doesn’t mean he can’t still be a regular someplace.
DFA Davis would be a media nightmare for Cherington since he was a former number one draft pick
Cherington doesn’t care about media. Wouldn’t be a problem at all.
Send the Mets Bart and the Pirates Marte back. I know the financials don’t work but the players do.
Oh jeeze……
I really don’t think David Stearns is interested in an offensive catcher that multiple manages and coaches haven’t been able to square away.
Enough.
Marte is old and injured. If they’re trading a catcher, it will be for young controllable talent
How much value do you think the catchers got? They aren’t getting a huge return for any of them. A trade would be to get rid of an extra player hopefully for something useful.
re: How much value do you think the catchers got?
A lot more than you would seem to be suggesting, Muts.
Are you serious? Your a fan of one of the most prolific losing franchises of this century and you have the moronic idea to say Muts. I’m sure you all will get a top prospect for your trio of failed catchers.
Mets could pay contract. But Pirates aren’t concerned about catcher nor outfield. Just see Olivares McKinney Grandpal. They don’t care about filling positions of need or winning baseball games.
We have enough over the hill players, thanks anyway
Compare the stats since 1962. The Mets 4816 wins and 5148 losses for a .483 win percentage. The Pirates 4867 wins and 5092 losses for a .488 win percentage. Someone doesn’t know history and it appears to me that their favorite franchise is worse then the so call “prolific losers”
Muts was a typo but knock yourself out with your vitriol, Champ. Prolific losing franchises? Mets have 2 Championships since ’69… same as the Pirates. I’ve seen your asinine posts, and maybe Muts was deemed appropriate by the Universe, by and large.
My vitriol. You are the one who thought you were cleaver with Muts.
I didn’t mock the Pirates. He was mocking me and the Mets. Glad you had to go back 60 + years to an expansion franchise to defend your organization. Don’t call names if you all are going to get your feelings hurt.
You must be a youngster. This generation likes to cherry pick their stats. I remember the 70’s and 80’s when the Mets were mostly a joke. It seemed appropriate to go back to 1962. Since that’s when the Mets started and it would give in equal representation. If you want I can go back to 1882? Pirates have 10839 wins and 10819 losses. Which is still better than the Mets.
Since you dont understand that my original post had Muts as a typo, then you’re the official owner of the MLBTR dunce cap, Mets. What a snug fit it has too!
Wow a dunce cap. I see your still living in the 1960’s and no wonder why you think the Pirates have been good.
The Mets were a joke in the 80’s? I think you might need to refresh your memory. I don’t think you want to compare the two teams in that decade. Try again.
The Mets are still a joke. The biggest payroll in history and what’d that get ya? The same as our Pirates, nothing! You’re silly, Muts… but do carry on. You’re entertaining a rather large Halloween party with your valuable insight!!!
Simple….no. Endy is the future, Bart is a stud (at least on this team he is), and Davis has absolutely no trade value currently.
Bucco79;
The fact that Davis can’t run well. Yet the Pirates baseball people are trying to make him into a RF. They play in the big PNC yard where OF positions are among the largest to cover in MLB. It explains a lot as to what’s been going on there.
Davis seems like the odd man out, but since his value is pretty much as low as it could get, I’d say just keep onto him for now and hope something eventually clicks. Nothing wrong with having extra C depth. Might be able to spend more time working him in the OF at AAA too
No! Keep the depth and rotate at 1B, corner grass, DH, etc. Secure a SP, fill out the Pen, grab a serviceable SS & 1B and maybe trade Bednar? It’s about time to start that competitive team spending (again), Nutting.
That makes sense to me. Start Endy at C, Move Bart to 1B. Give Davis a couple starts a week at catcher, mostly against LH pitchers. Seems pretty simple. It’s a better plan than wasting a few mil on another stopgap 1B like Tellez. If Davis figures it out and starts forcing his way into the lineup with his bat it becomes a good problem to have.
Home run Donnie! Happy Halloween amigo
Same to you buddy.
Bednar and Tork can form the basis for a trade package. Tigers need a closer or late inning guy so they can play the Pads next year in the WS 😉
I’m not sure Tork would have the Pirates interested. Bednar is coming off a rough year, but RH hitting, 1B-only types need to hit a lot more consistently than Tork has to have value. The Tigers surely have players the Pirates might want, but I don’t think it’s Tork.
Moving Bart to 1B seems the best means to keeping all three guys and invalidates the need to get a RH 1B assuming Bart can handle the switch. For what it’s worth I think he’d be better defensively at first than catcher anyway.
They only have 2 catchers. Davis can’t catch or hit. If he somehow learns to hit enough he can catch. Not really his fault. He learned more about catching at a non pirates off-season facility than his entire time with Pirates. Probably could have been a ok catcher with acceptable coaching from Pirates. Same with hitting. Development failed him.
I’m just going by recent reports about the Tigers that list Pittsburgh as a potential destination for Tork. I don’t think the Tigers are quite ready to give up on him yet to be honest. Bednar could be a nice bounce back candidate for Detroit if they picked him up though. Pitching coach Chris Fetter rocks.
Trade whichever one of the three that will get the best return of either a young stud first baseman or left fielder. Of course, the return they should look for depends on what the plans are for where Reynolds will be playing.
LF, almost garans. Keep Cruz in CF. David Peralta in RF? He looked solid as a Pad and won’t be ex$pen$ive.
Non of them are getting a stud of anything. You need 2 catchers and they only have 2 catchers. Moving Bart to 1b might be the smart move so they actually need a catcher.
I have always wanted Joey Bart on the Rox. I wouldn’t mind seeing a Sean Bouchard for Joey Bart deal. Colorado could probably add on Grant Lavigne as well if Pitt added a cheap reliever. Lavigne is not a guaranteed stud, but he has potential and is blocked in Colorado
hiflew;
Bart is an awful Catcher. He should only be used there as an emergency #3 Catcher.
He can hit. He should be moved to 3B or 1B, with some DH sprinkled in. If he didn’t have to do the precatory, mental, and physical work that Catchers do, he would probably hit quite a bit better than he already does.
Dude, what? Bart is not an awful catcher no matter what you say. The metrics have him as average or even above depending on whom you read. bWAR has him at plus.
There is no samWAR, btw
greatwhiteangus;
Metrics schmetrics…..
SF tried and tried finally gave up on the guy, and it wasn’t because of his hitting.
And funny thing is – that was under the PoBO guy that was overly into metrics.
Davis for Torkelson? Both change of scenery 1st overall picks.
Both teams probably like their own guy better than the other guy.
Davis can’t hit not catch. If you draft a college catcher this summer he could catch as good or better than Davis. He needs more than a change of scenery. That scenery better include some really special coaching to undo all the awful pirates coaching he received.
I once saw Torkelson at 1B stretching for a throw from the SS with his throwing side leg towards the SS.
HIS RIGHT LEG, stretching out for the catch with his LH glove.
Ughhhhhh
No, they should trade Paul Skenes to the Dodgers or Yankees so he has a chance at some rings.
Give it a couple years, they will. It’s inevitable.
Patience. 3 or 4 years it will be done.
5
5 he will be free agent. They don’t let guys leave for little or no return.
I doubt you get anything for anyone but Bart. He’s probably the one to keep though.
Endy looks like he can catch. That will get you something. Davis could get you something. Not likely something exciting.
Trade one to the Rays!!! We have plenty of no-hit/good defense catchers we can give you in return!! Rene Pinto, we will probably re-sign Jackson, and both of them can be available in a trade! Well even throw in Tyler Walls and Jose Siri!!
The Rays would be a logical partner, but I think the Pirates would be better served if Yandy Diaz was part of those discussions.
How about a no hit no defense Davis?
If you offer up Simpson I’d be listening.
There is never enough catcher depth as we’ve seen here before.
I would like Davis to move to first base full time as I see some Bagwell comps possible. Endy and Bart should be regulars in gear, Endy can also spell 2b, 1b as he shows recovery from loss of last year progress.
If he can play 1b. He can’t catch or play rf. Many think anyone can play 1b. Davis might be able to with a team with real coaching. With the pirates I have no idea.
You see HOF comps possible?
Only comps for Davis are other AAAA players. Bucs need to package him with a minor league pitcher to get a controllable outfielder. Bart goes to 1st and Endy catches with Delay as backup.
Black_Pearl;
It’s become appetent that the Pirates FO made a
mistake selecting Davis as a #1 in the entire draft.
These things happen. They seem to be holding onto
him instead of writing it off as a mistake and moving
him to another organization where the young man
can get a fresh start without feeling the daily pressure
and scrutiny of being the #1 pick. He didn’t draft himself
#1.
Holding on to him? You’re acting like he’s been in Pitt for years. They are “holding on to him” because he absolutely murdered minor league pitching and believe he can be similar or above average in the show.
Way too early to give up on Davis, but I understand your frustration.
Trade Bart. Lock in some gains from picking him up. Decide whether Davis really a catcher. and move him to 1B if you decide otherwise.
Davis can’t hit!
Bart not going anywhere! Bat plays,wake up!
You know you’re on to something when only fans of other teams are asking for a specific player to be traded
Any other team in baseball could have got him for Nutting. It was obvious he was better than what most of them had. Pirates pillaged him.
I don’t care what they do. Bob Nutting doesn’t care what they do either bringing back the same awful gm and awful manager for year 6. Season will come down to pitching health and if the awful gm can get some bats. Davis or his return isn’t likely to move the needle.
They don’t want to be Blue jays. keeping Jansen. Trading Moreno.
Davis plus for Torkelson. I’ll keep proposing it.
I’d rather go for N Lowe at 1B than Tork. If not then stick Reynolds at 1B and lets get an outfielder or two.
Move Bart to 1st base
Does it really matter? They’re not winning anything for the next 30+ years. They move pieces but will never do what it takes to win. Just a circle jerk every season.
Mayb
Bart? Meh. Better off with Homer or Lisa
Trade bart, his value is the highest it will ever be, he won’t repeat this again, u might as well get what u can asap
Why? His value still isn’t that high since he still has his doubters.
They shouldn’t do anything until they get a gm who knows what he’s doing.
Keep them all and have Davis change positions. I don’t think any of them have particularly high trade value right now any way.
I agree but have Davis at C in AAA.
I disagree. He’s 24. He’s shown he can dominate AAA hitting. I don’t think he’s all of a sudden going to become a good catcher down in the minors. You have two guys already that are better fielding catchers. Davis has a high ceiling on offense. Put him in LF / 1B and let him hit every day and try to adjust to MLB pitching.
25
Right, he recently turned 25 which further reinforces my point. He’s a former first overall draft pick that has done very well hitting in the minors but has yet to adjust to MLB pitching. He needs as many as bats in the majors this year as possible. They need to know what what kind of hitter he is so they can adjust accordingly. Put him in RF/1B/DH. Give him at least 400 ABs this season. Stop worrying if he can catch or not. They have two catchers already.
Easy, keep them all. Start 2025 with Bart and Endy in the show and option Davis to Indy. Release Delay and hopefully resign him to a minor league deal and pair him with Davis. Finally have Gutierrez in Altoona.
Why? Bart could be the real deal and you’d be selling low on Davis and/or Endy. There’s no point in dealing for or from the catcher position right now.
Address the offense situation with the outfield and deal some young pitching for the bats. That should be the focus since Bob will not spend to bring anyone on board through FA.
Well it’s too soon to let Davis go. They have to try to fix his bat before they could get real value. If they do he probably won’t be catching much. I say trade delay. Endy and Bart as catchers Davis at first or right and emergency catcher if his bat works out.
Delay is a good option for most teams as a backup. Wouldn’t bring back elite value but maybe a decent pen arm.
Will be 1st bat they fix
Don’t resign McCutchen and now you have room on the roster and at bats for all three catchers. Andrew has had a nice career but he won’t be with this team when they next have a winning season. There’s enough potential in Bart, Davis and Rodriguez that all three could be vital to the next winning team.
Enough bats as is. They only have 2 catchers. Davis bat isn’t good enough at catcher let alone dh. Endy hasn’t shown to be a dh bat. Cutch can’t dh every game anyways.
I’ve had enough McCutchen. I don’t care if he passes Clement on the Pirates all-time home run list. I don’t if he gets his 2000 hit as a Pirate. Greg Brown will talk about it for days seeing he can’t talk about a competitive team. I don’t care. Any fan that wants to see another season with McCutchen doesn’t care about winning.
Cutch is 38 and still an averagish bat. Unless they go for broke, averageish bats is all they are going to get.
If Cutch wants to continue playing he’s got a job even if the role is more limited.
One could attempt to say he would be blocking some prospect. But the team doesn’t really have much to block at the moment.
Cutch is their 4th best bat. That’s how awful they are. They aren’t going out signing 6 better players. They don’t have any better prospects ready. Sounds like you don’t care about winning.