In the offseason, the Pirates said that former #1 overall draft pick Henry Davis would transition to catcher, after he played outfield last season in the Major Leagues.
That information came out shortly before we learned that catcher Endy Rodriguez would miss the entire 2024 season due to reconstructive surgery on his UCL after he was hurt playing winter ball this past offseason.
But according longtime Pirates writer John Perrotto, Davis will start the season in Triple-A to catch, echoing something former Pirates catcher Michael McHenry told Joe Starkey on Wednesday.
"Derek Shelton didn't come right out and exactly say Yasmani Grandal is our number one catcher, but he certainly implied it very strongly that Grandal is going to get the bulk of the starts behind the plate," said Perrotto.
With the Pirates wanting Davis to develop at catcher and Grandal starting most of the games for Pittsburgh, they likely won't keep Davis for a start here and there."
Perrotto says there is a possibility if Davis has a great spring hitting, maybe the Pirates will abandon any thought of catching and keep him in right field.
It's only been a small sample size, but Perrotto hasn't seen the ball jumping off the bat the way that it should for a player taken first overall.
Davis is still young, but not that young. He's 24. So, hopefully we see some real development at either the major or minor league level.
