Pirates starting catcher Joey Bart exited Tuesday night’s game with a head injury after taking a backswing to the head and was placed on the 7-day concussion IL on Wednesday. The Pirates have ended the rehab assignment in Triple-A Indianapolis for catcher Endy Rodriguez and brought him onto the active roster. Rodriguez went on the injured list in late April after taking a foul ball off a finger behind the dish against the St. Louis Cardinals.
While Bart’s success at the plate last year carried over into the first month of the season, he’s gotten cold at the plate over the previous two weeks and is hitting .181 in May. When Bart isn’t hitting, his poor defense behind the plate stands out a lot more. Now is a good time for Bart to reset as he recovers from concussion symptoms.
For now, this will allow more opportunities for catcher and former first overall Henry Davis, along with Endy Rodriguez, to get at-bats and innings behind the plate. The Pirates have long hoped that both would be key parts of a successful offense in 2025 and beyond, but for various reasons, that has not yet happened.
Davis, to his credit, has drastically improved his defense behind the plate. In 2023, the Pirates wouldn’t even let him sniff a full game behind the dish and transitioned him to right field for the time being, where he was awful defensively. Most importantly, though, his offensive production has not translated well at the Major League level. However, there have been sparks of output over the last couple of weeks, especially when he came in for Bart on Tuesday night to spark the 6-run comeback with a 2-run homer, and two hits in the 10-1 blowout win yesterday.
When Bart comes back, the Pirates will have a tough decision on their hands. Should they keep all three on the roster, and fit in playing time for Rodriguez by platooning him with Spencer Horwitz at first base against lefties? Or will they send one of Davis and Rodriguez back down to get everyday playing time? This may depend on how both perform in the next couple of weeks.
But with Davis, there isn’t much more he can prove at the Triple-A level. He was the #1 overall pick in the draft four years ago. The Pirates must determine if he’s a bust or not offensively as soon as possible. Rodriguez, on the other hand, missed all of 2024, which may be a good reason to let him figure things out playing every day in Triple-A. I like Rodriguez more than Davis long term (it’s anyone’s best guess at this point), but the circumstances around both players are different for 2025. Ideally, it would be great to see both in the big leagues for the rest of the season, but who knows if that’s a realistic option in the Pirates organization’s eyes.