PIRATES

Derek Shelton said this morning that Endy Rodriguez will split his time between catcher and first base moving forward and could play the position before the end of spring.

Coming into the season, Shelton and his staff didn't want to spread Rodriguez too thin. The young catcher was entering his first spring training since undergoing elbow surgery that sidelined him for almost the entire 2024 season and they weren't sure how he would perform this spring.

"Honestly, I think we had to make sure he was going to be the decision for the second catcher, that he was going to be the guy. We didn't want to short change that decision. If we push him somewhere else, say 'Hey, you're going to do this first,' and then decide that it's not him, I don't think it would've been fair to him, in terms of it," Shelton said. "So, we knew we had it in our back pocket, because he's played first, he's played second, he's played left, he has the ability to do that. But it wouldn't have been thoughtful of us to throw something else on his plate and then he doesn't make the team. I think we wanted to make sure. It wasn't anything we hid. We wanted to give this the full chance because we view him as a catcher. We view him as a catcher long-term, so now that we have the ability to pivot a little bit, we will do that." 

Rodriguez spending time at first base was never the plan this spring, but the Pirates knew that he could play there if the opportunity presented itself. Shelton assured that Rodriguez won't play second or either of the corner outfields but Spencer Horwitz's injury opened the opportunity for Rodriguez at first base. However, his play this spring and how he's recovered from elbow surgery has as well.

In 28 at bats, Rodriguez has hit .321/.486/.571 with a 1.057 OPS to go along with nine walks, five strikeouts and six RBIs. This came after playing 10 games between Class AA Altoona and Class AAA Indianapolis last season in which he hit for a .256 average with a .678 OPS in 39 at bats. Shelton has been pleasantly surprised with how Rodriguez has performed and said it was a credit to the work he put in throughout the offseason and spring.

"His body looks completely different. He's added strength," Shelton said. "But really, just the quality and patience within his at-bats is what has really stood out." 

So what does this mean for Henry Davis? 

The former first round pick was optioned to Class AAA Indianapolis yesterday after hitting .250/.289/.472 with a .761 OPS in 36 at bats. He also tallied two home runs and five RBIs to go with two walks and 11 strikeouts. He was impressive defensively as well but Shelton said the team had Rodriguez slightly ahead of Davis when they made the decision last night.

Davis doesn't have much left to prove in the minor leagues. He's a career .290 hitter with a .944 OPS that pairs with 38 home runs and 124 RBIs. He's also coming off a year in which he played in 59 games and hit .299/.396/.540 with a .936 OPS, 13 home runs and 43 RBIs. 

"Continue to dominate, continue to make adjustments. He has been a really good Triple-A player," Shelton said. "Unfortunately, right now, we're not going to keep three catchers in the big leagues. There is just not enough room for that to happen. There aren't enough at-bats for that to happen. He needs to go down and continue to do what he has done down there." 

Outside of Davis, Rodriguez making the opening day roster and working at first base also will affect how the first-base battle plays out. All throughout spring, there has been a carousel at first base. Darick Hall, Billy Cook and Nick Yorke all started games there and all there have all been optioned to Class AAA Indianapolis or were reassigned to minor-league camp. 

Before today, Jared Triolo, DJ Stewart and Adam Frazier have all started at first. Leading into today, it seemed as though Triolo and Stewart would be the main platoon at first base with Frazier being a candidate to fill in sparingly if needed. 

With Rodriguez making the roster, it makes Stewart, a non-roster invitee, expendable. He started off the spring with a hot bat hitting .545/.583/1.091. But, he also doubled three times, hit a home run and drove in four runs in February. He then cooled off in March, hitting .138/.265/.207 with 12 strikeouts. He'd also only played five innings at first base throughout his major-league career. With Rodriguez being a switch hitter, the Pirates would have two left-handed hitting options to pair with Triolo and if Rodriguez is hitting well he could see get even more at bats.

Stewart not making the opening day roster could also open a roster spot for Ji Hwan Bae who's hit the ball well all spring. In 40 at bats, he's slashed .400/.429/.625 with a 1.059 OPS to go along with six doubles. He also adds an extra speed element on the base paths and has thoroughly impressed Shelton and his staff with the swing adjustments he's made.