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The Pittsburgh Pirates have decided on their catching duo after trading Joey Bart.
Manager Don Kelly plans to go with a loose platoon of Endy Rodriguez and Henry Davis behind the plate. On the injured list since May 10 with a left foot infection, Bart was traded to the Atlanta Braves late Thursday night for right-reliever Hunter Stratton, who was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis.
The switch-hitting Rodriguez will get the majority of starts against right-handed pitchers, and the righty-swinging Davis will play against most lefties. Rodriguez started against Rockies left-hander Kyle Freeland on Friday night, though, in a 4-3 loss to Colorado in the opener of a three-game series at Coors Field in Denver.
Rodriguez and Davis are 26, while Bart is 29 and has no minor-league options remaining.
“I think Endy, for sure, has taken advantage of this opportunity to go out and have good at-bats,” Kelly told reporters prior to Friday night’s game. “He’s played well defensively with Henry being our best defensive guy. And (Davis) wants to see results, too. He’s been hitting the ball harder; his approach has been better. He hasn’t been yanking the ball foul as much. He needs to continue to do that, continue to work on the things he’s been working on.”
Rodriguez went 0 for 3 with one walk and two strikeouts on Friday night as it lost for the ninth time in its last 13 games to fall to .500 at 38-38. Recalled when Bart went on the IL, Rodriguez has a .254/.405/.444 slash line with three home runs in 24 games.
Davis is hitting just .138/.242/.265 with five homers in 48 games. A big reason why Davis remains in the big leagues is that he is the preferred catcher of Pirates ace Paul Skenes.
Bart hit a career-high 13 home runs for Pittsburgh in 2024 when he was acquired from the San Francisco Giants in an early-season trade, but that number dipped to four last season. Bart homered twice in 21 games this season and slashed .259/.290/.379.
“Yeah, a tough decision with Joey coming back off the IL,” Kelly said. “But we had to make a decision and had an opportunity to trade Joey and got Hunter back. We feel like Endy has really stepped up in this opportunity that he’s been given to claim more at-bats. And with Henry being our best defensive catcher, we felt like they complemented each other really well. It’s tough to lose a guy like Joey, who’s meant so much to our team.”
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Manager Don Kelly plans to go with a loose platoon of Endy Rodriguez and Henry Davis behind the plate. On the injured list since May 10 with a left foot infection, Bart was traded to the Atlanta Braves late Thursday night for right-reliever Hunter Stratton, who was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis.
The switch-hitting Rodriguez will get the majority of starts against right-handed pitchers, and the righty-swinging Davis will play against most lefties. Rodriguez started against Rockies left-hander Kyle Freeland on Friday night, though, in a 4-3 loss to Colorado in the opener of a three-game series at Coors Field in Denver.
Rodriguez and Davis are 26, while Bart is 29 and has no minor-league options remaining.
“I think Endy, for sure, has taken advantage of this opportunity to go out and have good at-bats,” Kelly told reporters prior to Friday night’s game. “He’s played well defensively with Henry being our best defensive guy. And (Davis) wants to see results, too. He’s been hitting the ball harder; his approach has been better. He hasn’t been yanking the ball foul as much. He needs to continue to do that, continue to work on the things he’s been working on.”
Rodriguez went 0 for 3 with one walk and two strikeouts on Friday night as it lost for the ninth time in its last 13 games to fall to .500 at 38-38. Recalled when Bart went on the IL, Rodriguez has a .254/.405/.444 slash line with three home runs in 24 games.
Davis is hitting just .138/.242/.265 with five homers in 48 games. A big reason why Davis remains in the big leagues is that he is the preferred catcher of Pirates ace Paul Skenes.
Bart hit a career-high 13 home runs for Pittsburgh in 2024 when he was acquired from the San Francisco Giants in an early-season trade, but that number dipped to four last season. Bart homered twice in 21 games this season and slashed .259/.290/.379.
“Yeah, a tough decision with Joey coming back off the IL,” Kelly said. “But we had to make a decision and had an opportunity to trade Joey and got Hunter back. We feel like Endy has really stepped up in this opportunity that he’s been given to claim more at-bats. And with Henry being our best defensive catcher, we felt like they complemented each other really well. It’s tough to lose a guy like Joey, who’s meant so much to our team.”
Pirates Roundtable also offers a fan community and message board. We’d love to have you join us to talk about all things Pirates. Click the “Join” button at the top of the page to join our community for free.
Continue reading...
