THREE UP & THREE DOWN

1 It’s impressive to think how far the Pirates have come with catching depth since Ben Cherington took charge. In fewer than seven months they’ve added Endy Rodriguez, Henry Davis, Carter Bins and Abrahan Gutierrez. Davis is obviously the headliner, but Bins has improved a ton recently. Was about to jump to No. 12 in one of the best farm systems in baseball (Seattle).

2 Really intrigued by what Michael Chavis, pictured, might be able to do, especially giving up Austin Davis — a Dumpster dive — to find out. Chavis has power. His issue has been an ability to tap into it at the major league level. Chavis needs to use the whole field more, and hitting coach Rick Eckstein has helped a few guys with that.

3 Two of my favorites among the 11 players Cherington got back via trades are Tucupita Marcano and Bryse Wilson,. I remember watching Wilson, pictured above, during the postseason last year and coming away impressed. Kid needs consistent work. As for Marcano, there’s more power potential there as he fills out. Love the athleticism, bat-toball skills and defense.

1 Hindsight is always 20/20, but I wonder if Ben Cherington doesn’t have seller’s remorse given how the Adam Frazier trade was handled. Would it have been better to wait? Very possible. Friday turned into a flurry of activity, and we’ll always have to wonder whether another team might have gotten desperate.

2 It’s hard to follow what the Pirates are doing with Mitch Keller here. They brought him up after two of his worst minor league starts to … not start him? Start him? We don’t know. But given why he was at Class AAA Indianapolis in the first place, it would have been smarter to promote him on a high note. The Pirates most certainly did not.

3 The Richard Rodriguez trade felt somewhat forced. Sure, I like Bryse Wilson. There’s potential with Ricky DeVito, too, the High-A pitcher they also got from the Braves. But Atlanta’s general manager, Alex Anthopoulos, described Rodriguez as pretty much standard middle-relief help, not a back-end guy. He also had a 5.40 ERA over his final 18 appearances. Did the Pirates sell low?