‘IT’S A TWO-WAY STREET’
Why the (growing) friendship between Davis, Grandal could be integral
FORT MYERS, Fla. — As Pirates players took turns donning jerseys and posing for pictures a couple weeks ago, Yasmani Grandal FaceTimed with his family back home in Chicago. Grandal’s three kids are in school, the veteran catcher counting down the days until the group visits in a few weeks.
For now, Grandal has a de facto kid or mentee in Henry Davis, who’s trying to prove himself enough as a catcher to make the major league roster. It’s a relationship that has been fun to watch evolve and also one that could pay dividends for the Pirates.
“It looks good,” Grandal said of Davis’ catching. “He’s a hard worker, always asking questions about how he can do things better. The more repetitions he gets behind the plate, the better he’s gonna be.”
It’s been a two- way street, too.
Grandal, 35, agreed to a one-year, $2.5 million contract (plus incentives) with the Pirates on Super Bowl Sunday and arrived in Florida for a physical and to complete his contract three days later. It was the latest, Grandal said, he’s ever arrived at spring training.
For a catcher, that means learning pitchers and their quirks quickly. Never mind more basic things such as names or lodging. One person who has helped with those things has been
Davis, eager to return the favor for Grandal mentoring him.
“He’s been here,” Grandal said of Davis. “He knows the guys. We don’t always talk about baseball. We talk about anything. It’s been good.”
Davis joked he’s “probably asking too many questions,” but there’s no such thing for someone in his position. It was similar to how Davis approached things with Austin Hedges last season — but this time with a starting job at stake.
Speaking before the game on Feb. 24, which featured Davis starting behind the plate and batting third, manager Derek Shelton reiterated that the No. 1 pick in 2021 does not have anything on lockdown.
Davis must earn his spot, and the Pirates need to know his defense is passable.
“Getting him reps is the most important thing,” Shelton said.
How well Davis has handled himself defensively has been one of the more encouraging storylines this spring, especially considering he spent just two innings behind the plate last season.
The accuracy on Davis’ throws might be the biggest change. He has also been much better when it comes to receiving — both consistently keeping the ball in front of him and framing well.
Grandal said he’s been working with Davis on game-specific situations, stuff like scoring plays and controlling the running game.
“We’ve worked on setups and whether it’s throwing or blocking, how to be as efficient as possible and going through the routine,” Grandal said. “So far, so good. Now that the games are starting, I’m sure more things will pop up. This is an exciting time. I look forward to that.”
Regardless of how someone might think about Grandal’s individual performance — his 71 OPS+ the past two seasons isn’t good — the veteran has seen everything at this level, appearing in 1,235 MLB games for four teams over 12 seasons.
When it comes to evaluating Davis’ defense, Grandal has been impressed. Molding Davis into an MLB regular at the position will simply be a matter of doing it consistently.
“Can he handle it?” Grandal said. “I’m 100% sure that he can. He’s super athletic, super strong and very smart. He loves baseball and knows the game. He’s willing to study. All of those things are what make up a big league starter.”
How this plays out, again, has been a major talking point of spring training. Could the Pirates really stash Davis in the minor leagues to start the year?
They certainly could. Davis has caught just 672⅓innings in 79 games (78 starts) in the minor leagues. Baltimore’s Adley Rutschman, just to pull one recent comparable, caught 946⅓ minor league innings in 112 games (110 starts) before the Orioles promoted him.
The best-case scenario for the Pirates would be Davis hitting and giving them enough defensively to start him on opening day, relegating Grandal to backup duty. If Davis hits but endures some defensive turbulence, maybe it’s a timeshare and the Pirates find other ways to get the 24year-old’s bat in the lineup.
But if Davis struggles to defend and also doesn’t hit enough in spring to warrant a roster spot, the Pirates could lean more on Grandal, keep Jason Delay and allow Davis time to keep developing as a catcher.
“I’m just happy baseball’s back,” Davis said last month. “Ready to get out there and get the competitive juices flowing again.”
Grandal has also embraced his role as a baseball dad.
For while he said halfjokingly on Feb. 14 that “I’ve had my career, and those guys are just getting started,” Grandal has been approaching this dynamic in a pitch-perfect way.
“He has a wealth of knowledge,” Davis said of Grandal. “He’s done it at the highest level, on offense and defense, which is what I’m aspiring to do. Just taking in everything I can. He’s been really great with offering suggestions but also letting me run with it.”