Can we talk logically about handling of Davis?
BRADENTON, Fla. — The start of spring training has brought widespread panic over the Pirates possibly starting Henry Davis in the minor leagues.
Like many things this time of year, it’s an overreaction and a case of Pirates fans expecting the worst — probably because they’ve been trained like Navy SEALs to do so.
But if you step back and look at this logically, there’s no need to make a determination now. There’s also perspective pertaining to Davis and the time it takes some to succeed behind the plate.
“We believe in Henry Davis,” Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said Thursday at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa for Grapefruit League media day. “I don’t recall being around too many players in my career who take their craft as seriously as Henry.
“Whatever is in front of him, whatever the goal is, he’s gonna go after it like not many people would.”
It’s noticeable how hard Davis worked this offseason.
When he was a right fielder last season, Davis’ playing weight was around 208 or 210 pounds. (Yes, he tracks this down to the pound.)
In college at Louisville, Davis was around 215 or 220. Now, he’s 225 or 227 pounds and looks like he wouldn’t be lost at middle linebacker.
Watching Davis take batting practice Thursday, the power was plenty obvious. Balls routinely sailed over the batter’s eye. Cars parked well beyond the wall in left field were somehow spared. The entire thing was a display, the most recent evidence of what Davis could bring to the Pirates’ lineup.
At the same time, the questions surrounding Davis do not involve his offense. It’s his defense.
The Pirates saw fit to use Davis for just two major league innings at catcher last season. It’s a move that, in hindsight, feels like a mistake or missed opportunity to gain valuable experience.
Regardless, there’s been a fair amount of concern over Davis’ defense and whether it’s ready for Major League Baseball. The confounding part is why anyone thinks we have an answer right now, on Feb. 16.
It’s impossible to know where Davis will start the 2024 regular season because you can’t glean much from the work the No. 1 overall pick in 2021 has done on these fields, though he has made a positive impression on Paul Skenes and looked fine handling Aroldis Chapman’s side session Thursday.
What we do know, logically, is that right or wrong, the Pirates have allocated one of two catching spots to Yasmani Grandal, a veteran they signed for $2.5 million on Super Bowl Sunday.
The amount Grandal will catch is TBD. It’s tied to his own health and production, as well as what happens with Davis and Jason Delay, who will battle for the other spot.
But again, logic.
If Davis hits the way he’s capable and plays adequate defense, why wouldn’t the Pirates keep him in the big leagues?
They’d also be silly to keep his bat out of the lineup and allocate reps to a 35year-old who has been bad the past two seasons.
On the flip side, if Davis doesn’t hit and his defense lacks, are the Pirates foolish for allowing him more time to work in the minors? As easy as it is to like Davis, he has 62 games of MLB experience and has produced a .653 OPS. Behind the plate, Davis has caught just 79 minor league games totaling 672 1/3 innings.
That context when it comes to Davis’ catching volume could become important, as it’s something Cherington brought up unprompted Thursday.
Adley Rutschman, the 2019 No. 1 overall pick by the Orioles and an interesting catching comparable, logged 946 1/3 minor league innings over 112 games before making his MLB debut. Will Smith of the Dodgers caught 1,635 innings in 196 MiLB games and blossomed into an All-Star this past season.
Further back, Buster Posey caught 889 1/3 innings across 103 games before he did the same.
It’s not an endorsement to send Davis back to Triple-A. If he’s even remotely good enough, he should stay with the big club. It’s more to say that it wouldn’t be insane, should Davis struggle.
“We’ll learn more as we go through spring,” Cherington said. “Wherever it lands, we believe in this guy and he’s really important to us and he’s gonna do all the work necessary to become a really good major league player and help us win games.”
The bet here is that happens soon and the minor league talk becomes a nonfactor, that Davis’ offense — by far the most impressive of the three primary competitors — carries the day, and the defense actually comes out better than anticipated.
If it doesn’t, or the decision becomes more complicated, then you proceed with context. Do they need his bat in the lineup? Are the defensive shortcomings relatively fixable?
There’s still so much we don’t know, which is why it’s smart to let it all play out, observing Davis’ progress and what’s around him over the next six weeks.
One way or another, Davis by his play will tell us where he belongs.