{"id":122533,"date":"2026-05-23T09:59:44","date_gmt":"2026-05-23T13:59:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=122533"},"modified":"2026-05-23T09:59:44","modified_gmt":"2026-05-23T13:59:44","slug":"endy-rodriguez-is-making-the-pirates-catching-depth-chart-interesting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2026\/05\/23\/endy-rodriguez-is-making-the-pirates-catching-depth-chart-interesting\/","title":{"rendered":"Endy Rodriguez Shakes Up Pirates\u2019 Catching Race"},"content":{"rendered":"

Everyone knew that if there was going to be one weakness in the Pittsburgh Pirates\u2019 lineup, it was going to be at catcher. Former first overall pick Henry Davis<\/a> made massive strides defensively in 2025, but his bat has not developed anywhere as hoped. Joey Bart<\/a> went from hitting a dozen home runs in about a half-season in 2024 to just four long balls in 93 games. That isn\u2019t even factoring in his below-average defense and ability to handle pitchers<\/a>.<\/p>\n

With Bart recently landing on the injured list, the Pirates have given former top 100 prospect Endy Rodriguez<\/a> an opportunity in the Major Leagues. While he has only appeared in parts of four contests, Rodriguez\u2019s scorching hot start may make the Pirates\u2019 depth chart interesting in the very near future.<\/p>\n

Endy Rodriguez’s hot start is making the Pirates’ catching situation interesting<\/h2>\n

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Injuries Galore<\/h3>\n

Rodriguez once ranked as one of the best prospects in baseball. He ranked no lower than #55 on MLB Pipeline (#55), Baseball Prospectus (#55), and Baseball America (#23) heading into the 2023 season. The Pirates called up the young backstop in the second half of 2023, and while he struggled, he still showed some promise in a 57-game sample size.<\/p>\n

The Pirates planned on making Rodriguez a key member of their 2024 squad, but his season ended before it ever had a chance to start. He underwent Tommy John surgery in December 2023 and appeared in just ten rehab games that season. He was set to return in 2025, but a myriad of injuries took hold once again. His \u201825 campaign consisted of just 28 games between the minor leagues and MLB.<\/p>\n

Cold Start, But Quickly Heating Up<\/h3>\n

Given Rodriguez\u2019s constant injuries, the Pirates opted to open the year with Davis and Bart on their 26-man roster. Endy started 2026 at Triple-A Indianapolis, where he batted .221\/.326\/.302 with a .299 wOBA and 72 wRC+ through his first 136 plate appearances of the year. Although his bottom line was not good, he still had a healthy 13.2% walk rate and was called up with a 122 wRC+ from April 15 until the time the Pirates called him to the Major Leagues. In his first five MLB games of the 2026 season, he already has six hits, including a double. He has walked four times and has only struck out on four occasions over 20 plate appearances.<\/p>\n

The Current Depth Chart<\/h3>\n

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One thing is for certain: Davis likely isn\u2019t going anywhere. He is Paul Skenes<\/a>\u2019 personal catcher, and that isn\u2019t going to change. However, Bart\u2019s job security could be in danger once he is healthy again. 2025 was a significant step down for Bart; the Pirates still tried to trade him during this past offseason<\/a>. The backstop landed on the IL earlier this month with a foot infection, but started showing some life at the plate at the time.<\/p>\n

His last 40 plate appearances yielded 13 hits, including three extra-base knocks (a double and two home runs). However, he also struck out 11 times with just a single walk. The Pirates could once again look to move Bart when he is closer to returning. With their current need for relief pitching, they may find a taker for Bart and his services in exchange for a bullpen arm. Moving Bart would give Rodriguez an opportunity for more playing time.<\/p>\n

Where Do The Pirates And Rodriguez Go From Here?<\/h3>\n

Rodriguez rebounding could finally give the Pirates some offense behind the dish. Bart\u2019s streakiness and Davis\u2019 lack of hitting have left the Pirates with serious issues at the catcher spot in the lineup. The biggest hope is that Rodriguez can stay healthy for an extended period of time. If he can do that, he\u2019ll be given every opportunity to secure a more important role on the Pirates\u2019 roster this year.<\/p>\n

Main Image Credit:<\/strong> John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Everyone knew that if there was going to be one weakness in the Pittsburgh Pirates\u2019 lineup, it was going to be at catcher. Former first overall pick Henry Davis made massive strides defensively in 2025, but his bat has not developed anywhere as hoped. Joey Bart went from hitting a dozen home runs in about […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5765,"featured_media":122540,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"610","footnotes":""},"categories":[2,1071,26],"tags":[6225,4875,5766,6372],"class_list":["post-122533","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-mlb","category-pirates","tag-endy-rodriguez","tag-henry-davis","tag-joey-bart","tag-pittsburg-pirates"],"modified_by":"Matthew Nethercott, Site Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122533","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5765"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=122533"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122533\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":122541,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122533\/revisions\/122541"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/122540"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=122533"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=122533"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=122533"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}