Pirates mailbag: Will we see Henry Davis in a Pittsburgh uniform again this year?
Noah Hiles and Andrew Destin / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Welcome to the Pirates mailbag, where the Post-Gazette reporters Andrew Destin and Noah Hiles answer all of your questions about the ball club. If you have questions, tweet them at @AndrewDestin1 and @_Noahhiles or email them at [email protected] and [email protected]. Andrew and Noah will answer your questions in full length each Thursday. Below are this week’s top questions.
Charlie: Assuming there are no injuries to Bart or Grandal, do you see Henry Davis in a Pirates uniform this year? Hard to deny what he is doing in Indy right now; however, I can't see Shelton taking Grandal off the big league roster because he seems to value his veteran presence.
Destin: I figure at some point we have to, regardless if there are any injuries to the current catchers. The former No. 1 overall pick has had a sensational July, hitting .359 with a .992 OPS, three homers and five doubles. To your point, Charlie, Grandal’s value extends beyond the field of play — pitchers enjoy throwing to him, and he’s served as a respected voice in the clubhouse. That being said, rosters expand from 26 to 28 players in roughly a month, so perhaps the Pirates just wait until then to call up Davis and a bullpen arm of some sort.
Hiles: I think we see him back up in the big leagues in September. Bart has clearly established himself as the starter, and Grandal is Skenes’ personal catcher. Those are the two guys they’re rolling with. Davis is still a part of this team’s future, but as far as 2024 is concerned, I don’t know how much of an impact he will have in the majors.
Carson: Thoughts on if you think Cook/Yorke get a call up any time soon, also do you think Burrows might get the call and/or Ashcraft when healthy.
Destin: I think we could see both, but I’m putting Yorke as the more probable call-up in the near future. The best tool for Yorke, a former first-round pick, is what he can do at the plate, and all the 22-year-old has done against Triple-A competition this season is dominate. In 39 games a step away from the big leagues, Yorke is hitting .311 with six home runs and 20 RBIs. Cook, meanwhile, has had a tremendous July but probably needs to get hotter first. As for Burrows, it’s entirely possible we see him with the Pirates this year, but I’d reckon the later in the year, the more likely.
Hiles: I think we will see both of those pitchers up before Cook or Yorke. Ashcraft simply needs to stay healthy. Once he’s healthy, I think we see him come up to make a spot start or two. Burrows is another guy I think we see make a spot start on a day when they’re looking to give everyone extra rest. Cook and Yorke need more development. Maybe we see Yorke in September, but I don’t think either will have a big impact at the major league level in 2024.
Hot Dog Larry: Why didn’t the pirates try and get a genuine star at the deadline? We watched the Pens throw futures away to win now, and it worked for 15-ish years.
Destin: Much of this will be speculation on my part, but I think a good starting point is that it was a seller’s market. There weren’t exactly a million big-name hitters that got dealt, and the ones that were required teams to overpay. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. stayed put, and so did Bo Bichette and Brent Rooker. So, I personally thought it was some nifty business by GM Ben Cherington to get a couple guys who fill immediate holes, as well as help the team in the future. I think it’s a bit of an apples-to-oranges comparison with the Penguins, too. With no salary cap in baseball, trades aren’t as obvious as “we’re going for it this season.”
Hiles: There weren’t many genuine stars available, first off. The best players on the market were all guys who had only been to one All-Star team. Those are good players but not “stars.” Second, baseball is a much different sport than hockey. The Penguins play in a league with a salary cap, while the Pirates don’t. Finances are much different. Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Bryan De La Cruz aren’t superstars, but they make this club better. As does Jalen Beeks.
M E: Way too early, but what’s the plan at 1B for next year? Tellez, FA, position change for someone?
Destin: This is an intriguing question because there are a number of ways the Pirates could go about this. I’d say for as well as Tellez has fared the last couple of months, I imagine they explore other options or even internal ones. This is pure speculation on my part, but could we see Bryan Reynolds move to first base full-time and the Pirates add another outfielder? Not ruling that out by any means (so long as Reynolds had interest, of course). In terms of likelihood, I would say 1) FA, 2) Position change and 3) Tellez as next year’s options.
Hiles: With the moves they made at the deadline, first base becomes the clear focus point of the offseason, at least in my eyes. Tellez is an intriguing case. I think he likes it here. I think he’s been really good since June. I think he’s well within the team’s price range. Could they go out and acquire someone better? Absolutely. Would they be willing to pay for a player better than Tellez? That’s the better question. Another option, as Andrew pointed out, is an alternative solution. Perhaps they try moving Reynolds, Oneil Cruz or Henry Davis to first. I personally wouldn’t, but crazier things have happened.
Jason: What’s our magic number to get in? Why are our catchers sitting with the leg out (Tony Pena style) with runners on base? When Jones returns will we keep a sixth man rotation?
Destin: It’s so tough with still two months to go in the season to hone in on a concrete figure, but I’d say right around 87 wins should just about guarantee the Pirates get in. Since MLB changed up its postseason format in 2022, the win totals for the combined six wild card teams are as follows: 101, 90, 89, 87, 84 (2x). I figure if the Pirates can get to about 87 wins, that should be enough. As for why catchers are sitting Tony Pena-style with runners on base, it’s to steal strikes and frame better. These guys are athletic enough in today’s game that even with a knee down in the dirt, they can spring up and gun down a would-be base stealer. And finally, I think we could see a six-man for a little bit, but perhaps it’s more likely either Marco Gonzales or Bailey Falter will move to the bullpen down the stretch.
Hiles: Allow me to give a coach-speak answer to this question — The Pirates’ magic number is 1. They need to win every day. Every win helps, and every loss hurts. That’s the mentality for a club in their spot. Six teams are currently fighting for three wildcard positions. This race is going to come down to the wire. Unless they have a total meltdown, I don’t see us knowing their “magic number” until the final week of September, simply because so many teams are still in the mix.
Andrew: Who needs to step up for the Bucs to make a playoff run?
Destin: To me, this answer is quite clear: Ke’Bryan Hayes. The reigning Gold Glove winner at third base has had a solid, not spectacular, defensive season but really struggled at the plate. If he can replicate – or at the very least replicate – how he produced in the second half of 2023, the Pirates could really get rolling. That’s, of course, assuming myriad factors, but the reality is that Hayes has not met expectations with a .588 OPS. If he can start producing, that would be titanically important for the Pirates.
Hiles: There are a few correct answers to this question. Andrew probably had the best one with Hayes. If he can hit like he did in the second half of last season, this team will be dangerous. But he’s not the only one. If Michael A. Taylor can continue to look like the guy we saw in Houston, that’s a game-changer. If Oneil Cruz can avoid having other nightmare series like the one he had in Houston, that helps a ton. If Kiner-Falefa keeps hitting at his rate or De La Cruz continues to mash homers, that also helps.
The Inside Answer: Are we to assume that the Pirates do not consider Peguero a potential major leaguer at this point? Bae/Williams are ahead of him, and they traded for Yorke. Do you think we've seen enough of him to know that?
Destin: I think they are still willing to wait another year on Peguero. Sure, the optics don’t look great on Bae/Williams being ahead of him, as well as the Yorke trade, but let’s consider a few factors. Peguero, who is just 23 years old, played all of seven games in Indianapolis last season before he was bumped up to the big leagues. That means entering Thursday, he’s played 96 games in Triple-A. Nick Gonzales, meanwhile, played 129 games in Triple-A before (seemingly) cementing himself with the Pirates. Sure, Peguero hasn’t torn the cover off the ball in 2024, considering his .712 OPS for Indianapolis, but he easily could have been trade bait. Instead, he’s still here, indicating to me the Pirates very much still believe in him — at least for a bit longer.
Hiles: I like Peguero, but the guys who have received opportunities ahead of him — Williams, Gonzales, Bae — did so because they have played better in Triple-A. This guy isn’t hitting the ball that well, and they already have a solid glove off the bench that provides more defensive versatility (Triolo). This isn’t the Pirates giving up on a guy. This is the Pirates simply promoting the best hitters from Triple-A. If Peguero wants to be a big leaguer, he has to hit better than his teammates in Indy.