Jason Mackey: There's plenty of weirdness with Pirates catchers. They need a solution.

PITTSBURGH — At least on paper, it's a reasonably deep position for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Yet it's also loaded with questions for this offseason and beyond.

Welcome to Pittsburgh's curious and continual catching question, where the team employs players drafted first (Henry Davis) and second (Joey Bart) overall, as well as two 25-year-olds who won minor league player of the year awards with the New York Yankees (Rafael Flores) and Pirates (Endy Rodriguez).

There are options. Four on the 40-man roster, in fact. A rarity.

It simply hasn't come together the way anyone might want, with Pirates catchers in 2025 combining for 1.0 wins above replacement, per FanGraphs. Only five MLB teams had fewer.

Several things must happen ahead of 2026 — and none can be subtle. Let's take a closer look:

Who's the starter?

It's a simple question ... but also one that's harder than it should be to answer.

If we're talking opening day, to catch Paul Skenes, that's not hard. It'll be Henry Davis, who has become Skenes' personal catcher and also maybe the most ironic character in this entire plot.

When the Pirates drafted Davis in 2021, most around baseball expected him to hit. They worried more about his defense, concerns that led the Pirates to audition Davis in right field two years ago.

That was obviously a disaster. These days, Davis has developed into a solid defensive catcher who hasn't hit enough, taking us to the biggest thing that needs to change.

Davis' offense needs to match his defense.

The 26-year-old's maturity and work ethic match those of his close friend in Skenes. Davis simply hasn't found the offensive results to match, hitting .167 with a .512 OPS this past season.

A credit to Davis, he's kept himself playable by posting a fielding run value (per Baseball Savant) that ranked 18th among all MLB backstops, while only 10 were worth more defensive runs saved (8), according to FanGraphs. But on a team starved for offense, it's tough to stick with someone whose career OPS+ (where 100 is considered average) is just 54.

Rediscover that form

Davis isn't the only one with questions involving his bat. Bart saw his OPS drop from .799 in 2024 to .696 this past season, a decline steeper than any other regular on the roster. It was also not enough to offset a lack of defense for Bart, who was worth minus-6 DRS.

Bart is projected to make $2.7 million via arbitration, and it would be surprising to see the Pirates non-tender Bart due to that reasonable price tag, his offensive upside and the respect he's earned among teammates.

But there's still a measure of unknown here with how to proceed.

Bart slugged a career-high .462 in 2024. He's also been outstanding against lefties, with an .891 OPS when facing them in 2025 and .996 the year prior. There's a role on any team for those splits, especially for under $3 million.

Finding it becomes the trick.

The Pirates will likely continue to grant Davis opportunities because he's the better defensive catcher. But they also need offense. If Bart hits, he should play. That's why first base must be explored this offseason.

Bart has taken ground balls there before, but the grind of the season got in the way, shutting down the project before it got started. No excuses this time.

Spencer Horwitz crushes right-handed pitching (.813 OPS in 2025) but doesn't hit lefties (.593) particularly well. Platooning him and Bart would make sense.

There could also be added flexibility at designated hitter if the Pirates choose to move on from Andrew McCutchen, but that's a conversation for another day. For now, the Pirates need Bart to handle breaking balls and off-speed stuff better while also getting back to elevating the ball more and driving it to gaps.

Does it matter?

The recent MLB postseason tells us performance behind the plate matters. And more so when it comes to adding offense to a spot typically reserved for strong defenders hitting further down in the lineup.

Nine of the top 16 teams in catchers' OPS made the postseason, including MLB's final four occupying spots Nos. 1 (Mariners), 5 (Blue Jays), 7 (Dodgers) and 9 (Brewers). Meanwhile, Toronto led all team with 19 DRS, one of six playoff clubs in the top 10 of that stat.

However it happens — and it's anyone guess how this plays out — the Pirates must have their catcher add more value in all phases. They were 14th in defensive runs saved, 17th in fielding run value and had the second-worst slugging percentage in MLB (.309).

Wild suggestion

A recent catching storyline/talking point with the Pirates involves the best all-around catcher of this era, J.T. Realmuto, who leads all MLB backstops since his debut year (2014) in fWAR with 36.7.

Realmuto is certainly the type of player the Pirates need, a position player who's been around and has strong leadership qualities. However, Realmuto has also seen his OPS decline in recent history, the figure dropping from .820 in 2022 to .762 in 2023 and .700 this past season.

The Pirates would likely have to offer a three-year contract because they're the Pirates, and north of $45 million is probably too risky for a 34-year-old catcher with a declining trend line. A Phillies reunion is probably most likely; Realmuto knows he can win there, while Philadelphia is insulated against any offensive regression.

It would also complicate things for the in-house options the Pirates need to take significant steps forward in 2026.

Contingency plans

Given the nature of the position, as well as what has plagued Davis and Bart throughout their careers, don't be surprised to see Flores or Rodriguez get chances this season.

The former showed promise after making his MLB debut in 2025 and had an .822 OPS at Triple-A when he was promoted. Rodriguez might be the best defensive catcher in the organization, provided his balky elbow cooperates, and there's been previous excitement over his bat.

It wouldn't surprise me if that was your pairing at Triple-A to start the season, Rodriguez because he's been hurt and Flores because he's had just 206 plate appearances at that level.

This Pirates regime has actually gotten solid defensive work out of its catchers; only Toronto (52) has more DRS from catchers than Pittsburgh (40) since 2020. But, at the same time, the group's .617 OPS is the third-lowest.

Whether it's Davis, Bart, Flores or Rodriguez, that needs to change in 2026.

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