BRADENTON, Fla. — While the Pirates’ crop of catchers worked on back picks to first base, Endy Rodriguez’s bubbly personality surfaced in an audible way.
A coach was filling in as the first baseman in this scenario on Friday morning, but he failed to come down with the ball as a teammate of Rodriguez’s fired toward the base.
“Come on!” Rodriguez shouted jovially and loud enough for those in attendance. “Let’s go!”
Moments earlier, Rodriguez had gotten among his first few cracks at throwing down to second base. It was noteworthy, of course, because the former prized prospect of the Pirates missed all of 2024 following Tommy John surgery.
Rodriguez’s dedication to his rehab allowed the 24-year-old to appear in 10 minor league games last year, five of which were as a catcher. But his rehab ended just a bit prematurely last September due to what the team labeled general right forearm fatigue.
It was only a few tosses on a back field at Pirate City, yet Rodriguez’s throwing arm looked to be in a good spot in its first true test of the spring.
“I’m 100%,” Rodriguez said of his arm. “Right now, I’m feeling, I think, in my best spot in a long time.”
It will need to be if Rodriguez hopes to earn a spot on the Pirates opening day roster, which is very much in the cards. Though Rodriguez has also played first base, second base and the outfield during his time in the Pirates farm system, general manager Ben Cherington recently said the plan is for him to focus on catcher for the time being.
“We really believe in him as a catcher,” Cherington said. “Believe he can be an everyday catcher in the future. Coming off the rehab, we want to give him a chance to settle in at that position.
“We know he can do other things, and down the road, if circumstances suggest that we should revisit that, we can revisit it. But certainly, early in spring training, I expect he will be focused on [catching]."
When Cherington and the rest of the Pirates braintrust put together their first 26-man roster of 2025, there will be a traditional two spots carved out for catchers. One of those, expectedly, will be reserved for Joey Bart, whom Cherington said has earned that right based on his breakout 2024 campaign and a strong offseason.
That leaves Rodriguez, former No. 1 overall pick Henry Davis and veteran Jason Delay vying for one spot this spring. Cherington said, while the Pirates still have plenty of time before they need to make a decision on which one of those three will get to join the team in Miami for opening day, he believes both Rodriguez and Davis are at points where they need to be in the lineup a good amount.
With that in mind, whoever operates alongside Bart come March 27 won’t necessarily be receiving sporadic playing time.
“I don’t think we necessarily have to think about it as a traditional everyday and backup,” Cherington said. “Maybe that’s how it plays out. Maybe we have two players at the position that are helping us win games in different ways. We’ll see. We have time to figure that out.”
On the surface, Rodriguez’s position flexibility would seem to play in his favor. But considering the franchise views him more so as a catcher at this juncture, he’ll need to demonstrate over the next six weeks the ability to play the position without any restrictions.
Back in January at PiratesFest, Rodriguez said despite his season being shut down slightly prematurely last September, he knew he would be amply prepared for the 2025 campaign.
“When I stopped playing, I said, ‘I’m ready. I’m gonna give my 100% every day,’ ” Rodriguez said. “Being out the whole year and doing the baseball stuff 100% made me a little bit excited.”
Now the switch-hitting catcher is operating at full capacity. He’s swinging from both sides, too, despite injuring his right arm in a freak accident while operating in the right-handed batter’s box during a winter ball game in the Dominican Republic. Rodriguez said he never gave much thought to the idea of strictly becoming a left-handed hitter because of his injury.
Instead, Rodriguez is focused on the future and back to flashing his toothy grin on the regular while chiding his teammates in a joking manner. It may end up being all business over the next six weeks for Rodriguez as he competes for the Pirates’ open catcher spot on the roster.
But rest assured — manager Derek Shelton is simply glad to have players like Rodriguez and Johan Oviedo back in the fold and working together after their elongated absences.
"It's very good,” Shelton said. “Any time we get our rehab players — using rehab from last year — back up, on the field and healthy, and both of those guys, to see the energy they have, there's some good symbolism that he's throwing to him."
First Published: February 14, 2025, 9:49 p.m.
Updated: February 15, 2025, 5:04 p.m.
