Not long ago, the Pittsburgh Pirates appeared to have one of the brightest catching futures in baseball. Heading into 2023, the organization could point to two of the game’s most exciting young backstops. Henry Davis, the No. 1 overall pick in 2021, ranked as high as No. 46 on national prospect lists, while Endy Rodríguez surged even higher, climbing to No. 23 after a meteoric rise through the minor leagues.
As the 2026 season approaches, however, the optimism surrounding that duo has cooled considerably. Both players have struggled to carry their offensive success into the major leagues, and Rodríguez in particular has seen his development interrupted repeatedly by injuries. In the meantime, Joey Bart has quietly established himself as the club’s primary catcher, providing steady production and reliability. Nationally, the conversation has largely shifted elsewhere, and the once-heralded tandem is no longer viewed as a cornerstone of the Pirates’ rebuild.
That change in perception does not erase Rodríguez’s talent, and early signs this spring suggest there may still be something to reclaim.
Rodríguez has opened Spring Training with a strong first impression, collecting three hits — including a home run and a double — in his first six at-bats. The sample size is obviously small, but the quality of his at-bats has resembled the version of Rodríguez who broke out in 2022. That year, he hit .323 with 25 home runs across three levels of the minors and looked like a safe bet to develop into one of the better offensive catchers in the league. For a player attempting to reestablish himself after several disrupted seasons, simply looking comfortable again is a meaningful step.
The path since that breakout has been anything but smooth. Rodríguez was merely average at Triple-A in 2023, and when he received his call-up later that season, he posted a .612 OPS while looking only serviceable behind the plate. His momentum stalled further when an injury in winter ball ultimately led to Tommy John surgery, costing him essentially all of 2024.
By the time Rodríguez returned in 2025, his role with the team was far less defined. Bart was coming off a strong season, Davis remained in the mix, and the Pirates were searching for ways to evaluate Rodríguez’s bat without disrupting their catching situation. When Spencer Horwitz went down before the season, the club experimented with Rodríguez as a fill-in at first base. Rodríguez embraced the move, emphasizing a willingness to contribute wherever needed and saying he did not care which position he played if it helped the team.
The opportunity never fully materialized. Rodríguez struggled offensively to begin the year and then suffered another elbow injury that required surgery, ending his season prematurely. It was another frustrating chapter in a stretch defined less by development than by rehabilitation.
Now, entering 2026, Rodríguez faces a roster situation that offers no guarantees. Davis, despite his own offensive challenges, has made significant strides defensively and has become a valuable option behind the plate. Bart has delivered two solid seasons and remains the most established catcher on the roster. Rafael Flores, acquired from the Yankees in the David Bednar trade, showed promise in his brief major-league debut, and what was once a thin first-base picture has turned into a position of depth following Horwitz’s emergence and the addition of Ryan O’Hearn.
In other words, Rodríguez is no longer stepping into a role that is waiting for him. If he is going to factor into the Pirates’ plans, he will have to play his way there.
What has not changed, though, is Rodríguez’s approach. Throughout the injuries and uncertainty, he has consistently emphasized maintaining the right mindset. “Control what you can control,” Rodríguez has said. “I can control my mental. So I’m always 100% mentally.” Health, in his view, remains the key variable. “Just need to be healthy. If I can be healthy, I can do great things.”
Those around him have long pointed to that attitude as one of his defining traits. Former manager Derek Shelton described Rodríguez as having an energy that teammates naturally gravitate toward, noting that he is “very happy” and “very engaging,” qualities that can be especially valuable from a young catcher.
Rodríguez may no longer represent the clear future of the position in Pittsburgh the way he once did, but that does not mean his opportunity has vanished. The organization’s catching situation is more uncertain than expected a few years ago, and players with Rodríguez’s athleticism and offensive upside rarely fall completely out of the picture.
He does not need to reclaim his former prospect status to make an impact. If he can stay on the field and rediscover even part of the offensive form he showed earlier in his career, there is still a path for him to contribute. The circumstances are simply different now.
Endy Rodríguez is being asked to force the issue. If his early swings this spring are any indication, he intends to try.
