Still looking for an 'edge," Davis focused on growth on offense, defense

Henry Davis' offseason has been split between two spots. One is the Driveline Baseball lab in Kent, Wash., for his offense. The other is for his defense in Bradenton, Fla.

Not to downplay how vital his bat is going to be to this Pirate lineup, but it's that catcher's mitt that could make or break this upcoming season.

The plan was always to have Davis work as a catcher this winter and give him more of an opportunity to play his native catcher position in 2024 after limiting him to two major-league innings as a rookie. He's bulked up a bit to better prepare for a year behind the plate, noticeably in the upper body, to be better suited for a year of squatting after being caught a bit off by his midseason change in position to the team's primary right fielder.

"The catching's the focus, but I also want to be a little bit of a Swiss army knife," Davis said during PiratesFest Saturday afternoon at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. "Do anything the team needs [from] me. I felt a little caught off guard last year, where that's not a situation that shouldn't arise, but I should have been more prepared for it. There's no reason I couldn't have been."

It's a good thing the Pirates weren't ready to pull the plug on him catching quite yet, considering they are going to be without Endy Rodríguez for all of next season after the young catcher needed Tommy John surgery last month after playing Winter Ball.

That leaves Davis and Jason Delay as the team's most likely catchers come next year, though free agent signing Ali Sánchez is also on the 40-man roster and there's always the possibility of adding more. Delay grades out terrifically as a pitch framer and calls a good game, but he doesn't necessarily fit the mold for a starting catcher of a team with playoff aspirations. 

"I would certainly like to take on a little bit more of a role because of that," Delay said. "I hate for any opportunity to come at someone else’s expense. But that’s kind of where we are. I feel like I’m ready to take that step."

Davis' ceiling as a former No. 1 pick is much higher, obviously. Assuming, of course, he can catch at the major-league level.

He has the arm for the position and spent much of his time with Class AA Altoona last year focusing on the intangibles of the position, like handling a staff and knowing how to research hitters and pair it with a pitcher's strengths to call an effective game. The question really sits with what type of receiver he is. The Pirates heavily value pitch framing and getting those extra strikes, which was a large part of what he and bullpen coach Jordan Comadena worked on during last season. If he could get those extra strikes, it would go a long way to help his cause.

"I know there's a lot of different ways [to evaluate catching] and certain things are easier to measure than others, but at the end of the day, I'll grade myself on if guys want to throw to me or not," Davis said.

Some Pirate pitchers got a taste of that last year during bullpens. Davis didn't see much game action behind the plate, but he still worked with the staff to try to get a better feel for what makes them click.

"There’s never been a problem with his work ethic," Mitch Keller said. "My man is trying to work as hard as he possibly can to be the best player that he can. Even in bullpens, he’s like, ‘Is my target OK? Is this where you want it? Is this where you need it?’ He’s always wanting to tailor to the pitcher. He’s not concerned about anything he’s doing. He’s out there for you. It’s a really comforting thing as a pitcher to know that he’s back there for me and wants me to be my best."

Building those relationships is why he's spending so much time in Bradenton this winter. For example, Quinn Priester has also spent a lot of time at Pirate City and has, in Davis' words, "essentially revamped how he wants to throw the baseball." Priester was not made available to media to further clarify what that entails.

If it is a more drastic change in terms of mechanics or pitch repertoire, Davis has been there for most of the winter to see the type of pitcher Priester wants to be.

"Me being there to see when one week goes well, one week goes bad, what was the difference so we can build off that together, that's a lot easier to have that conversation when we've been together rather than I'm across the country FaceTiming him," Davis said. "It's been invaluable."

And if he could hit, well, it sure would be a boost. Pirate catchers combined for a .590 OPS, the third-lowest in baseball, according to Stathead. Davis has tremendous offensive upside, but slashed just .213/.302/.351 with seven home runs over 62 games in the majors last year.

He never struggled like that as a pro or in college. When asked what he liked about his offensive performance last year, Davis responded, "I think I like nothing."

That's certainly enough inspiration to make that long flight from Florida to the other side of the country for the premier baseball lab.

"You look for things as a player to get an edge or get a percent, but it's kind of blown me away," Davis said about working with Driveline

If Davis can come closer to realizing his offensive potential while also showing he can catch in the majors, it would be a huge boost for a Pirates team that's aiming to make the leap to the playoffs next season. Davis isn't settled with just a trip to October, though.

"Win the World Series," he said. "That should be the goal of any of the 30 teams. That starts with trying to win every single game we play. So, there."