Pirates have 3-way competition for backup catcher, a role that takes on importance in April

BRADENTON, Fla. — It was a diversion by Derek Shelton, a way for the Pittsburgh Pirates manager to avoid a question about a secondary position battle that could come to the forefront early this season.

What do you need from a backup catcher?

“We haven’t even talked about carrying a second one yet,” Shelton said. “I think the ability to run a pitching staff and handle what we’re doing in terms of gameplanning is going to be the most important thing.”

Shelton knows as well as anyone that the backup catcher is an important position for the Pirates, given their injury history the past few seasons, a shortened spring training and an unforgiving April schedule. Jacob Stallings evolved from third-stringer to NL Gold Glove winner when Francisco Cervelli had multiple concussions, and Stallings missed games with concussions before being traded to Miami.

Quietly, the Pirates have been conducting a three-way competition for the spot behind two-time AL Gold Glove winner Roberto Perez, who has played only 59 games the past two seasons because of injury issues and in more than 100 games only once in eight major league seasons.

“I think we’ll play Roberto as much as we can, but we’re also going to be mindful of making sure he’s fresh, because he is really important, and he’s important to a young pitching staff,” Shelton said. “We’ve outlined it. He’s caught maybe the best young pitching staff in the game over the last 10 years, so we just have to be thoughtful. And, honestly, our schedule is not forgiving early. We play (Opening Day on April 7), off-day and then 16 games in a row at a bunch of different, varying times. We have to be thoughtful of that as we get into that first stretch.”

The Pirates are taking a long look at Michael Perez, Taylor Davis and Jamie Ritchie in Grapefruit League games, bullpen sessions and live batting practice in an effort to find a backup catcher. All three are in camp as nonroster invitees on minor league contracts.

The 29-year-old Perez is the frontrunner, given that he served in the role last season and is most familiar with the pitching staff. The Pirates, however, designated Perez for assignment after he batted .143 with seven home runs and 21 RBIs last season.

“Offensively, it was not good,” Perez said. “That’s not an excuse. This year, my goal is to be more consistent, try to get good, quality at-bats and control what you can control. What I can control is to get a good pitch, hit it hard.”

Both Michael and Roberto Perez are Puerto Rico natives who are old friends and share the same agent, so Michael was motivated to return to work with and learn from Roberto.

“I’m going to take advantage of every opportunity they give me in spring training,” Michael Perez said. “I’m trying to show them that I want to be here.”

Davis is the darkhorse. The Pirates traded with Baltimore for him last June so that he could work with their young pitchers in Triple-A. After playing 20 games over three seasons with the Chicago Cubs — his first career homer was a grand slam — the 32-year-old Davis spelled Stallings for two games late last season and fared well, going 2 for 5 with a walk.

“It was extremely valuable,” Davis said. “It was good to get around the coaching staff, good to get around the arms. I tried to learn all of them, tried to learn the staff and the philosophy of what we’re doing around here. It was cool to see that there’s a lot of good stuff happening.”

Davis has spent the spring doing what he does best, building relationships with young pitchers and position players alike. He understands what it’s like to toil in the minors with occasional call-ups to the majors, so he can advise prospects on how to handle the transition.

“I think I can do a lot of stuff on the field, a lot of stuff off the field and I can help the team,” Davis said. “You’ll see me bouncing around (the clubhouse), trying to be that guy. Anything I can do at this point. Obviously, behind the plate is my biggest plus. Catching the ball and trying to help these younger pitches reach their peak.”

Ritchie is the underdog. He has spent his career in the minors, where he caught the Pirates’ eye by batting .317/.417/.430 with 18 doubles, four homers and 43 RBIs for Reno, the Arizona Diamondbacks’ Triple-A affiliate. After signing with the Pirates, Ritchie arrived Feb. 8 and has been valiantly trying to catch every pitcher in camp.

“That’s my main focus in camp right now, is to catch everybody,” Ritchie said. “When you’re a catcher going to a new team, you’re dealing with 20 new pitchers. You’re trying to learn their stuff, not only that but they’re advanced statistics and what plays to what side of the hitter. It’s a lot to remember on top of just catching them.”

Shelton acknowledged that Perez and Davis are ahead of Ritchie because of their familiarity with the pitching staff, but the Pirates are intrigued by Ritchie’s bat.

“I think their advantage is the fact that they’ve been here and they know guys,” Shelton said. “That’s why we’ve really tried to catch Jamie up to speed on some things, just because of the fact that it is a shortened spring training and we have to make sure that he catches more bullpens, just because of the fact that he may not get guys in games that he should get or can get over a longer spring training, so part of that’s going to be on the staff to make sure we catch him up.”

Ritchie, who turns 29 on April 9, knows this is the most important spring of his baseball career and acknowledged it certainly is the most pressure-packed. He wants to show the Pirates he’s capable of playing in the majors, whether he starts the season there or not.

“Being 28, you start to get a label in baseball if you haven’t made it, unfortunately. I’m hoping this is the year I’m with Pittsburgh,” Ritchie said. “Everything they’ve said they’ve lived up to so far. The opportunity seems to be there, so if I can do what’s within my control and catch everybody, swing the bat well and I’m reliable behind the plate, I have a good chance.”

It’s possible all three will see time with the Pirates this season, which is why Davis, Perez and Ritchie are treating this three-way competition with the understanding there’s an opportunity to be the backup even if they don’t win the job in spring training. But they also are aware that this could be their last chance to play in the majors.

“No doubt. You know that going into it, but I can’t treat it that way,” Davis said. “I treat these guys like they’re my friends, my brothers. At the end of the day, we’re all hoping for the same goal. We all want to be on the team and we all want to win. No. 1 is to get there, and win when you get there.”