Davis hasn’t played in the Majors since mid-June and was hitting over .300 in Triple-A
Henry Davis is making his long-awaited return to the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The 2021 No. 1 overall pick is being promoted to Pittsburgh, the team confirmed on Monday, to replace budding star catcher Joey Bart. The Pirates placed Bart on the 10-day injured list with a hamstring injury in a plethora of roster moves.
To make room on the 26-man roster, Jake Woodford has been designated for assignment. The Pirates ended the rehab assignment for Nick Gonzales and reinstated him to the active roster.
Davis, 24, finds himself in a tale of two cities between Pittsburgh and Indianapolis. He seemingly can’t hit in the majors, but crushes Triple-A pitching. In 29 games with the Pirates, Davis owns a .153/.257/.235 slash line with four doubles, one home run, five RBIs, and a staggering 40 strikeouts in 85 at-bats.
The Pirates have utilized him exclusively as a catcher after attempting to play Davis in right field upon his MLB debut. However, minor-league pitching can’t find a way to get Davis out. Over two separate stints with the Indians, Davis totals a .307/.401/.555 slash line, with 15 doubles, 13 home runs, 43 RBIs, and a .956 OPS through 57 games.
His 57 strikeouts and 23 walks are considerably more manageable, spanning 218 at-bats. Davis is not in the starting lineup for his first game back in the bigs since June 14. Davis hit .356 in July but came down to Earth in August (.274), while smashing three homers and posting 12 RBIs.
Bart solidified himself as potentially the 2025 everyday catcher by slashing .272/.347/.497 with 12 home runs, 39 RBIs, and a .844 OPS in fewer than 200 at-bats (195). The Pirates acquired the 27-year-old, former No. 2 overall pick from San Francisco in April.
The Pirates don’t believe Bart’s injury will sideline him for the remainder of the season. Woodford allowed 17 earned runs in six games (four starts) over 22 innings and posted a 6.95 ERA and 0-4 record. The Pirates begin the first of a three-game series Monday at PNC Park, starting at 6:40 p.m. Mitch Keller starts Monday, Jared Jones returns from the IL on Tuesday, and Paul Skenes takes the hill on Wednesday.