Pirates A to Z: Taylor Davis provided valuable depth, MLB experience at a position of priority

During the offseason, the Tribune-Review will offer Pirates A to Z: An alphabetical player-by-player look at the 40-man roster, from outfielder Anthony Alford to pitcher Miguel Yajure.

Player: Taylor Davis

Position: Catcher

Throws: Right

Bats: Right

Age: 31

Height: 5-foot-10

Weight: 200 pounds

2021 MLB statistics: Davis batted .400 (2 for 5) with a walk in six plate appearances in two games.

Contract: Not eligible for arbitration until 2025.

Acquired: From the Baltimore Orioles, in a trade for outfielder Jose Berroa, on June 15.

This past season: Over a three-month period, Pirates general manager Ben Cherington prioritized adding depth to one position in particular throughout the organization.

Between May 1 and July 30, the Pirates acquired eight catchers. They signed veteran Christian Bethancourt and Gustavo Polanco to minor-league deals in May, traded for Davis and Samuel Escudero in June, drafted Henry Davis and Wyatt Hendrie in July and traded for Carter Bins and Abrahan Gutierrez at the deadline.

“We feel really good about the number of quality young catchers we’ve been able to acquire kind of going back to last winter,” Cherington said after the deadline on July 30, “and we feel like that position has really changed quite a bit over the last couple of months.”

Only Davis made it to the majors.

After playing 39 games at Triple-A Indianapolis, where he batted .235 with three doubles, two home runs and 17 RBIs, Davis got the call-up on Sept. 20 when Jacob Stallings was placed on the seven-day concussion injured list after taking a backswing to the facemask.

“With Taylor, he’d done a nice job in Indy calling the game catching and receiving,” Shelton said. “He’s played in the big leagues before, so it’s an opportunity for him to come up here and help us out.”

Davis played in 20 games for the Chicago Cubs between the 2017-19 seasons, and his first career home run was a game-tying grand slam against the St. Louis Cardinals in May 2019.

First career home run ... First career grand slam!

What a moment for Cubs backup catcher Taylor Davis.pic.twitter.com/F9acmKNpSW

— The Sporting News (@sportingnews) May 4, 2019

An extended stay for their Triple-A affiliate in Iowa prompted Davis to earn a title: the unofficial mayor of Des Moines. And he became a social media sensation for his knack for staring into the camera.

The #Pirates made a minor league trade with the Orioles today for Taylor Davis. He needs to be called up to the big leagues immediately. https://t.co/yAcfrWGXBt

— John Perrotto (@JPerrotto) June 15, 2021

Although the Pirates valued him more as a backstop than for his bat, Davis delivered two hits in his debut, a 3-0 shutout against Ranger Suarez and the Philadelphia Phillies on Sept. 25.

“If felt good in my first game as a Pirate, but it would have felt better if we would have won the game,” Davis said. “Obviously, the competition was good, especially against a guy like Ranger Suarez, who is pitching well right now. It was fun to do that but like I said would have been much more appreciated if we could have won the game.”

Davis started again two days later, drawing a walk in one of three plate appearances in a 13-1 loss to the Phillies. The Pirates optioned Davis to Indianapolis on Sept. 28.

The future: Davis, who turns 32 on Nov. 28, finished the season on the 40-man roster and survived Saturday’s cuts. He could, however, be removed from when the Pirates trim it down to protect minor leaguers from the Rule 5 Draft.