Pirates add Grant Koch to MLB taxi squad, leave Henry Davis to continue refining swing at Triple-A

When catcher Yasmani Grandal experienced left groin discomfort Wednesday night vs. the San Francisco Giants, leading to his removal from the game before the top of the 10th inning, the Pittsburgh Pirates suddenly became thin behind the plate.

Joey Bart took over catching duties for extra innings, which turned out to be brief, as Nick Gonzales won the game for the Pirates on the first pitch he saw in the bottom of the 10th, handing his club a 7-6 walk-off win.

Manager Derek Shelton did not have much information on Grandal postgame, nor were details available during his daily meeting with reporters a few hours ahead of first pitch Wednesday.

But the uncertainty surrounding Grandal led the Pirates to add Grant Koch to the MLB taxi squad.

Koch, 27, joined the Pirates from Triple-A Indianapolis and while not on the 40-man roster, would be in line to make his MLB debut.

As Koch made the drive to Pittsburgh along Interstate 70, and as he continues to get settled in with the Pirates, he’s still processing the promotion to the big leagues.

“You start thinking about all the people that have ever helped you and all the people who have made an impact in your life, all your coaches and teammates and experiences you’ve had in the game,” Koch said. “I still don’t think it’s fully hit me in any way.”

Koch, selected by the Pirates in the fifth round (No. 144 overall) of the 2018 MLB Draft out of Arkansas, is a minor-league player probably unfamiliar to casual fans.

And given he was recently splitting catching duties in Indianapolis with former No. 1 overall pick Henry Davis, who was demoted to Triple-A on May 3, many will wonder why Davis wasn’t the one brought to Pittsburgh in this circumstance.

Shelton explained Wednesday that the Pirates don’t want to disrupt Davis’ current stint with the Indians, during which he’s been tasked with refining his approach at the plate.

“There’s still time to go. He has (43) at-bats, and what we’re seeing we’re really excited about, but we need him to keep going,” Shelton said. “That’s an important part. … He’s an important part to what we’re doing, so we need to get him on track.”

Davis has appeared to make some progress offensively at Triple-A, batting .279 through 12 games, with four homers, three doubles and 11 RBIs.

He has a .456 on-base percentage, compared to .280 over 23 games with the Pirates before he was optioned.

Furthermore, Koch has familiarity with several of the Pirates’ young pitchers, whom he caught at one point or another in the minor leagues.

While Koch hasn’t showcased much of a bat whilst traversing the club’s farm system — a career .203/.284/.322 slash line through 313 minor-league games — his history with pitchers such as Jared Jones, Paul Skenes and Carmen Mlodzinski gives Shelton confidence that he can step in if needed.

“Luckily I know a decent amount of guys here and I have caught them, but for new guys, I just try to be as authentic as possible,” Koch said. “Have normal conversations on the field and be out there with them throwing, just playing catch or throwing side (sessions) to see what they like to do or don’t.

“I just try to make it as real as possible. My job is just to get on their page, not necessarily enforce anything I want on them. See what they like to do and adjust to them.”

Koch caught Skenes six times at Triple-A.

With Skenes pitching for the Pirates at 12:35 p.m. Thursday, Koch could be an option behind the plate.

“Not saying it would happen, but it being a day game, he’s caught Skenes (six) times, so that’s helpful that you have someone that’s been able to do that,” Shelton said. “The fact that he’s caught everybody else in our system is a bonus.”