Rafael

Flores Jr.

Flores went 2-for-3 with his first career home run during a brief stint with the Pirates while starting backstop Henry Davis was away from the club on paternity leave.

The 25-year-old backstop walloped a 1-1 slider from Justin Wrobleski for a mammoth 440-foot (108.7-mph EV) solo shot that got the Pirates on the board in the fifth inning. He also added a run-scoring double in the eighth that pulled the Bucs to within two at 8-6. Flores finished the evening 2-for-3 plus a walk. Not a bad night’s work for his first big league contest of the season.

Rafael Flores Jr. took over behind the plate after Rodríguez went 0-for-3 before departing. The timing is a bit complicated for the Pirates with Henry Davis away on paternity leave for the next couple days. It’s possible the club will have to promote someone from Triple-A Indianapolis on an emergency basis if Rodríguez is unavailable for Thursday’s series finale.

Flores receives the call to back up Endy Rodríguez while starting catcher Henry Davis is away from the club on paternity leave. The 25-year-old went 3-for-15 in seven games with the Pirates last year during his first stint in the big leagues.

On the pitching side, Devenski had a shot at making the team’s Opening Day bullpen, but struggled to a 6.75 ERA and 1.69 WHIP over 5 1/3 innings during Grapefruit League play. Williams had a solid spring offensively, hitting .258 (8-for-31) with a homer and seven RBI, but that wasn’t enough to secure a spot on the Pirates’ Opening Day bench.

Top prospect Rafael Flores will handle the catching duties on Tuesday night in Cincinnati with Bart getting some extra time off to rest and recover.

Adding an extra catcher at this point suggests that maybe Joey Bart or Henry Davis is dealing with a minor injury, but there’s been nothing yet to indicate that’s the case. The Pirates might just want to take a brief look at Flores, who needed to be added to the 40-man this winter anyway. The 24-year-old, who was acquired from the Yankees for David Bednar, hit .281/.363/.459 with six homers in 36 games for Indianapolis. He’s probably not good enough defensively to become a starting catcher, but the Pirates don’t have much to lose by giving him a look.

Flores is having another strong season at the dish, slashing .279/.351/.475 with 16 long balls, 60 RBI and six stolen bases in 419 plate appearances between Double-A Somerset and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. He’ll likely report to Triple-A Indianapolis and could see a cup of coffee with the Pirates before the 2025 season comes to a close.

As is often the case this early in camp, there’s no real surprises among this batch of cuts. Rodriguez, 22, was added to the team’s 40-man roster over the winter to protect him from the Rule-5 draft after he slashed .302/.375/.481 with 10 homers, 47 RBI and nine stolen bases over 333 plate appearances between High-A Hudson Valley and Double-A Somerset in 2024. He’ll open the 2025 season at the Double-A level.