The current guess would have Ballesteros possibly being used sparingly as an emergency third catcher, or maybe once every other week when the circumstances fit just right. That said, no one will argue that there isn't hope that someday Ballesteros can be successful part-time behind the plate.
Longtime major league catcher Jacob Stallings has taken on a new role in the Pirates' baseball operations department, Stallings tells Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Specifics surrounding his job are still being ironed out, but for now the plan will be for Stallings to be in Pittsburgh around once a month to consult with the front office and spend time visiting minor league affiliates throughout the year to work on the development of the organization's young catchers.
With that said, there has been some belief that incumbent backstop Keibert Ruiz might be able to bounce back due to coaching changes that have been made this offseason. It's clear that the Nationals aren't counting on Ruiz reaching the potential the Nationals thought he had when they acquired him from the Dodgers in 2021, but it wouldn't be shocking if we haven't seen the best of him yet.
The Nats don't have a lot of good pitchers. Gore yes. Brad Lord probably and... uhhh Cavalli likely, Beeter looks good... uhhh Henry? Anyway Ferrer was a young lefty (and MAN they do NOT have a lot of lefties) with good fancy stats that I also liked. But they sent him away to Seattle for a catcher, Harry Ford. So first what does this signal? Rebuild... probably
They told me to get to know the guys here, get to know how everything works, just be around the guys and get used to it, Rodriguez said. Rodriguez, 23, didn't spend a ton of time catching in the Yankees' system due to New York's abundance of catching prospects, catching only 172 games over six seasons in the minors. Along with catching, Rodriguez has played first base, second base, third base and left field to get his bat in the lineup.