Entering 2019, the Pirates seemingly had a solid long-term plan at catcher. Francisco Cervelli and Elias Diaz would once again split starts, reuniting arguably the game's best catching tandem in 2018. After that, Cervelli would likely sign elsewhere as a free agent and Diaz -- who showed unprecedented offensive potential in 2018 -- would be the man.
As we near August, and the Pirates languish closer to last place in the NL Central standings and fall further away in the wild card chase, that plan looks shot. For Cervelli, it's been recurring concussions — both player and team are concerned more for his long-term quality of life than his short-term career prospects. As for Diaz, he has devolved from a rare power-hitting threat behind the plate to a guy who has had difficulty getting the ball out of the infield. What's behind Diaz's 2019 power outage? Let's take a look.
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