PITTSBURGH -- Henry Davis had a suspicion that he was getting called up.

Davis hypothesized that something was amiss when he wasn’t in Triple-A Indianapolis’ lineup on Sunday. That inkling manifested when manager Miguel Perez called him into his office right before first pitch at Principal Park in Des Moines, Iowa.

Davis’ theory turned out to be correct.

"We were going over video,” Davis said. “Des Moines has an outfield wall that is similar to PNC Park, and we were going over some of the balls I played off it this past week.

“[Perez] asked me to get him a water from the fridge, and in the fridge, there was a piece of paper that said, 'You're going to The Show.’”

To The Show, Davis went.

On a muggy, overcast and, for half-an-inning, wet June evening at PNC Park, Davis made his Major League debut in the Pirates’ 8-0 loss to the Cubs on Monday night, roping a 106.2 mph double down the left-field line in his first plate appearance and drawing a walk in his third.

“It was great,” Davis said. “I’m glad [my family] was here. I just wish we won.”

• What to expect from Bucs' Henry Davis in the big leagues

It comes as no surprise that Davis, the first overall pick in the 2021 MLB Draft, made his debut less than two years after being drafted. What does come as a mild surprise is the position that he played in his debut: right field.

Davis began the season with Double-A Altoona and Endy Rodríguez, ranked as the Pirates’ No. 2 prospect by MLB Pipeline, began the season with Indianapolis so they could both catch full time. But Davis, the club's No. 3 prospect, has become acclimated with right field over the past couple months.

With Altoona, Davis caught 264 1/3 innings and played 58 innings in right field. With Indianapolis, by contrast, Davis spent more time in right field (48 innings) than behind the plate (38 innings).

With Pittsburgh, at least in the short term, Davis will be more of a right fielder than a catcher.

To make room on the roster for Davis, the Bucs optioned infielder Mark Mathias to Indianapolis and kept catchers Austin Hedges and Jason Delay on the Major League roster.

Davis may receive a sprinkling of time at catcher, but he’ll primarily be a right fielder for now. Hedges and Delay will comprise the lion’s share of innings behind the plate.

“This is really about giving our team, in the short term, the best chance to win games,” Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said. “We think our catching tandem, with Hedges and Delay, are a big part of our overall improvement this year. We want to honor that and keep that intact and also find a way to improve our team.

“We think Henry does that for us by playing a different position. That’s for the short term. We believe that Henry will catch in the big leagues. There’ll be time to get into that.”

Cherington expressed confidence in Davis as a right fielder, noting how the notorious hard worker will “dive headfirst into the deep end of the pool with anything that’s right in front of him.” The GM believes Davis has already improved as a right fielder, and he is growing more comfortable with his reads.

Davis won’t be completely abandoning his shin guard and chest protector. Even as he plays the corner, the team plans for him to continue working off the field to continue his development, as well as attend the team’s catching meetings.

Regardless of Davis’ position on the field, the Pirates are in need of as much offense as possible. With Monday’s loss, the Bucs have dropped seven consecutive games and dipped from first to third in the National League Central.

“The reason we called him up is because we think he can help us win,” manager Derek Shelton said. “We have not played well over the last week. We have not played well offensively over the last week. So, I think he can help us.”

As rough as the past week and change has been, the Pirates are still very much in the mix. Pittsburgh sits three games behind Cincinnati (38-35) for the division lead. With one good week, the Bucs could, in theory, be back at the top.

"We've got an opportunity in 2023 in our division, and we've got to give ourselves the best chance to take advantage of our opportunity," Cherington said.

Going forward, the Pirates’ best chance to take advantage of the opportunity likely involves Davis donning the black and gold -- regardless of what position he plays.