With Ryan Hanigan soon coming of the disabled list, the Boston Red Sox are unsure what to do with catcher Christian Vazquez.
Christian Vazquez faces an uncertain future with the Boston Red Sox. The catcher, struggling on offense, might be optioned to Triple-A Pawtucket when injured catcher Ryan Hanigan comes off the disabled list later this week.
Why would Boston demote Vazquez? Their other catcher, Sandy Leon, is hitting .545 and is out of options. If the Sox send Leon back to the minors, he will need to clear waivers and no one expects that to happen.
Vazquez, coming off Tommy John surgery, is everything a pitching staff can ask for from a catcher. He calls games well, blocks pitches from getting too far from home plate and has a natural sense when he needs to calm his pitchers down.
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Where he is struggling with is the bat. With a slash line of .212/.261/.298, he is not a Major League-ready hitter. His Adjusted OPS+ is 48. Vazquez has played in 46 games and has 45 total bases. The Red Sox have shown patience with him, but as the pitching staff allows more runs than Boston can produce, they may need to sacrifice his abilities for a short time for offense.
Hanigan is not the everyday answer. A decent catcher who handled knuckleballer Steven Wright before straining his neck, Hanigan has no pop at the plate. Hitting .186 in 70 at-bats, he has more strikeouts than hits, 16 versus 13. What he does well is call a decent game and play good defense. In essence, a good veteran backup to the young Vazquez.
Enter Mr. Leon.
A backup catcher for the Washington Nationals before the Red Sox purchased his contract last year, Leon has played in 84 big league games in five seasons. Although his resume is short, he has thrown out 45 percent of potential base stealers. Signed out of Venezuela by Washington in 2007, Leon has toiled ten years in the minors to get this shot.
Yet, he is not destined to be the everyday catcher. If Vazquez is optioned, Leon and Hanigan will split the playing time down the middle. What happens when Leon’s bat cools off?
Another possibility is the Red Sox carry all three catchers, but that shortens an already shallow bench. With injuries to Chris Young, Blake Swihart who was their Opening Day catcher, Brock Holt and Josh Rutledge, they are playing the best and the brightest from Pawtucket right now. Don’t forget Pablo Sandoval is done for the year. Boston’s bench has the depth of a half-empty kiddie pool.
As Swihart transitions to being an outfielder, perhaps it is best to let Vazquez get swings on Triple-A pitchers to bolster his confidence. No one will confuse him for Mike Piazza at the plate, but letting Vazquez find a groove and continue to heal maybe what is best for everyone long term.
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What the Sox do to stay in the playoff hunt in the short term will dictate his future, for now.