Arizona Diamondbacks Interested in Young Red Sox Catchers

The Arizona Diamondbacks are still hoping to add another catcher, and they are reportedly looking toward their new GM’s former club for options.

The Arizona Diamondbacks may not appear to have a glaring need at the catcher position on paper, but general manager Mike Hazen suggests he is not yet done behind the plate. According to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic, the freshman GM said, “We probably still have some more work to do in that area.”

As Piecoro points out, the D-Backs have already added a pair of catchers this month in Jeff Mathis and Juan Graterol. The club needed to address the backstop role in some fashion after non-tendering Welington Castillo, who went on to sign with the Baltimore Orioles.

Mathis is a 12-year veteran, but Arizona could certainly do better if they are so inclined. Might they complete an effective swap of starting catchers with the O’s by aiming for Matt Wieters? “Matt’s a really good player and a good leader,” Hazen commented. “We’ve kept up on everybody on the catching market.” Piecoro concedes, however, that the GM seemed to downplay his chances of making a big splash with the former All-Star. But the longer Wieters goes unsigned, the likelier it seems that he could go somewhere unexpected at a relative bargain.

Another place the D-Backs are reportedly looking is Hazen’s previous organization. The Boston Red Sox have several intriguing young catchers, and they might perhaps be willing to move one in the right deal. Piecoro says that Arizona has specifically zeroed in on Christian Vazquez and Blake Swihart, though he is quick to point out that a trade is viewed as “unlikely.”

Other reports have confirmed that Hazen’s former boss Dave Dombrowski is not eager to part with anyone from his stable of backstops, and it’s hard to blame him for being cautious when young talent is involved. 27-year-old Sandy Leon enjoyed a breakout season this year, slashing .310/.369/.476 in 78 games. Keeping Swihart and Vazquez around would serve as insurance in case Leon takes a step back in 2017.

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Although neither Vazquez nor Swihart has done a whole lot at the major league level yet, it’s not difficult to see why the Diamondbacks would be interested in the pair of backstops. They are 26 and 24 years old, respectively, and Swihart has been a fixture on top prospect rankings in recent years. He placed as high as #17 overall by Baseball America prior to the 2015 season. Despite their seeming wealth at the position, the Red Sox aren’t going to trade him for cents on the dollar.

For a franchise in transition like the D-Backs, committing a multi-year contract to someone like Wieters doesn’t make much sense. On the other hand, a young player with years of team control gels with what Hazen is presumably trying to build in Arizona. Graterol will be 28 in February and is way off from free agency, but he hasn’t shown much at the minor or major league levels to suggest he can be a starting catcher.

The D-Backs also have 29-year-old Chris Herrmann, who posted a .284/.352/.493 slash line over 56 games this year, but he has never appeared in more than 57 contests in a big league season, leaving questions as to whether he can shoulder the load of full-time catching duties. He also missed significant time in 2016 with a broken hand.

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Arizona can probably get by next year with the catchers they have, especially in a rebuilding season. But it shows Hazen’s ability to look at the big picture that he is still searching for a longer-term answer at the position. He likely won’t pry one of his former charges from the Red Sox unless he sweetens the pot significantly, but this could be a situation to monitor as Spring Training nears.

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