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Boston Red Sox: Four potential catching upgrades

By Josh Ejnes

BOSTON, MA - JULY 29: Sandy Leon #3 of the Boston Red Sox looks on during the game against the Minnesota Twins at Fenway Park on Sunday July 29, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Rob Tringali/SportsChrome/Getty Images)"n
BOSTON, MA - JULY 29: Sandy Leon #3 of the Boston Red Sox looks on during the game against the Minnesota Twins at Fenway Park on Sunday July 29, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Rob Tringali/SportsChrome/Getty Images)"n /
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New York Mets
New York Mets /

Travis d’Arnaud

Travis d’Arnaud is no J.T. Realmuto, but he’d still be an upgrade for the Sox.

d’Arnaud was sidelined with injuries for most of 2018, so to get a handle on what he has to offer one must look at his 2017 numbers.

In that year d’Arnaud slashed .244/.293/.443 with 16 HR in 376 plate appearances. This isn’t stellar, but it’s better than the numbers put up by Leon, Vazquez or Swihart.

Defensively d’Arnaud is about on par with Realmuto, if not a bit better, though neither are elite.

If defense at the position is something the Red Sox are really concerned about they can platoon whatever new catcher they get with Sandy Leon, who ranks near the top of the league by most defensive catching metrics.

Early on in the offseason, it seemed like the Mets were pretty eager to trade d’Arnaud but things have cooled off a bit since then. Still, they could likely be convinced to move him and he wouldn’t demand a huge return, as the addition of Wilson Ramos to the team means they can be more flexible with him.

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