Boston Red Sox refused to bring back one of their own
The catcher spot is a black hole for the Boston Red Sox at this point.
Right now, the Red Sox have two catchers on their 40 man roster. Reese McGuire is the presumed starter at the position with Conner Wong as his backup. The free agent market is just about barren as Gary Sanchez is the top catcher available. The Blue Jays are expected to trade a catcher, but it is highly unlikely that they would want to deal with the Red Sox. It is not a position that the Red Sox would want to be in.
Boston Red Sox could have brought Christian Vazquez back
It is also a position that the Red Sox did not need to be in. Christian Vazquez wanted to return to Boston, with Alex Speier of the Boston Globe reporting that he reached out to the Red Sox front office before signing in Minnesota. However, the Red Sox were not interested in a reunion as Vazquez signed a three year, $30 million deal with the Twins.
While he never replicated that power surge from 2019, Vazquez has been a solid bat at the catcher position. He has a lifetime .261/.310/.386 batting line with 55 homers and 127 doubles in his 2633 plate appearances, a performance that is fairly close to average for a catcher. Add in his excellent defense and ability to shut down a running game, and it is understandable why he was in such high demand.
Vazquez also had an advantage when it came to the Red Sox. He is intimately familiar with their pitching staff, even looking out for their young arms after he was traded to the Astros. That type of presence, and his leadership in the locker room, are exactly what the Red Sox needed.
Instead, the Red Sox decided to look elsewhere. Perhaps they were unwilling to meet that price, although it is possible that Vazquez would have returned for less money. Whatever the reason, this will be another point in time where Chaim Bloom and the Red Sox refused to bring back a popular figure in the clubhouse, finding some reason to justify their actions.
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The Boston Red Sox catcher spot is a disaster. That did not need to be the case as Christian Vazquez reportedly wanted to return.