By: Harold Klapper
The catchers for the Boston Red Sox have been a hot topic for recent seasons. Last year they won the World Series with three different catchers on the roster, something almost unheard of. But, the three catchers they had, Sandy Leon, Christian Vasquez, and Blake Swihart, were among the worst offensive players in the league. However, the Red Sox avoided this hole in their lineup and managed to win a title. This year, they started off by moving Sandy Leon to triple A while keeping catchers Christian Vasquez and Blake Swihart. Recently, they called up Sandy Leon from the minor leagues and traded away the young Blake Swihart to the Arizona Diamondbacks for OF Marcus Wilson along with international bonus pool money. In this article, I’ll explain why I think the Red Sox’s front office made a terrible decision to trade Swihart and why I think the Red Sox botched their catcher situation for 2019 and possibly seasons to come.
In 2018 the Red Sox had some of the worst offensive production from catchers in recent memory. Sandy Leon played 89 games and batted .177 with a SLG percentage of .279 and only 5 home runs. Christian Vasquez didn’t perform that much better with an average of .207, a SLG percentage of .283 along with a meager 3 home runs in 80 games. Compared to all catcher situation in the MLB for the 2018 season, the Red Sox easily had the worst offensive production. The lack of results from the position was masked by a large number of other batters who could pick up the slack and the great defensive play that these catchers brought to the game. However, we shouldn’t allow the deflection of criticism because Sandy Leon and Christian Vasquez simply couldn’t swing the bat in 2018. The Red Sox managed to hide these flaws behind a deep lineup and quality starting pitching but this type of production won’t work for the future.
Christian Vasquez and Blake Swihart started off the 2019 season for the Red Sox in the catcher position as the Red Sox moved Sandy Leon to the minor leagues. Many thought this was a smart move with Swihart improving daily and Christian Vasquez being outstanding defensively. But, the Red Sox seemed to be using Blake Swihart as a scapegoat for their early flaws. After the first few weeks of the season, people started to look for explanations as to why the starting pitching had been awful. Up to the point of the Swihart trade, the Red Sox had one of the worst starting rotations in the MLB. To explain this, Blake Swihart was used as a scapegoat. Through a series of comments from manager Alex Cora and others close to the team, it was clear that many thought Swihart was a large factor in the starting pitching flaws. This assumption is completely out of line and is an excuse used to cover up the imperfections of pitchers such as Chris Sale. Elite pitchers such as Sale, who have played with terrible catchers on the White Sox, shouldn’t be given the excuse of a bad catcher if they have an ERA of 7.43. Using Blake Swihart as a scapegoat for bad pitching is something the Red Sox should have never done too.
Going along with their Swihart excuse, the Red Sox designated him for assignment then traded him to the Arizona Diamondbacks for a minor league outfielder and international cash. This will turn out to be a huge mistake. Swihart has a huge upside and his development has been completely ruined by the Red Sox. Until his brief 2019 season with the Sox, he was never fully given a chance as the starting pitchers weren’t performing well and the Red Sox decided to blame their catching prospect. Swihart, who batted better than Leon and Vasquez in 2018 never got the chance he deserved in Boston, and the Red Sox might regret it. Trading a first round pick to try and fix a pitching problem might help short term, butt it isn’t worth it in the long run because neither Leon or Vasquez have as high of a ceiling as Swihart.
The Red Sox traded Blake Swihart as an excuse for their horrible pitching to start off the 2019 season and this might come back to hurt them in the future and quite possibly this year. Swihart is better offensively than both Leon and Vasquez, and with time can become a great defender as well. But, his development has been hindered since 2015 and the Red Sox won’t get the chance to see his full potential. For Red Sox fans the only thing to do is hope that the pitching gets better and that Leon and Vasquez can turn into mediocre players, instead of representing a hole in their lineup.
If they want to make another deep playoff run, the Red Sox will either have to shake off the sand from their catchers or go out and acquire a new one.
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