Boston Red Sox Report Cards: Ryan Hanigan
By Rick McNair
Now that the 2015 season is in the books, the BoSox Injection staff will hand out their final report cards, grading the performances of each member of the Boston Red Sox roster based on their expectations entering the season.
catcher. . RYAN HANIGAN . B.
2015 stats: 54 games, .247/.337/.328, 2 HR, 16 RBI, 4 PB, CS% 33, CERA 4.58, dWAR 0.3, WAR 0.6.
Contract Status: Signed for 2016 (3.7M) and team option for 2017 (3.7M) with 800K buyout.
A backup catcher is like the fire department – you don’t need them until a fire breaks out and one did when Christian Vazquez went down for the season.
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Ryan Hanigan made his entry onto the Boston roster with the trade of Will Middlebrooks to the San Diego Padres. The 35-year-old veteran right-handed Hanigan has an extensive game portfolio in his nine season of MLB toil with three teams. Hanigan, is noted as an excellent defensive catcher with a questionable bat, was the primary backstop until a broken hand cost him May and June and forced the Red Sox to dip into the minors for Blake Swihart.
Hanigan twice led the NL in CS%, so his arm is quite noteworthy, as is his game calling skills, mentoring and footwork behind the plate. This is exactly what one expects of a vet backup and any hitting is just that extra touch with a career slash of .255/.352/.339. What does set Hanigan apart is his career OBP and that is related to his Walks and strikeout totals. Hanigan actually has more career walks (240) than strikeouts (237). Last season was an exception where Hanigan posted 20 walks to 39 strikeouts. Hanigan does not give away at bats.
Hanigan for 2016
In 2016 Hanigan will assume the role he was hired for being that of a competent reserve catcher who can provide reliable game duty and mentoring skills for either Swihart or Vazquez. Rarely do teams carry three catchers so some questions will be answered this off-season and/or in spring training regarding the log-jam of talented, young and controllable catchers.
The 2015 season demonstrated that Hanigan is a very capable replacement part with his defensive skills and tough at bats. Hanigan is what you get and 2015 was reflective of his entire career. That value should continue in 2016.
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- Red Sox’ Moneyball-style offseason continues with Corey Kluber contract
- Rich Hill’s Red Sox departure puts him within striking distance of unique MLB record
- Red Sox offseason takes another nasty hit with Nathan Eovaldi departure
- Why Red Sox fans should be rooting for Carlos Correa’s Mets deal to go through
- Red Sox exec claims Mookie Betts loss changed management style, but actions say otherwise