Jun 28, 2015; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Boston Red Sox relief pitcher Koji Uehara (19) and Boston Red Sox catcher Blake Swihart (23) celebrate after they defeat the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Boston Red Sox defeated the Tampa Bay Rays 5-3. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Prediction: Blake Swihart becomes starting catcher.
Sandy Leon would be considered an acceptable hitter if he was in the National League and a pitcher. He is neither. Leon was dumped by Washington and hired on by Boston, based on his defensive skills and especially a 48% career caught stealing percentage. Leon’s claim to a roster spot is further enhanced by his symbiotic relationship with Clay Buchholz.
Ryan Hanigan is a desirable catcher who has his MLB niche clearly described in his statistical résumé – backup catcher. Translation is simple: Good enough to play a few games a week and not kill you. Unfortunately the loss of Christian Vasquez placed Hanigan into the numero uno catching mode until injury intervened.
Swihart did the job offensively in Boston slashing .241/.279/.323, but – as Paul Harvey would say: “Now for the rest of the story.” In his last 15 games, before sustaining an “injury,” Swihart slashed .298/.353/.383. That shows adjustment.
So the 23-year-old switch hitter deserves to have his future now. A future that could have been with a dozen other teams who salivated at the prospect of acquiring this talented player via a coma induced trade with the Red Sox. The Red Sox have, thankfully, repeatedly spurred offers.
The difficult decision is just not that difficult since the Nationals already did in the beginning on the season – just DFA Leon and go with Swihart.