Jul 8, 2015; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Red Sox catcher Ryan Hanigan (10) reacts after Miami Marlins second baseman Dee Gordon (not pictured) steals second base during the third inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Mark L. Baer-USA TODAY Sports
Catcher
Red Sox – Ryan Hanigan
.246/.355/.314 1 HR 9 RBI
Former Red Sox – Jarrod Saltalamacchia
.216/.320/.375 3 HR 10 RBI
Being a catcher on a championship team certainly earns you bonus points. Being benched during a World Series certainly vaporizes those bonus points.
Salty slashed .243/.307/.455 and hit 55 home runs with 181 RBI in his four Boston seasons. Salty was another player who Boston had Barney Google Eyes for and eventually he landed in Boston. The WS performance and the fact that Salty would be deemed a valuable free agent sealed his Boston tenure.
The Boston option for 2014 was A.J. Pierzynski, often on the most hated in baseball list, and that failed miserably.
Hanigan was supposed to be a back-up to Christian Vasquez and that fell apart when Vasquez fell apart with arm surgery so up stepped Hanigan.
Defense in catching is at a premium and Hanigan provides that with his game calling ability and providing second thoughts on base stealers. With Blake Swihart is the mix this is a solid upgrade for Boston.
EDGE – Hanigan