Red Sox: Time to flip-flop catchers Sandy Leon, Christian Vazquez
The Boston Red Sox need an offensive upgrade and one roster option is to simply provide more playing time for Christian Vazquez.
The Boston Red Sox offense is stagnant as steamy heavy air in a jungle valley as the team languishes in the depths of offensive malaise in the early going.
Chris Sale apparently has taken on the role of being the pitcher designated for the least amount of run support. Quite naturally that opens up the area for folks like myself who assume the role of Mr. Fix It.
The one area that certainly could offer up a slight change is catcher. Sandy Leon is returning to the Mendoza Line and Christian Vazquez is hitting far above what anyone would anticipate. Neither show any long-term promise for moving up in the lineup anytime soon. This brings into play the ubiquitous term “Hot Hand.” Simply stated, you flip-flop Vazquez and Leon.
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Neither currently has to look south to Pawtucket for an adventurous prospect encroaching on their domain as Blake Swihart has morphed into teammate Deven Marrero with the bat. Cruising through the potentials on the transaction wire, simply nothing exists that can provide a sudden offensive jolt. Usually, that wooden bat is often accompanied by an iron glove. What you get on offense is delivered back on defense.
The foremost issue is defense. If Boston was hitting there would be no need for concern as defensive pluses would outweigh offensive minuses. As defensive stalwarts, both Leon and Vazquez provide is a similar skill set. So far in the early going Vazquez has a slight edge in defense and in 2016 it was reversed. In pitch framing both are acceptable, but that category is questionable and subject to rapid shifts.
Both Vazquez and Leon have excellent arms capable of being a deterrent to base thievery. Both have the confidence – at least for public consumption – of their pitchers. The symbiotic relationship apparently is solid.
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The hitting is simply needed and Vazquez needs to play more often. Leon has more of a history regarding his hitting and we all have that story memorized. The feel good promise of 2016 has certainly seen a return to what the 28-year-old has always been – good field and no hit.
Vazquez may never have a hot streak like Leon put together in 2016, but he has certainly attempted to do so in the early going. The at-bats seem solid with a minimum of swinging away with the questionable hope of connecting as was noted in the past. Vazquez may never reach double digits in home runs, but does have a nice complement of gap power. As the season unfurls the first tweak should be a more balanced rotation in catching with the bulk of the duty resting on Vazquez.
The real issue is Swihart and why he has suddenly found his bat to be made of lead. In spring training there was a discussion that Swihart should be on the roster – I thought he had earned it, but with an option available that problem was solved. If suddenly Swihart finds his stroke the Red Sox may be forced to sacrifice defense at catching. To me, that is a drastic move, but circumstances may dictate it.
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The issue can also be resolved by the offense suddenly no longer hitting the snooze alarm and doing what was expected.