Down: Christian Vazquez
The defensive stalwart at catcher finally rounded out his game in 2017, and it looked as though Boston had finally found the heir to Jason Varitek. Always known for his glove and stellar throwing arm, Christian Vazquez returned in 2017 from Tommy John surgery and hit .290 with a .734 OPS. He had firmly established himself as the team’s primary backstop. Then, the calendar turned.
The 2018 season has not held many positives for the young catcher. He’s currently batting just .185. He’s tallied four RBI and 15 hits in 85 at-bats. Compounding the situation has been his normally-reliable glove, now suddenly leaky. Vazquez has been charged with three errors already, after committing just eight across the 2017 season.
Next: The Red Sox and Yankees early results: How do they match-up?
Of all the Red Sox currently under-performing, the team most needs Vazquez to regain his form. Without him, catcher is a black hole for the team, both on offense and defense. The ability is there; he just needs to tap back into it.