Boston Red Sox catching is not exactly a run-producing machine. Is there a possibility of a free agent or a trade for J.T. Realmuto?
The Boston Red Sox catching combine has been mentioned as possible trade fodder in the offseason and under “old news” this is certainly not a sudden revelation. The Red Sox, and most notably Dave Dombrowski, are always in the market for improvement and that quite naturally means catching with the accompanying good and bad news.
The good news is obvious to any Red Sox fan who has not been in stasis the last eight months and that means that flag and accompanying banners proclaiming another World Series is in the books. Somehow the Red Sox managed 108 wins and a march through the playoffs with Sandy Leon, Blake Swihart, and Christian Vazquez.
Now for some bad news.
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Invariably it is all about the numbers and that means a plethora of bad news in the offensive department. The Red Sox were last in the American League at the catcher position with a -2.1 fWAR, but that is just the beginning of a trail of offensive negatives. Last in batting average (.202), OBP (.254), Slugging (.293), wRC+ (44), and wOBA (.243). But, hey, they led all AL catchers in steals (11). Now the good news.
Baseball also has defense and that is where the Red Sox catchers make their survival known with the very catching basics – good arms, ball handling, game calling, and glove work. The offense can carry the dead weight of catching and even use the very skillful playoff management style of having a bat ready in key moments. A big group hug to manager Alex Cora.
The Red Sox catchers made just four errors for a second place finish in the AL. The good footwork and blocking came into play with a league-low wild pitch count (51). They finished second with 27 Defensive Runs Saved and going into deep catching metrics a 4 rCERA. One negative is 25 passed balls to lead the AL. All season long, pitchers – normally a group not prone to compliments – reiterated their love of the catching staff.
And then comes replacements.
A personal favorite of mine has long been Kurt Suzuki who just signed a two-year and $10 MM deal with the Nationals. Suzuki can hit and defend and has a nice .319 career average at Fenway Park. The 35-year-old right-hander is now off the board as is Jeff Mathis and Brian McCann. The last I looked, high-profile options Wilson Ramos and Yasmani Grandal were still on the magnificent free-agent board. Maybe a trade for J.T. Realmuto?
So what do you do? What do you have?
Just who is Vazquez? Is he the quality hitter that whacked .290 in 2017 and earned a nice deal through 2022? Or is he the catcher that reverted to his previous history and hit just .207 for 2018? And Leon? Leon hit .242 in the first half and with his defense that is just perfecto, but then came .095 in the second half. Even pitchers present more of a threat.
Swihart hit just .203 as a catcher and .229 for the season. That certainly does not portend well for his future as the now 26-year-old switch-hitter may be either a prized player or tossed elsewhere. I lean towards the latter. And of the three notables, Swihart is the least promising defensively, but by far the more versatile and adaptable to playing multiple positions.
From my perspective, I would be tempted to hold steady and see what spring training and the early season brings, but based on the history of Dombrowski I would expect a big move and the logical one is Realmuto.
Realmuto can hit, as in .277 with 21 home runs from the 27-year-old right-hander. Realmuto also had a National League-best 4.8 fWAR among catchers and was ranked third defensively. For his career, Realmuto has nabbed base runners at a 33% clip – well above 28% league average. Realmuto also can play first base and with Mitch Moreland and Steve Pearce on one-year deals that could be in play in 2020.
Realmuto will be costly in players and naturally the team comfortable contract of Vazquez makes his departure in any deal a given. The Red Sox prospect closet is a bit thin, but there is talent available that could entice the Marlins to part with Realmuto.
This would be the bold move and for the more passive and faint of heart, such as myself, it would not be a surprising move. Dombrowski is aware of team weakness and one area that shouts is the offense at catcher. The Red Sox have also expressed a willingness to ignore that pesky luxury tax and take on payroll and Realmuto is in arbitration – meaning big bucks. Maybe the free agent option? Put that 2.5% ticket price to good use.