Red Sox catcher Blake Swihart increasing his value with a strong spring
By Sean Penney
Blake Swihart’s strong spring has increased his value to the Boston Red Sox, potentially earning him more playing time or making him a trade chip.
The Boston Red Sox have a trio of catchers vying for playing time this spring. Based on Grapefruit League results thus far, Blake Swihart is emerging as the top option behind the plate.
Swihart has been raking this spring, going 7-for-20 (.350) with a walk in nine games. There’s still no sign of his home run stroke improving but the three doubles he’s tallied is an encouraging sign and he’s tied for fourth on the team with five RBI.
Compare those numbers to the underwhelming production from his competition. Sandy Leon is hitting .200 with a .683 OPS and Christian Vazquez has been among the team’s worst hitters with a .167 average and .375 OPS. Neither is on this team for their bat and both possess elite defensive skills that Swihart has may never equal. At some point, abysmal offense cancels out their strong defense though, even at a catcher position where the work behind the dish is valued more than what they can do at the plate.
The bats of Leon and Vazquez need to start showing signs of life before Swihart leapfrogs over them on the depth chart. Swihart may force his way into more playing time if he continues to tear it up this spring and could earn the bulk of the catching duties when the season begins.
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The dropoff on the defensive side may be a bit overstated with Swihart making steady improvement. The Red Sox had essentially given up on Swihart a catcher a couple of years ago, moving him around to various positions in an attempt to salvage his career by turning him into a utility player. It never panned out and while he still sees occasional time at other positions to get his bat in the lineup, Swihart is primarily focused on catching again.
According to the Boston Sports Journal’s Sean McAdam, a rival scout noted Swihart’s improvement over the last two years. Even if the Red Sox aren’t sold on Swihart’s ability to be a No. 1 catcher, another team might be willing to bet on the former first-round pick. If his scorching spring isn’t going to earn him more playing time in Boston, at least it helps rebuild his trade value.
It’s no secret that the Red Sox would like to trade one of their catchers. They made it work last year but carrying three catchers is far from ideal. The situation would be easier next year when MLB plans to expand to 26-man rosters but the Red Sox may not be willing to wait for that. Someone has to go. They each hold too much value to simply release yet none of them have quite enough value to bring anything significant back in a trade. That could change if Swihart’s spring production catches the eye of a team looking to upgrade at catcher.
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Maybe it will be the Red Sox whose eyes are opened by Swihart’s performance. This could be the year he finally gets his chance to see steady playing time, with Leon or Vazquez being relegated to a defensive-minded backup role and the other being shipped elsewhere. Either way, Swihart is proving he belongs somewhere.