Christian Vázquez’s free agency could lead to him replacing legendary MLB catcher
Christian Vázquez is a free agent after a whirlwind season.
In the last three months, he got traded by Boston Red Sox to the Houston Astros during a series in Texas. His new team made the postseason, and he became the second catcher in World Series history to be behind the dish for a no-hitter. Days later, his new team won the World Series, their second championship in franchise history and the second ring of his impressive career.
Now, he might get the chance to step up in a big way for another team. According to Alex Speier of the Boston Globe, the St. Louis Cardinals could sign the veteran catcher to replace their own legendary backstop, Yadier Molina.
Talk about big shoes to fill.
Will the St. Louis Cardinals sign Christian Vázquez to replace Yadier Molina?
Molina is considered one of the best defensive catchers of all time. He retired at the end of the 2022 season after a 19-year career that is sure to land him in the Hall of Fame in the coming years. Over 2,224 regular-season games, he slashed .277/.327/.399 with 2,168 hits. The formidable catcher was a 10-time All-Star and won nine Gold Gloves, four Platinum Gloves, six Fielding Bible awards, a Silver Slugger, and two World Series championships, all with the Cardinals. No other battery in MLB history made more starts together than he and Adam Wainwright. Molina also helped his team to two National League pennants after which they fell to the Sox, in 2004 – his rookie season – and 2013.
Considered one of the best defensive catchers of all time, Molina retired with 15,122 putouts, the most by any backstop in MLB history. Among catchers all-time, he’s 20th in double plays turned and 37th in assists. Out of over 20,000 MLB players, his career games played rank 138th all-time, but his 2,184 defensive games rank fourth among catchers.
Vázquez isn’t nearly as decorated, but he’s quite a solid all-around option for the Cardinals. He’s a lifetime .261/.310/.386 hitter over 733 career regular-season games, and averages 28 doubles and 12 home runs per 162 games. However, those numbers are somewhat misleading, as Vázquez didn’t exceed 80 games in three of his first four big-league seasons. Since his breakout year in 2019, he’s hit .271/.318/.416 and averaged 30 doubles and 17 home runs per 162. Among active catchers, Vázquez ranks 13th in defensive games, putouts, and double plays turned, 14th in assists, 10th in Total Zone Runs, and seventh in caught-stealing rate.
Speier speculates that the former Sox catcher hopes to sign quickly so that he can acclimate to a new organization before he represents Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic next spring. Vázquez is projected to command a contract in the three-year, $33M range, and he’ll have several interested teams; good catching is hard to come by, and in this year’s free-agent market, he’s only outranked by longtime Chicago Cubs catcher, Willson Contreras. But given the obvious recency bias of a fresh World Series championship, Vázquez’s stock is higher than ever.
