The Red Sox are currently in “active” trade talks with other clubs regarding a potential Sandy Leon swap, Buster Olney and Marly Rivera of ESPN report (via Twitter).
As has long been anticipated, something will have to give with regard to Boston’s catching situation between now and Opening Day. The Sox are carrying three catchers at the moment in Leon, Christian Vazquez and Blake Swihart.
While the Boston organization managed to hang onto those three players for the entirety of the 2018 season, doing so more or less meant punting a roster spot. Swihart was so seldom used early on that he tallied all of 48 plate appearances through the season’s first two months.
A repeat of that approach has never seemed desirable. The precise resolution, though, remains unclear. Vazquez is projected to be the starter in Boston, and both Leon and Swihart are out of minor league options, making a trade or even just a straight release of Leon both plausible outcomes.
Leon, 30, struggled through an awful season at the plate in 2018, hitting just .177/.232/.279 through 288 PAs. His bat has continually declined since what now looks like a clear outlier campaign in 2016, but he’s regarded as a terrific defender in terms of limiting the running game, framing pitches, and managing a staff.
Leon agreed to a $2.475MM salary to avoid arbitration this winter. That may represent a palatable sum for a trade partner seeking a defensive-minded backup catcher, though it’s just barely shy of the deal Martin Maldonado signed few weeks back. Maldonado is also highly regarded behind the dish and is also a more accomplished (albeit still well-below-average) hitter.
Arbitration salaries aren’t fully guaranteed until Opening Day, though, so if the Sox were to move on, they’d only be on the hook for 45 days’ termination pay — a total of about $599K. To be clear, there’s no indication that the Sox have given serious thought to cutting Leon loose, but if they’re indeed planning on carrying just two catchers this winter (Vazquez and Swihart), that possibility would need to be considered if the trade route doesn’t bear fruit.
Got to be at least an MLB top 100 and an org top 30, right?
Trolls out early.
Umm…. not
All this yapping about Leon’s value. Atvthevend of the year, let’s see how the pitching staff fairs. His undeniable but unmentioned (in the article) strength has been the staff’s confidence pitching too him. Personally, my question is why get rid of a winning combination? This is the real negative of having an unknown at second (Pedroia’s health) and carrying a strict platoon at first. The combo is why they won’t again carry three catchers. Teams should teach how to pitch so they could carry a staff of 11 and play real baseball.
Considering the importance of a catcher, why would a successful organization risk undermining the confidence of its pitchers — not all of whom are named Sale — dealing away a player who produces positive results?
What is the obsession with Swihart? If he is not ready to be a regular or serious contributor, why hold onto him? The roster limit is still 25 players.
I couldn’t agree more.
I would assume that the decision to keep swihart means they do think he is ready to be a regular/serious contributor.
Don’t give me some total of at bats in the last few years – those were scattered and inconsistent while he was injured.
I remember the same discussions when JBJ was mis-used and was batting around .100 bease he was being pinch hit/defensive replacement in only scattered games.
JBJ’s glove always deserved playing time. Swihart’s bat was supposedly his strong asset. My question is why change what has worked? The fact that the team utilized Swihart so little last year has me concerned.
I can’t wait to see the return for Leon.
5 Tool Player
1 tool commentor
Tool
Why do people name call? It’s so “childish”. Whoops! Nevermind
“Hello Jerry Dipoto?! Please send one bag of balls please!”
Good Call. Cant hold a .177 hitter, no matter how good his defensive ability.
Curious to see how Swihart does defensively (pitch calling, holding runners, etc).. I believe he’ll hit, when give the at-bats, but how he handles a game behind the plate remains to be seen.
You can’t just label Leon a “.177 hitter”. Or did we change the way we look at baseball players to only look at their prior season and I missed the memo?
The past three years, Leon has a slash line of .236/.296/.368, pretty darn lousy among all hitters but not “can’t hold” given the state of catching bats in MLB. As a glove-first catcher, you can play Leon up to 60% of the time and get away with it, if you otherwise would be stuck with much worse. For the record, he is at .250 with the BA and holds a .382 OBP this spring, suggesting that something like his overall line the last three years is more likely than his 2018 line.
As for Swihart, he did perfectly fine defensively in his only extended time in the majors at catcher back in 2015. The front office fell in love with Vazquez and needed to justify sending Swihart down early in 2016, so it invented defensive “issues” for that purpose. He’s no major plus with the glove, but he isn’t a minus when allowed to ply the trade with decent playing time.
I certainly don’t weight the last three years equally. Especially when it conveniently includes a 2016 slash line of .310/.369/.426. Which was DEFINITELY an aberration.
How about I conveniently take that one year aberration out and his career BA is .197. Much closer to the player you’ll get in his age 30 season, than the cherry picked “3 year” equally weighted cutoff point, that you chose.
Exactly what I was thinking and what I expect and GM with a brain is thinking as well.
Which is the difference between real GMs and armchair GMs.
Agree man….found it laughingly profound making excuses for his lack of bat skills..especially considering that in his best year of 2016, he played in a total of 78 games!
Dude you are spot on Denny. Not to mention the clown above is quoting his spring training stats? Really dude? He hit .250 over 33 at bats so that validates something? Go quote green birds spring training stats
A real GM looks at a father’s defense and not just his video game at bat stats. The Yankees have so much offense while of course Sanchez’s bat sucked last year but it was his glove and lack of defense that crippled the pitching staff.
*catcher’s
Considering Maldonado was signed for the same thing and is probably better than Leon, he has almost zero trade value. Kind of weird but that’s how things are.
Red Sox won’t expect anything back, except savings from his salary.
He was kept for the spring to see which two of the three were worth keeping, and as insurance for injury. He lost.
They’d take slow level minor league pitcher who’s a flyer type. Or cut him loose for only $500K
Right, I don’t even see them getting much salary relief though. I’m sure they’ll just cut his loose
He only makes 2.475 Million, So the salary relief is Small. It’s just they don’t wanna carry 3 catchers like last season. It’s like using with 24 & 1/2 players on a 25 man roster. Swihart was in purgatory until June
He only makes 2.475 Million, so the salary relief is little. They just don’t wanna carry 3 Catchers again like last season. It’s like using 24 & 1/2 players on a 25 man roster. Swihart was in purgatory until June 2018
Right. Last year at this time they weren’t carrying Pedie.
Maldonado is not better than Leon. While he has a great arm, I haven’t heard pitchers praise him the way Sale and others have complimented Leon. I do agree the return will be minimal if at all. They could have moved a catcher earlier but kept them all as insurance.
Just don’t trade him to the yankees as he would be a substantial upgrade for them.
Leon in 2018 had -.4 WAR
Sanchez in 2018 had 1.2 WAR
Tr again… yawn
That average and leading the league in passed balls equals 1.2 WAR. Sounds like an indictment on WAR.
Dream on Sox Troll Homer! Guess objectivity isn’t your strong suit!
I guess sarcasm isn’t your strong suit.
Very sad… Leon is the anchor for this outstanding pitching staff. Cut Swihart loose!
Agreed. I just don’t see Swihart as the guy. Vazquez is truly gifted so he’s staying for sure.
Oh my God…now the pitching staff is Outstanding!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAH
Guess I missed where they led the league last year….give them credit for pitching terrificly in the playoffs and series but let’s not get carried away here…..this team was the poster child for worst to first over the last decade!
On paper, best starting 5 in MLB – Sale, Price, Porcello, Eovaldi, ERod.
Well that and three AL East titles in a row.
That would be HOFer Sandy Leon
I hear they’re gonna get rid of Babe Ruth’s plaque to make room for his in Cooperstown.
.
He seems like he should just be dfa
Not if someone wants to trade for him, which seems to be the case.
Fake news… who? Which of the teams that YOU know about do you think will trade for him? What do you expect your return to be?
Take a chill pill 94yankee. There was no “fake new” in his comment.
That word gets thrown around way too easy these days.
Pretty much is. This is a guy that if someone wanted him they pick him up after he was released. Who would someone give up for him? The most they can hope for is a low minor leaguer that isn’t predicted to do anything
League doesn’t work that way. You can’t just “want” someone and he’ll automatically be “released”. Also, there’s a waiver wire, so ‘wanting’ team would have to hope he slid to that spot.
And NOONE except trolls are saying Red Sox will get anything special back for him just salary relief and a ‘D’ prospect, who probably never sees the majors. Why would Red Sox expect anything back, when they gave “cash considerations” to obtain him.
Who are they in discussions with? Who is actively trying to trade for him? Nobody listed, sounds like Sox are trying to drum up a market with fake news of others interested.
People are saying they’re not going to get full salary relief for him. That’s it… Obviously everyone on the face of the planet knows no decent prospects will be obtained for him. No one is saying that at all.
Be More bias with the yankees
If u are going to troll around on the Red Sox boards and post nonsense like this, you better have ur facts correct 94NYY..
They still have the warm body acquired for Deven Marrero last spring, another out of options, defensive specialist with -0- bat.. Josh Taylor, who was in ST, is on the 40 man roster as a LH reliever, has options and is a guy who throws mid 90’s..
Don’t discount they won’t get nothing back at all. maybe another AA wildcard.. like Taylor, maybe DFA. We don’t know, but please acting like ur fellow NYY homer Rocky and stop the lunacy stuff.
Who?
Who wants a catcher that cannot even hit his weight?
Leon is a career .226 hitter with a listed weight of 225. So not only does he hit his weight, he can have an extra dessert.
If he is traded for a non-40 man player, the Sox save almost $2.5mill. If he is DFAd, they save almost $2mill. The “small” savings could allow for a reliever making $4-5mill (on top of their existing budget) at mid-season. Swihart won’t give them as much money, and Vazquez can handle the defensive requirements very well himself…
I was thinking that it would make the most sense if he was the part of the catching trio that wouldn’t break camp; Christian Vasquez has been impressing, is sound defensively, and Swihart has versatility and hits lefty, and is a bit of a better hitter than Leon (unless you think his one year wasn’t an abberation; haven’t checked his BABIP).
Swihart is a much, much better hitter than Leon. His more recent stats have been tempered by inconsistent playing time and injuries. He needed an extended recovery time from his bad ankle injury and it has been wondered whether he was really even fully recovered from the ailment when he got back to playing, so perhaps he is still limited with his health?
Has nothing to do with Leon being worse than Cazquez or Swihart. Can’t cut Vazquez because it cost too much and Swihart is cheaper/controlled
It’s a feeding frenzy! Haven’t they been trying to drum this up for months? Doubt they get anything. He will be cut. Might be able to help a AAA team.
You’re right they won’t get anything. except salary relief and maybe a ‘D’ prospect. Name names on the “drummers”.
Will Farrell
Garth brooks
Johnny Manzel
No, they have not. The team was likely always going to wait until spring training to see how each of the three looked and then would pursue a cheap trade dump of the “loser” in the competition. The talk over the winter was likely with teams laying the groundwork for interest and returns for each of the three options, not an active pursuit to make a deal then and there.
He won’t be cut. Hell be traded for a Cost-Edficient “Take a Flier” Reliever Type. & That will be DD Big Bullpen Addition
Some of the guys who are most likely passing through the waiver wire or let go this week are better than Leon. I would wait for Stallings or NRI Devin Mesoraco.
Cubs would be a good landing spot
Sandy Leon for Jason Heyward
Cubs
Why is Vasquez projected as the starting catcher? He was pretty bad last year and of the three has had the worst spring. Swihart should be given an opportunity to be the starter. Other than the last 2 months of 2015, he hasn’t had the chance.
It’s likely because he has shown the ability to be a special defender (not just a plus, as with Leon) in the past. But I agree with you, the team should give Swihart a significant run at things. Heck, Vazquez’s bad is so bad that inconsistent playing time couldn’t hurt, so he would make a fine 40% playing time catcher if Swihart seized the #1 job.
How is Vazquez’s Bad that bad? He missed 2 months due to surgery last year. Leon is much worse hitter. From Aug 16th on, he had 3 hits the rest of the season. Red Sox were dieing to get Vazquez back .
Theres a reason why Red Sox used Vazquez for most of the playoffs. It certainly wasn’t to give the opponents an advantage.
Guess the Swihart for Trout deal lost some traction….
There’s quite a few Sandy Leon-s on AAA rosters. Why pay anything more than minimum? I see a minor league contract/signed for depth purposes only kind of result.
I like Sandy Leon as a defensive mentor to bat-first Seattle catcher Omar Narvaez, a fellow squat Venezuelan. However, I doubt the Mariners would surrender much in a trade for Leon.
This sounds like an attempted salary dump. Swihart is a AAAA guy at best, but he is cheap. The Red Sox are trying to avoid the luxury tax, especially with a limited farm system and losing picks when you go over now. They have young kids coming up for big contracts and trying to pare down big contracts. I think Price not opting out caught them by surprise. They still have the Panda’s deal, $2 million deferred from Manny Ramirez the next couple of years. It will not be shocking if they can’t resign Mookie but keep all the other young players. He turned down a $20 million per year contract and now is probably eyeing $30 plus after the Trout deal.
Swihart isn’t a AAAA guy. He batted well for a catcher (excepting his opening couple of weeks of games, which were terrible because he was called up before he was ready due to emergency circumstances) in his only extended MLB playing time, and then had the rug pulled out from under him because the front office went gaga for Vazquez and so needed an excuse to send Swihart down. The team’s terrible LF situation that year (2016) led to them trying Swihart there, resulting in a very bad ankle injury that cost him most the season and apparently greatly limited his defensive agility in 2017.
And that led to 2018, when he was unable to get much playing time due to roster limitations and an inability to be sent to the minors. So his entire MLB career has been defined by opening MLB success and then the extended effects of one very bad front office decision that has prevented him from really playing ever since.
That isn’t “AAAA”. That’s an “NA”, or a “got screwed by your team and bad luck”.
P.S. Ramirez’s deferred money only affects Boston’s coffers, not the soft cap that is the luxury tax. Boston does not have any cash flow issues, so Ramirez’s deferred money has zero impact on the team’s payroll decisions.
So in other words you’re saying that because of one decent run you’re going to ignore the rest of his career stats by making excuses for him.
In 2017 Blake Swihart posted a .187/.261/.284/.545 line in 250 plate appearances as a 25-year-old in Triple A. His numbers haven’t improved much since then as Swihart approaches his 27th birthday next month.
Coming off an injury that cost him nearly a years worth of ABs? Right. Give the guy a reasonable chance and he’s easily the best hitter of the three and no worsethan average as a catcher.
He was coming off an Ankle Injury.
Do you know how to Read?
How does 2.4 mill get them under the salary cap.Are they above some upper limit I’m unaware of.Please explain.As to Betts 30 mill is low for him. He’s looking at close to 35 mill unless something unforeseen happens.One question for everyone.How come I always hear people quote 7.5 mill for 1 point of WAR..If that’s true why isn’t Trout getting 70 mill a year. Why didn’t Goldschmidt pull down close to 40 mill a year.That valuation is just pure garbage.According to that valuation Didi Gregorious becomes a 30 mill per player.I’m a Yankee fan and I love Didi not at 30 mill per though
It’s a bogus number invented by someone who didn’t know wtf they’re talking about.
The WAR system presumes an entire team of “replacement level players” making league minimun with a team cap hit of +/- 40 million would post a 48-114 record.
The genius then came up with about 8mil/WAR, not doing the math that a .500 team (81-81) needs to buy 33WAR. Doing the math, that .500 team is expected to carry about a $288 million payroll.
You are correct it is bogus and BS. However, the lemmings in the masses like to throw it around anyways to sound smart and argue why these overpaid players need more money
It doesn’t get them under the cap. It just buys them more space away from the highest threshold of $246mill.
He makes 2.475 Million.
This isn’t a Salary Dump, they played with 3 Catcher for the Entire 2018 season
Cubs were in on Maldanado and McCann earlier this offseason. Could definitely see this being a fit.
To Baltimore for international signing money?
Haha
Cubs for Duensing, Sox can cut him loose after.
Now that I think about it, Cubs would probably have to sweeten that deal. Throw in a minor leaguer
Why would Boston trade Leon’s non-guaranteed salary for a bigger guaranteed salary, only to then cut the pitcher and still have to pay him? They’re going to add payroll for nothing?
Yeah I don’t know duensing was making that much. My bad. I still think the Cubs are a good fit.
IF my man Sandy has to go then I agree send him to My town and let him play at Fenway (west) It’s worked well for the Cubs!!! Ex Red Sox players, coach’s and executives!!!!
Swihart hits fine for a catcher, except that he isn’t one. Is Boston really concerned about the offense out of the C position? Seems like offense shouldn’t be the priority here.
Sometimes Dombrowski likes his offense. Remember this is s man who once pushed an aging Miguel Cabrera back to 3b to accommodate Victor Martinez at DH and Prince Fielder at 1b, and did so in a year Martinez wasn’t going to play. And he had to bench defensively stellar (and offensively challenged) Brandon Inge to do so.
Brandon Inge last played for Detroit in 2012, 7 years ago. Cabrera is currently 35 so how is 28. aging?
With Pedroia starting on the IL, they could start the year with all three. Doubtful due to the savings if Leon is traded or released before the start of the season but it is a possibility.
Would make a nice bullpen catcher. Dude would frame the **** out of it on those side days. Pitch framing doesn’t have much time left. AI coming.
I don’t know if the automatic strike zone is coming they want more runs more excitement. Call more strikes and no one to yell at isn’t exciting.
Pitch Framing is Pitch Stealing and preys on bad umpires who don’t repeat their strike zone or have bad mechanics……way overrated metric that is talked about way too much…..
Now there’s only one decision left for the Sux: how to rig that bag of baseballs that’s coming the other way.
According to a tweet from Red Sox beat reporter Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald:
“No disrespect to any other catcher that I’ve thrown to, but Sandy Leon is the best catcher I’ve ever thrown to,” — Rick Porcello
twitter.com/JMastrodonato/status/11088237153940111…
Now why wouldn’t it take a Rhodes Scholar to figure out that this came from a Boston beat writer!
Sox to Pads nothing less than Tatis,Gore.and Urias for Leon.
What about Mejia?
And Paddack…
All the great players on the Red Sox roster, they can’t find a good hitting catcher . Lol
No need. WS champions
They never have tho.
Look at the 4 Championship Teams.
None of those Catchers were great offensively. Varitek was Good, But not Johnny Bench Good
similar plate discipline and swing as rich gedman
Dipoto trading in 1..2..3
I could see that happening. The Mariners have a catcher who can hit somewhat but is weak defensively. Like Leon, Navraez is from Venezuela and doesn’t have the most athletic build. Leon to Seattle for Eric Filia, whom Boston acquired once before so DD must like. M’s get a decent backup catcher and tutor for Navraez and Boston gets salary relief and an actual outfielder above AA, which the team could really use.
I’ve been hoping that the Phillies would try to get Leon.They could option Knapp and let him get regular at-bats in aaa,and get a defensive backup that could be good with the staff on Realmutos off days.
Great fit for the Cubs
If this is not a salary dump, Swihart’s the guy to get rid of. Whatever production they think they will get out of Blake A) does not matter, and B) won’t be playing every single day. If Leon is a great help to the pitching staff, keep him.
For Cash Considerations or PTBNL