The Diamondbacks have acquired catcher Blake Swihart from the Red Sox, per a club announcement. International pool money is also going to Arizona in the deal — $500K in spending capacity, GM Mike Hazen tells reporters including Zach Buchanan of The Athletic (Twitter links) — with outfield prospect Marcus Wilson going to Boston in return.
Swihart had been designated for assignment recently. He’s now heading to an interesting situation with the Snakes. Hazen is among several top D-Backs executives that came over from the Red Sox; needless to say, the team is amply familiar with Swihart.
The Diamondbacks are the one organization in baseball that has been most dedicated to carrying three catcher-capable players on its active roster. That’s particularly relevant for Swihart, given that his questionable abilities behind the plate have thus far limited his chances in the majors. But the plan doesn’t appear to be for the out-of-options Swihart to displace a current D-Backs receiver (Carson Kelly, John Ryan Murphy, Caleb Joseph). Rather, Hazen indicates that the club intends to utilize him in some kind of utility capacity.
It’ll be interesting to see whether the Arizona organization is better able to draw value out of Swihart than were the Sox. Prior attempts at moving him around the field didn’t work out. And his well-regarded bat hasn’t yet done much damage in the majors, though to be fair opportunities have come in fits and starts to this point. In 626 career plate appearances at the game’s highest level, Swihart carries a .255/.314/.365 slash with nine home runs, ten steals, and a combination of a 25.7% strikeout rate and 7.7% walk rate.
The Red Sox won’t come away with what they hoped for out of Swihart, who was once considered quite a high-end prospect. But they were able to add an interesting player in Wilson, who was taken 69th overall in the 2014 draft. He has some swing and miss in his game but also has drawn his share of walks and has produced solid numbers at times in the low minors. An intriguing athlete, Wilson is off to a nice start this year at Double-A and is seen as possessing a relatively lofty ceiling.
Swihart pretty much sucks but versatility could be the key for him
Idk why I laughed so hard at this comment. Maybe because I read it out loud in a condescending voice.
So sucking at a bunch of different things is going to keep his job? Lol 🙂
Great comment cold beer! That’s what I took from it as well
one year earlier and he could have been in a battery with Henry Owens. a collective “yikes” for the two.
Jorge Polanco is the GOAT
agreed, that cycle the other day was a treat to see.
Amen
What does that have to do with this article? Did I miss something?
good question, but at least its a reasonable sentiment.
Owens was drafted with a really devasting curveball, which he still had when was finally let go. His always problem was never learned any command thru his development years and the FB never went above 88-90mph tops after he aged above 18YO and went above a toothpick like kid.
Yes.. There was something there to dream on when he struck out like 175 in low A ball as an 18YO, but everyone knew he was going to have to learn to command his curve better and get a change, plus at least command his FB if it never got another few ticks, which it never did.
wait so now the dbacks have both Rob Refsnyder AND Swihart????
Lol
No, Refsnyder is on the Reds.
aw lol he moves around so much i cant keep track
His awesomeness cannot be contained by a single franchise. I applaud him for trying to spread it around the league.
Perhaps he is training to be a Ref
He wasn’t very good for the Sox but I’ll always remember him being the best guy to pump up the crowd at the World Series parade showering the crowd with beer that fans threw him
Good Luck, Swihart! Red Sox mismanaged you but hopefully you’ll get a fair chance in Arizona. Mental midgets like twinsfan368 will never understand the wasted value.
Idiots like samcods will never realize swihart cannot hit lol
Until now…..
Cannot hit lefty’s … period… Righty’s not bad
Duh, he’s always been able to hit but his fielding in the OF (injury) and at C (sketchy) has been questionable which has affected his hitting. GM Dombrowski really mismanaged him to the point where he never got any compensation of value. IMO, most overrated GM in the game who only spends and deplete farm systems but can’t build teams from scratch.
exactly right
But that’s the job you hire Dombrowski for.
who cares how you win the World Series, as long as you do.
Hey genius,
He never got consistent playing time. Only time he did get consistent ab’s (2015) he did hit.
Here, I included the link to his career stats.
baseball-reference.com/players/s/swihabl01.shtml
Instead of being a knee-jerk idiot with uninformed comments, try learning about the game.
You just wish they didn’t have to pay an intl lottery ticket (or couple) of cash just to get garbage in return.
When you’re in your 5th year in the minors, have minimal power, can’t hit for average, carry a 28% strikeout rate vs 8% walk rate and are still only playing A ball… you’re trash.
Just DFA wilson and save a couple bucks.
Wow! The Red Sox fleeced Arizona here imo. Wilson is young and has a nice ceiling. For a DFA- excellent pick up.
You do realize he’s hitting .230 the past season + this one right? lol Looks more like a swap of 2 failed high draft picks that hopefully a change in scenery for both will do them good.
Exactly. Someone doing that bad in the hitter-friendly Cal League isn’t a player to get excited about.
i saw it as : you take Swihart and a Half MILLION in international funds, just give us something that doesnt make us look too bad in this deal.
Disagree, it’s more the other way around. He’s fairly young but has neither power nor does he hit for average.
I almost think the sox would’ve been better off keeping the intl bonus money and letting swihart walk for free. Wilson isn’t worth spit
Wow the Cubs must really not want a catcher
Which specific Cubs prospect that’s better than Wilson would you have been willing to surrender?
I don’t know of any Cubs prospects cause I’m not a cubs fan. But everyone was saying he will be traded to the Cubs. Which I didn’t see happening anyway
I think its more surprising Arizona paid what they did hence why some people are wondering where they Cubs were with Caratini out. They don’t realize Arizona gave up one of their mid tier prospects. Granted he hasn’t been performing well lately.
The thing is if I were they Cubs I may have done it just for the bonus pool money. That’s a luxury you’d like to have any year.
Wilson is not really mid tier for the organization. I think WIlson might be around #20 in their prospect rankings. He was a leftover from the previous regime who has been passed by in the rankings after recent drafts & Int signings. Robinson, Thomas, & McCarthy were picked up over the last two years with all three now ranking among their top 10 prospects.
Interesting take.
The Cubs just added $750,000, which they have less than two months to spend.
How many catchers are they gonna carry?!!!!
6ix-ty-9ine
Eleventeen
Klevin
25 is the goal, but next year they will up it to 26.
Worth a shot. Some players are just very late bloomers. Maybe Arizona sees something in him they can correct. I wonder if the Phillies had any interest. Their backup catching situation stinks.
Swihart can play 3B where DBacks need a backup for Escobar while Lamb is out. The international bonus pool money is a nice plus. Marcus Wilson was going to be bumped in the order by kids like Thomas or McCarthy anyhow and I think he was not even protected for the rule 5 draft and did not get picked, so I am going to give Mike Hazen a thumbs up again for now.
This actually is a great deal for Boston. Wilson has great speed, good power and plays a very nice CF as well. His Achilles heel is his propensity to strike out. If the Sox coaching staff can help him out with this (he’s only 22 years old) there’s a chance that he could be a solid contributor the ML club in a couple of years, right when JBJ’s contract is up!
I hope both players do well and it becomes a win-win for both teams. Swihart was definitely mismanaged by the Red Sox and that unfortunate ankle injury in LF really set back his development. Still think he can be a solid player at the major league level.
Scout reports online peg him as below avg hitter, avg power, avg arm, and avg fielding… and that’s his POTENTIAL.
Real life he’s a unprotected rule 5 eligible that nobody wanted, 5 yrs in a ball or lower, high K low walk with a career OPS of around .720… against A ball talent.
DD got fleeced giving up the intl $$$.
Not sure what site you’re on, but here’s what I’ve read about him:
2018 was by far the worst season for Wilson as a pro; however, he has a tool shed of plus speed, plus defense and a plus eye, so there’s reason for hope that he can be a great prospect if he figures out his approach.
Great speed & Defense has worked well for JBJ so far and at 6’3” 175 lbs., he can add some muscle and power to his frame as well. It’s a much better deal than I thought the Sox could for Swihart given that he was DFA’d and out of options.
What I read:
Hitting: 30 Projected: 45 Raw hit tool, look of a guy still figuring approach out. Long swing, big cuts early in the count, present swing-and-miss in profile. Shows flashes of being able to barrel the ball consistently and lay off good pitches; projects to increase hit tool as he shortens his swing and picks his spots to take a rip more judiciously.
Raw Power: 50 Projected: 55 AVG raw power w/ plus bat speed and feel to backspin the ball; will add a half-grade more as he finishes filling out wiry, athletic frame.
Running: 60 Projected: 60 Plus runner who doesn’t get up the line as well as his speed plays underway b/c of big swing. Speed plays on the bases and in the field.
Fielding: 55 Projected: 55 Above-average OF defender who profiles in CF; can cover both gaps w/ above-average acceleration.
Throwing: 50 Projected: 50 Average arm that isn’t a liability, but would be stretched in RF.
Raw offensive approach that will take patience. Flashes ability to hit and take pitches that allow projection to hitting ability; made adjustment as series progressed and shortened his swing a bit. Long-range prospect w/ risk to profile given projection needed on the bat, but has the tools to be an everyday CF.
Athleticism: Plus
Approach: Below Average
Instincts: Below Average
Baserunning: Average
————
Now, scouts can see the same guy differently. However, he’s been in a hitter friendly league and has put up underwhelming numbers. Likewise, as I’ve said elsewhere, none of the rebuilding clubs took a flyer on him as a rule 5, fenway has the triangle and cavernous RF, I don’t see an average arm being an asset out there, and while he has raw speed, he hasnt been able to USE it so he almost profiles equal to a slower player in that dept.
Itd be wicked awesome if I was wrong, but I call him a pure bust. Sox have already had guys with holes in their swings and never fixed them. Why should this fringe prospect without any significant plus tools be any different
Looks like your scouting report is from when he was still a teenager. He is still ONLY 22.
Mine was written during the 2018 season, not sure on the other one.
If you hated swihart’s bat for not living up to billing, this kid is worse than swiharts numbers against mlb talent, except only against class a pitching in a hitter friendly league
Wilson will be stepping in for Betts when he leaves as a free agent. DD is preparing for the “Tanking”
So you’re saying to replace jbj with another jbj
Good Luck Swihart hopefully you get the chance to play and show what you can do.
I don’t think there’s a worse player with more stories written about him than Swihart. Dude has literally never been good at baseball, he was always all “projectibility” that never came close to happening. Easily the most overrated prospect of recent times. The fact that he made top 20 lists in 2015 proves those lists shouldn’t mean anything.
That’s why it’s called the top 100 prospects… not the top 100 MLB players
Lol
Thought the Red Sox made a mistake not getting rid of Swihart in March and DFA Leon.
The Red Sox are lucky Leon accepted a minor league contract.
The chemistry between Leon and the pitchers is much better than it was with Swihart.
Leon is much better defensively than Swihart.
A catcher is much more valuable to a team with his defensive skills and pitch calling ability than his batting average.
A garbage can turned on its side is better defensively than Swihart.
Not sure what this means for Carson Kelly. I assumed he would be inserted as the everyday catcher since he was the most intrible part of the Goldschmidt deal. He isn’t starting much.
“intregal”
“intregal”
integral?
Same Swihart that was supposed to be the next Carlton Fisk.
You mean Johnny Bench, I assume.
Face saving for both sides. They each get to dump their busted prospect without “giving up” on a young player.
Swihart called a horrible game. He couldn’t hit for anything, which was really sad. They finally gave him a chance, but like Hanley lay yr, they’re not afraid to calling it quits.