The 46-year-old Vazquez has been a member of Boston’s coaching staff since 2018, first working as a statistical analysis coordinator and then moving into a role as a quality control coach.  Vazquez saw some fill-in work as the first base coach in 2021 before taking over the job entirely for the 2022 season.

Before joining the Red Sox, Vazquez worked as a coach on the Padres’ staff in 2017, and previously as a coach in the Astros’ farm system.  Fans may remember Vazquez from his lengthy and well-traveled playing career, as he suited up for six different MLB teams (including the Red Sox) from 2001-09.  In an interesting tidbit, Vazquez and Alex Cora were actually traded for each other back in July 2005, with Vazquez going to Cleveland and Cora going to the Red Sox — this started Cora’s history in Boston, which has continued into his current role as the team’s manager.

A few more notes from big league dugouts…

• Dusty Baker is keen to stay with the Nationals after another postseason disappointment, per Jon Heyman of Fan Rag. Though there will surely be some contractual details to hammer out, it seems that the key question at this point is simply whether the Nats wish to retain Baker. We recently polled the MLBTR readership on the matter, with a slight majority suggesting that the team keep its skipper.
• As the Phillies weigh a new managerial hire, Heyman says the team is not giving out much information. But he notes that Athletics bench coach Chip Hale has been interviewed. Red Sox coach Gary DiSarcina is receiving some consideration, Heyman adds.
• Before settling on Gardenhire, the Tigers met with Eric Wedge about the team’s openings, per Jon Morosi of MLB Network (via Twitter). It isn’t clear whether the former Indians and Mariners skipper — who’s now with the Blue Jays — was under consideration for the managerial post, or whether he could still be pursued for another job in Detroit.
• The Royals have formally named Dale Sveum their new bench coach and Mitch Maier as their new first base coach, GM Dayton Moore tells reporters (Twitter links via MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan). Former first base coach Rusty Kuntz will remain with the organization but will have a new, yet-unspecified role. Sveum’s promotion means that the Royals will be in the market for a new hitting coach in addition to a new pitching coach following the decision to part ways with Dave Eiland.
• The Athletics announced that they’ve promoted Triple-A manager Ryan Christenson to the Major League staff and named him the new bench coach to manager Bob Melvin. The aforementioned Hale, who moved from third base coach to bench coach partway through the 2017 season, will return to his post as the team’s third base coach, barring an offer to manage another big league club. Christenson’s teams have gone 391-307 in his five-year tenure as a manager in Oakland’s minor league ranks.
• Red Sox hitting coach Chili Davis is drawing interest, as has previously been suggested. He is among several names in contention for the same gig with the Padres, as Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports, San Diego will also need to find a new infield coach after deciding to part ways with Ramon Vazquez. Davis is also sitting down with the Giants, Andrew Baggarly of the Bay Area News Group reports. Thus far, San Francisco hasn’t made clear its plans for the coaching staff for the coming season, but Baggarly discusses some of the considerations at play.

• The Twins have signed Joe Thurston according to their manager of baseball communications Dustin Morse (on Twitter). The 32-year-old infielder was released by the Phillies earlier this week and has a .226/.305/.323 line in 384 MLB plate appearances with the Dodgers, Phillies, Red Sox, Cardinals and Marlins.
• Ramon Vazquez signed with the Birdgeport Bluefish of the independent Atlantic League, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets. The 35-year-old hasn’t played in the Major Leagues since 2009, but has experience in nine MLB seasons.
• The Orioles released Ryan Edell, Eddy tweets. Edell, 28, pitched for the Phillies' top affiliate last year, posting a 3.27 ERA with 7.6 K/9 and 1.3 BB/9 in 77 innings.
• The Royals released right-hander Eric Cantrell, Eddy tweets. The Royals selected Cantrell in the seventh round of the 2010 draft. The 22-year-old has a 5.43 ERA with 8.1 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9 in parts of three seasons as a professional.

• Placido Polanco, John Mayberry Jr. and Jim Thome aren't hitting, and David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News points out that this puts the Phillies in an uncomfortable situation. Murphy looks back at some of the Phillies' offseason decisions and wonders if the team should have prioritized a hitter over a closer.
• Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald points out that two of Boston's primary offseason additions – Andrew Bailey and Mark Melancon — are no longer contributing on the big league roster just two weeks into the season. Bailey is recovering from thumb surgery and the Red Sox optioned Melancon to Triple-A.
• Ken Davidoff of the New York Post says the Rangers might have the best 25-man roster in baseball. Davidoff believes Texas can sustain its success even if prominent players leave as free agents.
• Infielder Ramon Vazquez is looking to make a comeback and some teams are showing interest, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets. The 35-year-old hasn’t played in the Major Leagues since 2009.

• The Marlins signed infielder Ramon Vazquez, tweets SI's Jon Heyman.  The 34-year-old last appeared in the Majors with the Pirates in '09; this year he's played for the Triple-A affiliates of the Cardinals and Blue Jays.  Presumably he'll head to Triple-A for Florida.
• The Marlins took a hit in credibility in optioning Logan Morrison to Triple-A and telling him it was because of his batting average, writes Dave Cameron of FanGraphs.
• Marlins' first round draft pick Jose Fernandez has an interesting back story as a Cuban defector.  Drafted 14th overall, the Fish appear to have offered Fernandez a bonus right around the $1.6MM slot so far.  His advisor, Richard Arena of Team One Management, told Juan C. Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel on August 7th, "It’s definitely going to get done. There’s no question."

• The Blue Jays have released infielder Ramon Vazquez according to the Pacific Coast League transactions page. The 34-year-old hit .288/.367/.363 in 90 Triple-A plate appearances after signing a minor league deal in mid-June.
• The Twins released right-hander Thomas Diamond according to the International League transactions page. Diamond, 28, pitched to a 8.25 ERA with 10.1 K/9 and 5.6 BB/9 in 24 innings for Minnesota's Triple-A affiliate after landing a minor league contract last month.

• The Diamondbacks have signed left-handed pitcher Alberto Castillo, according to CBSSports.com. Castillo, 35, was designated for assignment by the Orioles on June 10th.  The veteran has a 2.89 ERA with 8.9 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 across four seasons of play at the Triple-A level.
• The Blue Jays signed infielder Ramon Vazquez to a minor league deal, according to the CBSSports.com transactions page.  The 35-year-old last appeared in the majors in 2009 when he spent the year with the Pirates.  Vazquez has experience playing shortstop, second base, and third base.
• The Braves signed infielder Ruben Gotay and outfielder Chris Carter to minor league deals and assigned them to Triple-A Gwinnett, according to David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (via Twitter). Gotay last appeared in the bigs with Atlanta in 2008, while Carter played in 100 games with the Mets last season.

Vazquez, 34, hit a respectable .275/.362/.321 in 150 plate appearances for the Cardinals’ Triple-A affiliate, playing all three non-first base infield spots. He hasn’t appeared in the majors since 2009, when he followed up a breakout .290/.365/.430 performance with the Rangers with a .230/.335/.279 effort with the Pirates.

• One year after posting a 1.95 ERA in 67 major league games, Kiko Calero finds himself a free agent once again. He signed with the Mets and then with the Dodgers, but the Dodgers released him after he posted a 3.00 ERA in 15 minor league appearances. Calero struck out 11 and walked seven in 15 innings.
• The Tigers released Mike Rabelo, a backup catcher who spent parts of 2006-08 with Detroit. The 30-year-old struggled through 36 plate appearances at Triple A before the Tigers let him go.
• Ramon Vazquez hit much better in the Astros' system than he did in the Mariners', but the Astros released the former Pirate anyways. The 33-year-old had a .900 OPS in 64 plate appearances.

The Pirates released Vazquez on April 8th, assuming his $2MM salary in the process.  He was signed to a minor league deal by the Mariners eleven days later.  Vazquez's '09 offensive struggles carried over to his Tacoma stint, and Matt Eddy of Baseball America reported his recent release.

• The Padres released right-hander Mark Worrell, who had been pitching in Triple A. His 5.45 ERA isn't pretty, but his 9.3 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 suggest that the 27-year-old could contribute on a team whose bullpen is a little thinner than San Diego's.
• The Mariners released Ramon Vazquez, who appears to have signed with the Astros. The M's picked Vazquez up soon after the Pirates released him this spring, but the infielder wasn't the bargain pickup Jack Zduriencik was hoping for; Vazquez posted a .599 OPS at Triple A.
• The Mariners signed David Winfree not long after the Yankees released him. The 24-year-old has posted a .700 OPS while playing first base, left and right at Triple A in 2010.

Jason Churchill of Prospect Insider took a look at the team's offensive plight, noting that the farm system offers a little help and that the arrival of Jack Hannahan and possibly Ramon Vazquez will provide just a marginal improvement for the bench. Seattle's designated hitters are hitting just .186/.263/.198, so Churchill offers up some trade suggests to help that situation. Note that the trade talk is based on his speculation only.

The names are not strangers to this space, including Josh Willingham, Adam Dunn, Luke Scott, and Jorge Cantu. All four would represent a demonstrative offensive upgrade, and by slotting them in at DH the team would maintain their run prevention strategy. Seattle has good but not great trade chips, but they might have the ability to absorb some salary, the best trade chip of all.

The Mariners are just half a game back in the league's most winnable division after the season's first month, so it's hardly time to panic. Though the sooner they can improve the DH position, the better.

Vazquez, 33, hit .230/.335/.279 last year in 239 plate appearances last year, playing second base, shortstop, and third base and dealing with a knee injury.  He can be useful against right-handed pitching.

Vazquez, 33, hit .230/.335/.279 in 239 plate appearances for the Pirates last year, but his career .254/.328/.350 line suggests he could hit better than that. Vazquez, who will only cost the major league minimum to sign, played shortstop, second and third last year and has experience at all four infield positions. The Mariners announced today that Jack Hannahan will begin a rehab assignment at Triple A Tacoma, so they do have depth on the way.

MLBTR's Luke Adams looked at Vazquez's situation earlier this week, noting that he should have value to a few clubs at the league minimum salary.  The 33-year-old hit .230/.335/.279 last year in 239 plate appearances, playing second base, shortstop, and third base and dealing with a knee injury.

GM Neal Huntington's plan when signing Vazquez in December of '08 may have been to find a credible back-up middle infielder in case the team traded Freddy Sanchez and/or Jack Wilson.  But you have to question his $4MM commitment to Vazquez, a journeyman platoon player who still didn't hit lefties in his career year '08 season.