By Jordan Long
The Boston Red Sox decided to extend catcher Christian Vazquez’s contract. It is for 3-years and runs through 2021, including a club option for 2022. The deal is worth $13.55 million in guaranteed money. According to ESPN, Vazquez said, “I feel awesome here in Boston. It’s a great team, a great staff. I came (up through) the minor leagues here and it feels like a family here so it feels good.”
This is a decent deal for the Red Sox. Vazquez will be the starting catcher this season and for the next 3 years. He is not a power hitter. In his 3 seasons with the Red Sox, he has hit .261 with 7 home runs and 64 RBI’s. Last year Vazquez had a .290 batting average with 5 home runs and 32 RBI’s. Those are not great numbers at the dish.
The reason the Red Sox made this move is because of how Vazquez calls a game behind the plate. He makes sure the pitchers are throwing the right pitch for strikes. Vazquez is also able to throw runners out, with 104 assists and rarely commits an error with 15 in his career. He catches runners stealing and has thrown out 44. His fielding percentage is an impressive .991.
The Red Sox needed to make this move. Vazquez is 27 and is starting to enter his prime. His baseball skills will only improve. That spells trouble for the rest of Major League Baseball. Vazquez hopes to lead this team to a World Series title in the next 3 years and maybe win a few gold gloves since he has yet to win one.
The Red Sox are not overpaying for Vazquez. The worst case scenario is after 3 years they cut him loose and another team picks him up. The Red Sox know his potential and hopefully Vazquez is the answer at catcher for years to come. Time will only tell.
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