Blake Swihart

[Bellhorn04]

There is still that lingering feeling that Leon is what he is , but Swihart might have much more to offer if given enough opportunity. That's not to say that it would happen , just that the feeling is there . Hence , the reluctance to deal Swihart.

 

Or they haven't been able to get anything of value in return.

[notin]

Or they haven't been able to get anything of value in return.

 

 

They will have to make some sort of a decision fairly soon...

[harmony]

I've become almost obsessed with fellow Venezuelan Sandy Leon as a defensive mentor for bat-first Seattle catcher Omar Narvaez (although the Mariners have a decent backup catcher in David Freitas, who homered today in Tokyo).

 

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[notin]

Freitas isn’t a 31yo career minor leaguer by accident.

 

Opinion seems to be wildly divided about what Sox catcher is gone, but if there is any truth to Cora’s comments about a 13th pitcher starting the year on the Sox staff, moving a catcher is a definite. Unless they bury one on the IL with a severe case of Fenway Flu.

 

But it seems the pitchers are talking up Sandy Leon, which doesn’t bode well for Swihart. I also think he won’t clear waivers, but I do think the Sox might try and hope he does by DFAing him as close to opening day as possible...

[harmony]

Freitas isn’t a 31yo career minor leaguer by accident.

Sandy Leon is older than David Freitas, who celebrated his 30th birthday today with a game-winning home run in Tokyo.

 

Leon turned 30 years old five days ago.

Edited March 18, 2019 by harmony

[dgalehouse]

Freitas isn’t a 31yo career minor leaguer by accident.

 

Opinion seems to be wildly divided about what Sox catcher is gone, but if there is any truth to Cora’s comments about a 13th pitcher starting the year on the Sox staff, moving a catcher is a definite. Unless they bury one on the IL with a severe case of Fenway Flu.

 

But it seems the pitchers are talking up Sandy Leon, which doesn’t bode well for Swihart. I also think he won’t clear waivers, but I do think the Sox might try and hope he does by DFAing him as close to opening day as possible...

 

Swihart is a 27 year old, switch hitting catcher with a good arm and good speed . He can fill in at other positions and is controlled for four more years at low cost . That , plus the feeling that he has more to offer than we have seen so far , makes it unlikely that he would clear waivers. I would be very surprised if he did .

[moonslav59]

Swihart is a 27 year old, switch hitting catcher with a good arm and good speed . He can fill in at other positions and is controlled for four more years at low cost . That , plus the feeling that he has more to offer than we have seen so far , makes it unlikely that he would clear waivers. I would be very surprised if he did .

 

With the state of catching in MLB these days being pretty low, I'm certain some team would give Swihart a chance.

 

His ability to play other positions would help.

[vegasbob]

Even with Vazquez missing several weeks last summer , Sandy Leon appeared in 89 games, while Christian still chalked up 80, and their AB totals were fairly similar. Swihart played, in various roles including PH/PR, 82 games with about 60 fewer AB's than Leon.

It would not be surprising for the Sox to keep Leon to satisfy Sale for this year, and likely lose Swihart for no asset in return. However, Leon will be over 30 this year and unless he delivers a miracle season at bat, do you think the Sox are likely to sign him again going forward ? If they get serious about signing Sale to an extension, is Sandy part of Chris's package ? Obviously we do not know Sale's true pressure on management to keep Leon as his caddy, but the loss of Swihart's still to be realized upside, his positional flexibility, ability to be a runner when needed, and marginally lower contract cost over time is a lot to lose for nothing added. Tough decision for Cora/DD.

[moonslav59]

Even with Vazquez missing several weeks last summer , Sandy Leon appeared in 89 games, while Christian still chalked up 80, and their AB totals were fairly similar. Swihart played, in various roles including PH/PR, 82 games with about 60 fewer AB's than Leon.

It would not be surprising for the Sox to keep Leon to satisfy Sale for this year, and likely lose Swihart for no asset in return. However, Leon will be over 30 this year and unless he delivers a miracle season at bat, do you think the Sox are likely to sign him again going forward ? If they get serious about signing Sale to an extension, is Sandy part of Chris's package ? Obviously we do not know Sale's true pressure on management to keep Leon as his caddy, but the loss of Swihart's still to be realized upside, his positional flexibility, ability to be a runner when needed, and marginally lower contract cost over time is a lot to lose for nothing added. Tough decision for Cora/DD.

 

Yes, Vaz was out from July 8th to August 31st. In that time, here's who caught those 48 games:

 

35 Leon

11 Swihart

2 Butler

 

Leon caught six straight games twice while Vaz was out.

 

While Vaz was available, here were Leon's longest stretches:

 

3 games in a row: once

 

2 games in a row: twice

 

If Cora really believed in Swihart's catching abilities, last year, I think we'd have seen Swihart start more often.

 

Maybe Swihart improved over the winter, but it's hard to imagine such a large change in mindset by Cora from last August to now.

[oldtimer]

Swihart is a 27 year old, switch hitting catcher with a good arm and good speed . He can fill in at other positions and is controlled for four more years at low cost . That , plus the feeling that he has more to offer than we have seen so far , makes it unlikely that he would clear waivers. I would be very surprised if he did .

 

All reasons for the Sox to keep him.

[Spitball]

I agree! We are seeing some changes in baseball. Teams now prefer to carry more relief pitchers and shorter benches. The utility infielder now better be able to play the outfield, also. If he can catch, he is golden. With the emphasis on splits, the ability/potential to effectively switch hit gives the bench the depth of two players in one man. I think Swihart may just be the face of the multi-faceted utility player of today. Edited March 19, 2019 by Spitball

[moonslav59]

I agree! We are seeing some changes in baseball. Teams now prefer to carry more relief pitchers and shorter benches. The utility infielder now better be able to play the outfield, also. If he can catch, he is golden. With the emphasis on splits, the ability/potential to effectively switch hit gives the bench the depth of two players in one man. I think Swihart may just be the face of the multi-faceted utility player of today.

 

How good is he on defense at any position, even catcher?

 

How good is he on offense?

 

[Spitball]

Well, I hear your concern, but I am not talking about a high degree of quality but of an acceptable degree of competency. The utility player of the past was a one or two dimensional player with a high degree of skill offensively or defensively. He was a generally defensive specialist capable of playing multiple infield positions including shortstop, or he was an offensive threat off the bench. But that was in the era of the ten man pitching staff. I believe this era of 13 man pitching staffs will require less specialized skills off the bench and more versatility. I may be wrong, but this is what I see happening.

[moonslav59]

Well, I hear your concern, but I am not talking about a high degree of quality but of an acceptable degree of competency. The utility player of the past was a one or two dimensional player with a high degree of skill offensively or defensively. He was a generally defensive specialist capable of playing multiple infield positions including shortstop, or he was an offensive threat off the bench. But that was in the era of the ten man pitching staff. I believe this era of 13 man pitching staffs will require less specialized skills off the bench and more versatility. I may be wrong, but this is what I see happening.

 

I doubt we stick with a 13 man staff for long, and we do have Holt & Nunez who can play IF/OF and a DH who can play OF.

 

What hurts of bench flex the most is carrying 2 basically 1B only 1Bmen. 1B might be Swiharts best defensive position, too. (Holt can play 1B, too, and we have Chavis.)

[notin]

All reasons for the Sox to keep him.

 

 

I’d like to see Swihart stay and pan out, but that means either Vazquez or Leon has to go...

[moonslav59]

I’d like to see Swihart stay and pan out, but that means either Vazquez or Leon has to go...

 

...and there are many reasons to keep each of them, too.

[S5Dewey]

I’d like to see Swihart stay and pan out, but that means either Vazquez or Leon has to go...

 

I'd like to know what's in DD's mind regarding the catching. I can make a case for keeping any of the three (and letting one of the other two go) just as I can make a case for trading each of them.

 

It does seem to me that Leon and Vaz are redundant in that either of them will help the team defensively but don't bring much offense while Swihart brings more offense.

Were I sitting in DD's chair I'd be looking to trade Leon because I think Vaz' offensive ceiling is higher than Leon's. However, the problem with that is that if we keep Swihart and he doesn't work out defensively we don't have a Dan Butler to bring up to fill the slot.

 

That's why DD gets the big money, I guess!

[jacksonianmarch]

You can find a Dan Butler anywhere. Vazquez does have the higher offensive ceiling, but it’s not like it’s a high ceiling. Swihart is a mystery both offensively and defensively. Leon won’t hit, but he seems to have a way with pitch calling. You might end up carrying three and seeing how things fall. If the offense takes a step back and you need more offense, then Leon goes packing. If the offense is rolling and the pitching takes to Leon, then you send out Swihart. If Swihart goes nuclear, then he makes it much more difficult. If Vazquez was able to have the rapport with the pitchers plus his defensive skills, he’d make Leon irrelevant

[notin]

I'd like to know what's in DD's mind regarding the catching. I can make a case for keeping any of the three (and letting one of the other two go) just as I can make a case for trading each of them.

 

It does seem to me that Leon and Vaz are redundant in that either of them will help the team defensively but don't bring much offense while Swihart brings more offense.

Were I sitting in DD's chair I'd be looking to trade Leon because I think Vaz' offensive ceiling is higher than Leon's. However, the problem with that is that if we keep Swihart and he doesn't work out defensively we don't have a Dan Butler to bring up to fill the slot.

 

That's why DD gets the big money, I guess!

 

 

Well, we do have Juan Centeno and Oscar Hernandez, both of whom have MLB experience.

 

The biggest reason the Sox have to dump a catcher is they can only carry 25 players. After the 9 starters and the 13 pitchers, that leaves 3 spots. 2 belong to Pearce and Nunez (or Holt, if Nunez starts at 2b). That leaves one spot of Leon or Swihart. Otherwise they’d probably have no problem carrying all three catchers...

[notin]

You can find a Dan Butler anywhere. Vazquez does have the higher offensive ceiling, but it’s not like it’s a high ceiling. Swihart is a mystery both offensively and defensively. Leon won’t hit, but he seems to have a way with pitch calling. You might end up carrying three and seeing how things fall. If the offense takes a step back and you need more offense, then Leon goes packing. If the offense is rolling and the pitching takes to Leon, then you send out Swihart. If Swihart goes nuclear, then he makes it much more difficult. If Vazquez was able to have the rapport with the pitchers plus his defensive skills, he’d make Leon irrelevant

 

If the Sox are starting the year with 13 pitchers as Cora said, they can’t carry all three.

 

Butler was replaced a long time ago by Juan Centeno...

[Bellhorn04]

With Vazquez catching Sale's first ST start, and with Vazquez taking over the reins last postseason, I do have a suspicion that Cora would be OK with Leon being the guy that's moved.

[moonslav59]

I'd like to know what's in DD's mind regarding the catching. I can make a case for keeping any of the three (and letting one of the other two go) just as I can make a case for trading each of them.

 

It does seem to me that Leon and Vaz are redundant in that either of them will help the team defensively but don't bring much offense while Swihart brings more offense.

Were I sitting in DD's chair I'd be looking to trade Leon because I think Vaz' offensive ceiling is higher than Leon's. However, the problem with that is that if we keep Swihart and he doesn't work out defensively we don't have a Dan Butler to bring up to fill the slot.

 

That's why DD gets the big money, I guess!

 

What if we keep Swihart and he never works out offensively either?

 

It's not like the guy has a long record of raking the ball.

 

.702 in A Ball (age 20)

.794 in A+ (age 21)

.843 in AA (age 22)

.659 in AAA (22)

.738 AA/AAA (23)

.712 MLB (age 23)

.720 MLB (24) in 74 PAs

.655 AAA (24)

.539 AAA (25)

.575 Gulf RK (25)

.613 MLB (age 26)

 

I may be going blind, but I don't see how these numbers look any more encouraging than Leon or Vaz.

 

Leon:

.856 AA/AAA (age 23) 231 PAs

.722 MLB (23) 33 PAs

.528 MLB (24) 374 PAs

.938 VEWL (24) 142 PAs

.447 MLB (25) 70 PAs

.692 AAA (25) 193 PAs

.676 AAA (26) 111 PAs

.439 MLB (26) 128 PAs

.845 MLB (27) 283 PAs

.655 AAA (27) 130

.644 MLB (28) 301

.511 MLB (29) 288

 

Vaz:

.782 A/A+ (ages 19-20)

.713 A+/AA (21) 424 PAs

.824 AZFl (21) 43

.976 PRWL (21) 28

.771 AA (22) 399

.721 AAA (23) 270

.617 MLB (23) 201

.644 PRWL (24) 119

.713 AAA (25) 171

.585 MLB (25) 184

.735 MLB (26) 345

.540 MLB (27) 269

 

They all have had some decent to good seasons and some really bad ones.

 

[notin]

With Vazquez catching Sale's first ST start, and with Vazquez taking over the reins last postseason, I do have a suspicion that Cora would be OK with Leon being the guy that's moved.

 

 

Then the question is - moved where?

 

What’s the greater chance - that Swihart or Leon clears waivers and can be sent to Pawtucket or that any player that can be acquired for either one becomes even a semi-useful MLB player?

[moonslav59]

Then the question is - moved where?

 

What’s the greater chance - that Swihart or Leon clears waivers and can be sent to Pawtucket or that any player that can be acquired for either one becomes even a semi-useful MLB player?

 

Leon probably has the least chance of being selected, but I'm not sure that's the top criteria we should use.

 

Leon's biggest strength is his built up relationship with Sale and Price (and a little bit with Porcello). That has enormous (IMO) value to the Sox but not really to other teams.

[oldtimer]

I doubt we stick with a 13 man staff for long, and we do have Holt & Nunez who can play IF/OF and a DH who can play OF.

 

What hurts of bench flex the most is carrying 2 basically 1B only 1Bmen. 1B might be Swiharts best defensive position, too. (Holt can play 1B, too, and we have Chavis.)

 

It's risky having only two real utility players and with a 2nd baseman who won't start the season and may only play 1/2 the games. I'd also go with 12 pitchers in order to have one more utility guy in addition to 2 catchers. We are llimited because we will go with 2 1st base only guys, and due to their age and history, they may miss being availble for many games this season. Right now, Lin looks like the most flexible utility guy. The hope is Devers will be healthier this season so neither Dalbec or Chavis make a lot of sense as utility guys.

[notin]

It's risky having only two real utility players and with a 2nd baseman who won't start the season and may only play 1/2 the games. I'd also go with 12 pitchers in order to have one more utility guy in addition to 2 catchers. We are llimited because we will go with 2 1st base only guys, and due to their age and history, they may miss being availble for many games this season. Right now, Lin looks like the most flexible utility guy. The hope is Devers will be healthier this season so neither Dalbec or Chavis make a lot of sense as utility guys.

 

I think the 13 pitchers is only until Pedroia comes back. There are good reasons to start with that many relievers, as starters might not be going as many innings early on. But I expect a 7 man bullpen shortly.

 

But that will probably be when Holt or Nunez move to the bench to accommodate Pedroia, so there still won’t be an opening on the roster for Swihart/Leon...

[moonslav59]

I think the 13 pitchers is only until Pedroia comes back. There are good reasons to start with that many relievers, as starters might not be going as many innings early on. But I expect a 7 man bullpen shortly.

 

But that will probably be when Holt or Nunez move to the bench to accommodate Pedroia, so there still won’t be an opening on the roster for Swihart/Leon...

 

There's also not as many days off as is usual for the start of seasons.

 

I like the idea.

[Slasher9]

wait...are we allowed 26 man roster this season? or does that start next year?

[notin]

wait...are we allowed 26 man roster this season? or does that start next year?

 

 

Next year.

[oldtimer]

I still think the poll was a sham as one can ask the sort of poll questions that draw an answer that one wants to elicit. Sort of like political polls.

 

if I wanted a catcher from the Sox, why not just wait for one to be DFAed and pick them up without having to part with any assets?