The Boston Red Sox’s most successful battery is back for another round.
Sandy Leon will be Boston’s starting catcher on Opening Day when Rick Porcello takes the mound for the Red Sox against the Pittsburgh Pirates. The move isn’t entirely surprising, but Red Sox manager John Farrell confirmed the news to reporters Thursday.
“I think I’ve said many times over that if we’re opening tomorrow, Sandy Leon is going to be the catcher, and that hasn’t changed,” Farrell said, per WEEI.com. “The last time out, (Blake) Swihart had Porcello, and I don’t want to get that combination of Rick and Sandy too far removed.”
Swihart has been the best of Boston’s catchers on the offensive side this spring, batting .357 with an .848 OPS compared to Leon’s .261 average and .553 OPS and Christian Vazquez’s .250 average and .599 OPS. But the 24-year-old’s defense pales in comparison to the other two, and he’s allowed eight stolen bases on nine attempts.
For that reason, it’ll likely be Swihart who starts the 2017 season in Triple-A Pawtucket, with Vazquez taking the backup backstop role for the Red Sox. It’s still unclear how Leon and Vazquez would split their duties, but the former is basically guaranteed to be Porcello’s personal catcher throughout the season. The right-hander had a 2.52 ERA and held opponents to a .223 average and .588 OPS when throwing to the Venezuela native in 2016 compared to a 3.64 ERA, .242 opponent ERA and .694 opponent OPS with Vazquez as his catcher.
Thumbnail photo via Kim Klement/USA TODAY Sports Images
