With Dustin Pedroia’s impending return to the Boston Red Sox, it seemed like Blake Swihart could be the casualty when a roster move was made.
Swihart has seldom been used — including at his natural position of catcher — and has struggled to even get pinch-hit at-bats, never mind a chance to start in the field.
But instead, Hanley Ramirez was designated for assignment Friday afternoon to make room for Pedroia.
So what does that mean for Swihart?
The 26-year-old can play either corner infield position, as well as left field and catcher. And though he previously didn’t see much action, Sox manager Alex Cora seemed to indicate that is about to change.
“He’s versatile, we can play him at left, we can play him at first,” Cora said Friday afternoon ahead of Boston’s contest with the Atlanta Braves. “He can play against lefties at first base, he’s athletic enough, he can make plays. At the same time, we can catch him a little bit now.”
The last bit obviously stands out the most. Cora routinely has avoided using Swihart behind the plate, even though primary catcher Christian Vazquez is a sub-.200 hitter, and Sandy Leon has had his share of struggles at the plate as well. That said, keeping Swihart over Ramirez obviously could pay dividends should Leon or Vazquez sustain an injury of some kind.
But in reiterating Swihart’s value to the team and soon-to-be increased role, Cora acknowledged that the perception leading up to Friday was that the utility man’s future in Boston was uncertain.
“Let’s be honest, a few days ago everybody thought that he was out of the equation, and now he’s part of the equation,” Cora said. “We’re going to maximize his talent, he’s going to be part of the equation, he’s going to get more at-bats, and now probably you’re going to see him in a more active role.”
Part of what fueled speculation that Swihart was going to be moved was a report that his agent asked that he be traded. Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski was asked about that, and he used it as an opportunity to give the switch-hitter a ringing endorsement about his value to the organization.
“Well, when it comes down to that I really am in a spot where a player asking to be moved — and I just spoke with Blake and he’s absolutely thrilled to be here — and we think highly of Blake and it’s been a tough situation as I talked the other day as far as playing time is concerned,” Dombrowski said. “Part of that is because we have a good club and we have a lot of flexibility with the guys that we have. But we like him and still think he has a chance to be a good big league player.
“If somebody asks you to be traded you listen to what they have to say, we’ve been empathetic that it’s a tough role for him,” Dombrowski added. “His name has come up in conversations with teams, but it’s also a tough role because clubs haven’t seen him play a lot over the last couple years. So we hold him in high esteem … (and) we would expect that if we trade Blake Swihart that we would expect something, somebody in return that we like, because we do hold him in high regard. And I just told him we still think he’s going to be a good big league player.”
Swihart will not be in the lineup as the Sox take on the Braves on Friday.
