The Boston Red Sox are set to embark on the back end of their fight for the division, and they’ll have to do most of their battling without Christian Vazquez.
Prior to the Red Sox’s series opener with the Texas Rangers on Monday at Fenway Park, manager Alex Cora gave an unideal update on the 27-year-old catcher.
Red Sox catcher Christian Vazquez to have surgery tomorrow to insert a pin into his fractured finger. Is expected to be out 6-8 weeks. Alex Cora said he is comfortable with Sandy Leon and Blake Swihart.
— Evan Drellich (@EvanDrellich) July 9, 2018
Vazquez sustained the pinky finger injury while sliding into second base in the seventh inning of Saturday’s game against the Royals in Kansas City. The veteran backstop proceeded to catch the bottom half of the inning before being pulled from the contest. Cora announced the injury as a fractured finger during his postgame media availability and noted Vazquez would head to the 10-day disabled list.
Luckily for the Sox, they have above-average depth at the position. Sandy Leon will become the primary catcher in Vazquez’s absence, while Blake Swihart should see fairly consistent time behind the plate as well.
