Red Sox commit to Christian Vazquez -- now and in the future

FORT MYERS, Fla. – To date, Alex Cora has been reluctant to anoint Christian Vazquez as his No. 1 catcher.

On Saturday, the Red Sox front office did it for him.

The Sox signed Vazquez to a three-year contract extension Saturday with a club option for a fourth year. With Vazquez already under contract for $1.425 million this season, the deal effectively keeps Vazquez under team control for potentially the next five seasons.

Vazquez will earn $2.85 million in 2019, $4.2 million in 2020, $6.25 million in 2021 with a team option for $7 million in 2022. The value of the option year can escalate to $8 million if Vazquez has 502 plate appearances in both 2020 and 2021.

With a buyout of $250,000 in place for 2022, the deal is worth $13.55 million and buys out two arbitration years and at least one year of free agency.

“I feel awesome here in Boston,’’ said Vazquez. “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.’’

“It’s great to be in a position where we have Christian for an extended period,’’ said Dave Dombrowski. “We have some other good catching, too, which is great – it’s a great situation for us.’’

Dombrowski said the deal first picked up steam in the lead-up to salary arbitration, then re-started after the Red Sox made the early spring training signings of Eduardo Nunez and J.D. Martinez.

Cora said he challenged Vazquez to emerge as more of a team leader over the offseason and is pleased with what he’s seen to date, as the catcher embraced the responsibilities.

“I’m like a quarterback,’’ Vazquez said, “I’m running the game behind the plate and I need to take care of my teammates and be a leader, like Alex said, in the clubhouse and be vocal.’’

Vazquez has always had a reputation as an elite defensive catcher with one of the strongest throwing arms in the game. But in 2017, he progressed offensively, too, with a .290/.330/.404 slash line with career highs in homers (five) and RBI (32) in 324 at-bats.

“From an offensive perspective,’’ said Dombrowski, “when I came here, people told me that they thought he could be a good offensive catcher. He continued to improve. One of the things (that’s important) with Christian is knowing himself from an offensive perspective. I think he’s a good offensive contributor and I think he’ll continue to grow.

“He can go the other way. We’re not looking for him to be a big home run hitter for us, but he can also hit the ball out of the ballpark. He’s got power. He’s a good offensive catcher and I think he’s going to continue to prove it.’’

The signing gives the Red Sox some cost certainty and stability at a critical position. Sandy Leon, who will serve as Vazquez’s backup this season, is under control through 2020, while Blake Swihart – who’s likely to spend more time as a utility player than behind the plate, but is nominally a catcher – is under control through the 2022 season.

Spring training is traditionally the time of year when teams work on contract extensions with players, but Dombrowski said he didn’t envision getting any other deals done before the start of the season.

 

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