FORT MYERS, Fla. -- When Reese McGuire joined the Red Sox at the trade deadline last August, he was thrust into the action and tasked with learning the job on the fly.
There was a new pitching staff to learn, yet another team to which he had to become accustomed and a long list of adjustments to make.
This spring, however, is different. McGuire enters his first camp as the presumed No. 1 catcher. More than that, there's the opportunity for McGuire, who turns 28 in two weeks, to establish himself.
"Every player coming into every spring should definitely have ambitions to have your best season yet,'' said McGuire. "The player I am now is definitely different than the one I was when I debuted in 2018 in Toronto. I've learned a ton. I'm learning so much, especially from when I first (joined the Sox). It's night and day in terms of the information that you're given and the work.
"This is an opportunity I've worked hard for. I'm excited. I'm looking forward to finally being (being eligible for arbitration), where you know you're going to make the team, you know your situation. It's my first go with it, but it's something I'm proud of. You relish the opportunity. You want to look in the mirror and say, 'Dang, I have an opportunity to catch 100 games this year.' As a catcher, you want to be in those moments.''
McGuire has spent parts of the last five seasons in the big leagues, but each of them has seen him serve as the No. 2 catcher. He set a career high in games played last year with 89 -- 53 with the Chicago White Sox, 36 with the Red Sox -- but has in mind a bigger workload this season.
Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom made news last October when he identified upgrading the catching spot an offseason priority, but in the end, the only addition was signing Jorge Alfaro to a minor league deal. The only other catcher on the 40-man roster is Connor Wong, who has far less experience than McGuire.
McGuire, who essentially replaced Christian Vazquez at the deadline, arrived with the label as a defense-first catcher. That reputation was further burnished in the final two months with the Sox. McGuire points to Jason Varitek, the Sox' game planner who doubles as the major league catching instructor, as someone who's already made an impact on him.
"He made me work hard in the second half last year and I look forward to a full season of that,'' said McGuire. "He gave me confidence by telling me, 'Be yourself; that's why we got you.' That's one thing that stood out. But (more specifically), with catchers all going down to one knee (in their set-up), that's something that I had already done quite a bit. But it was always my left knee down, and I started last year putting my right knee down. We put a lot of work into that. You always throw off your right leg, obviously, so when you have that knee down, you're able to get behind the ball more and drive forward. It kind of takes away some wear-and-tear, where you're not in the squat. You're able to get lower, maybe steal that low pitch.
The results were immediate as McGuire threw out 42 percent of would-be base stealers. That number might be impossible to maintain over a full season, but it's clear that McGuire's improved mechanics were instrumental in his throws. That's likely to come in handy in 2023, when new rules include larger bases and restrictions on pickoff attempts is almost certain to result in more running.
"I can definitely see teams being more aggressive,'' said McGuire. "I take pride in throwing guys out. I love doing it. I can do it from my knee, or I can come up and throw or wherever the pitch takes me.''
Ultimately, McGuire will be judged by how he does behind the plate -- his receiving skills, his ability to block balls in the dirt and, of course, his game-calling. Last season, McGuire's learning curve was, by necessity, sped up. When he arrived, the Sox were hovering around .500 and still, nominally at least, in the wild card chase. There was no time to hit the pause button.
This winter, though, McGuire had a chance to watch more video of the Red Sox staff -- both those whom he caught briefly last season and those who joined the team over the offseason.
Now, with spring training underway, he has time to learn more in anticipation for the 2023 season.
"I thought we made some good strides toward the end of the year as far as being on the same page,'' he said. "Now, my plan is kind of to come in, talk to them about what they're doing. The communication part is the first step. Then, from there, catch some bullpens, see the action on their pitches and then, that's kind of when you get into the lab and look at some videos.''
If there was a surprise to McGuire's performance last season, it was his offense. He slashed .337/.377/.500 after the trade and showed the ability to use the whole field.
"I believe that's me,'' said McGuire. "I believe when I'm in the flow of things, have consistent at-bats, that's what I can do. I take pride in putting together good at-bats, being a tough out situationally. As far as offense, I definitely feel I'm a guy who can contribute, drive in some runs and be on base for other guys to drive me in. If you go the other way as a lefty (at Fenway), even a miss-hit can find its way to the Monster.''