Red Sox rebuffed Diamondbacks’ trade interest in Vazquez, Swihart

The Arizona Diamondbacks were interested in acquiring one of Blake Swihart or Christian Vazquez, but were turned away by the Red Sox according to a report from Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic.

The Red Sox have a bit of a catching logjam, with Swihart, Vazquez, and Sandy Leon all in line for an opportunity. As it stands, they are very likely to send Blake Swihart to Triple-A to start the year, simply because he has options left, allowing him to be stashed safely away unlike Leon and Vazquez. As such, it’s not surprising that other teams might see the Sox as a potential source for help behind the plate.

This situation, however, seems very likely to sort itself out, which leaves the Red Sox without much incentive to deal unless they’re blown away. Leon is coming off what might be a breakout 2016 season, but there are enough red flags that it would be entirely unsurprising if we were referring to it as a fluke by 2018. Christian Vazquez brings a strong glove to the table, but has yet to show he can hit well enough to stick. Blake Swihart can hit well enough for a catcher (and perhaps reasonably well in general, given time), but has yet to earn the organization’s trust in his defense.

As such, the Sox aren’t expecting to have three viable catchers, but hoping to find one starter and one backup in their three options. And while it’s possible the Diamondbacks might offer them decent value on one of their uncertain commodities (particularly Swihart), it’s hard to imagine the Red Sox would find much of a replacement for them in the team’s immediate plans. making it hard to countenance trading someone away.

Notably, the man on the other end of this deal is Mike Hazen, formerly the second-in-command to both Ben Cherington and Dave Dombrowski. That he remains interested in both Vazquez and Swihart suggests their stock hadn’t fallen too far in Boston even after this past season. Dombrowski’s reluctance to deal either would, of course, support that as well.