The Red Sox have placed catcher Ryan Hanigan and catcher/left fielder Blake Swihart on the 15-day disabled list, brought up outfielder Rusney Castillo, right-hander Heath Hembree and backstop Sandy Leon from Triple-A Pawtucket, and optioned righty Noe Ramirez, the team announced.
Both Hanigan and Swihart left Boston’s win over Toronto on Saturday with injuries. Hanigan departed in the sixth inning with a neck strain, while Swihart exited in the seventh after crashing into the wall down the left field line on a catch and hurting his left ankle.
Hanigan hasn’t offered much at the plate this year, having hit an ugly .186/.250/.229 in 70 plate appearances, though he has thrown out six of 19 would-be base stealers (good for an above-average 32 percent rate). Swihart has provided a decent .258/.365/.355 line in 74 PAs while adjusting to an outfield role. The losses of him and Hanigan will obviously have a negative effect on the Red Sox’s catcher depth behind Christian Vazquez, which is why the club promoted Leon. In 129 PAs with Pawtucket this season, Leon has batted .237/.310/.333 with two home runs. He owns a .187/.258/.225 line in 235 major league trips to the plate.
With Swihart down, Castillo could now have a chance to reenter the picture for the Red Sox, though he’ll sit Sunday in favor of Chris Young. Since signing a $72MM deal with Boston in 2014, the Cuba native has garnered just 333 big league PAs, hitting an underwhelming .265/.304/.383. He has spent nearly all of this year in the minors, where he has continued to post less-than-stellar statistics (.241/.302/.317 with one homer in 159 PAs).
Hembree, on the other hand, has been successful for the Red Sox this season. The 27-year-old has compiled a 2.14 ERA, 7.71 K/9 and 2.14 BB/9 in 21 big league innings. Those numbers are relatively similar to his career totals (2.81, 7.17 and 2.95, respectively) over 64 frames. Hembree has also pitched to a solid 3.07 ERA, complemented by a superb 11.0 K/9, in 246 1/3 minor league innings.
Since debuting in the majors last season, Ramirez has racked up 24 innings of 5.25 ERA ball to accompany a 9.00 K/9 and 5.25 BB/9. Ramirez’s minor league career has been a different story, though, as he has a 2.86 ERA, 8.3 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 in 283 innings at lower levels.
The fact that the Red Sox wouldn’t trade Swihart for Hamels looks even more laughable now then it did back when it was being reported.
Wasn’t it Swihart others though? And when I say others, I mean other top prospects such as Betts and/or Bogaerts
Something like Swihart, Betts, Henry Owens, Brian Johnson and another player.
Boston would trade him for Hamels he is a good pitcher
Ed, come on. The rumors were that Amaro wanted 3 out of Betts, Bogaerts, Swihart and Owens. Given that Betts or Bogaerts alone is more valuable than Hamels, the Red Sox were correct to pass on that deal.
Wow crashing into the wall baby
Reshuffle of the 40-man roster is all this is. DD must be doing due diligence to find a proven hitter to play LF, a dependable catcher who can hit, and some help in the pitching department. My money is on players rostered on the Brewers, the Mets and the Braves in Atlanta. A combination of 3, perhaps 4, of these teams’ players may be swinging bats and throwing balls in Boston before the month is out.
You do realize that teams have to want what you have in order to make that happen right? And 3-4 trades over a month before the deadline? And with a team (Mets) that are in contention?
I think you’re way off pal. Sox aren’t really worried with power out of the 9 hole, I think they’d prefer a defensive stalwart who can command a pitching staff before looking for a power hitting catcher. With Hani and Vasqi they have potentially the best defensive catchers in the game. And don’t give me any of this bs about Hani’s fielding % because it’s unfair to judge when you catch a knuckle baller. Catcher ERA is way more important. There’s enough power in the lineup to compensate for not hitting in the 8-9 spot. Haven’t you watched any sox games this year???
Also all these trades cost a lot. Its not like the Sox are going to get dependable guys for their minor league scraps. I could see a LF being had for relatively cheap (lotto ticket AA prospect maybe), but (good) pitching help and a catcher who can hit will definetly cost a few decent prospects depending on the target.
The only thing he’s looking for is pitching.
Sandy Leon is fine as long as he’s just a backup. He has the defense of Vazquez and the offense of Hannigan all for the price of 1 player.
Vazquez is great defensively, not sure Leon matches up with him… Also, Yes! Hanigan’s bat! Woo hoo.
Leon can throw like Vazquez vs runners trying to steal and isn’t bad blocking balls in the dirt either, just don’t think he’s in the same class as Vazquez at stealing strike. Vazquez’s glove moves like a blur, how he gets many of his passed balls..