The Red Sox are designating catcher Kevin Plawecki for assignment, reports Chris Cotillo of MassLive (Twitter link). Boston has yet to formally announce the move, but their 40-man roster tally is slated to drop to 38.
Plawecki has spent the past three seasons in Boston, with much of that time backing up Christian Vázquez. The right-handed hitting backstop performed well in a limited role between 2020-21, but he’s had a rough go of things in 2022. Through 173 plate appearances, Plawecki carries a .219/.291/.290 line with one home run. He’s made plenty of contact, but he hasn’t made a huge impact from a power perspective.
Boston dealt Vázquez to the Astros at the trade deadline, but they also brought in the lefty-hitting Reese McGuire in a subsequent trade with the White Sox. McGuire and the right-handed Connor Wong have joined Plawecki on the active roster since the rosters expanded in September. Both McGuire and Wong are controllable for multiple seasons beyond this year, while Plawecki was headed for free agency. With the Red Sox playing out the final few weeks of what’s likely to be a last place campaign, they’ll devote more playing time to their controllable options while cutting Plawecki loose a bit early.
Plawecki will land on outright or release waivers in the next few days. In either event, he’ll hit the open market is he goes unclaimed. That seems likely, as any claiming team wouldn’t be able to carry Plawecki on a postseason roster since he wasn’t in the organization prior to September 1. Plawecki’s also making $2.25MM this season, and while the final few hundred thousand dollars of that deal aren’t onerous, it decreases the chance of another team adding him as a strictly a regular season depth option for the final two and a half weeks. In all likelihood, Plawecki will head to the open market a bit early and turn his attention to next offseason.
Wow, he got pulled tonight too. Mid game DFA?
manfraud – Why the surprise? This is what Bloom SHOULD be doing, letting the kids play. Same thing with the pitching staff, he needs to stop signing the rejects like Familia or holding onto the useless like Brasier and instead let the kids get ML innings.
Oh I agree, give McGuire and Wong all the looks you can. Just weird it took so long to DFA Plawecki. And weird that it seemed to be a midgame decision
While I agree its weird with the designation midgame, but i understand holding a catcher like Plawecki for a little while longer. He is familiar with the staff and could pass on some valuable information to the catchers just coming in. Between both Reese and Connor they have only appeared 30 games at catcher for the Sox and Plawecki is double that as they traded their primary catcher in Vazquez. Im not saying hold him for years but a couple weeks is not the worst thing especially in a down year and passing the torch to a brand new tandem for the future.
Flyby – Well said!
I agree with your comment.
or holding onto the useless like Brasier
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Do we options on Brasier? Otherwise, it wouldn’t be smart to DFA him. He had career 3.39 ERA before this year. You don’t dump someone like that because he got hurt.
Joe – I’m glad he was able to return from getting hit in the head, but fact is he hasn’t been good since 2018.
From 2019-2022 he has a 4.88 ERA, 1.348 WHIP and for his career opposing batters have an .826 OPS with RISP.. Brasier has been horrible when he’s inherited runners.
He’s going to be a FA after the season anyway. Hard to remember he was a 1st round pick.
If I’m not mistaken, McGuire is a former 1st round pick as well.
Bobby – Are you yanking our chain? (pun intended)
Good one!
He’s only 32, handles pitchers well. He’ll make a fine backup for somebody next year.
Halos will take him.
…to start.
A journey of a thousand miles begins with 1 step haha
He has had an awful year throwing out base runners 3-40
They jettison guys like Bradley, Plawecki, Dalbec and Duran but keep Valdez, Robles, and Familia until they totally implode and actually hurt the team.
“They jettison guys like Bradley, Plawecki, Dalbec and Duran”
As they should.
So you’re saying you can only hurt the team if you’re a pitcher? All those guys hurt the team multiple times with their lack of a bat.
I’ve never seen anyone in MLB-R as racist as you.
But that said, Bradley and Plawecki are just as gone as Valdez, Robles, and Familia. And Dalbec & Duran are in the minors.
Your unbelievable hatred of Latinos has made you unable to even string together a cogent sentence.
Even though his on the field work won’t be remembered, his clubhouse presence will. He is the one who thought of the HR cart and actually ordered a special cart to use. Sometimes guys bring more than WAR to a team chemestry.
They’re in last place, so that helped a lot, huh?
Baron – And the Angels are 33 games out of first, so what’s your point?
That nobody on bad teams can make a positive contribution?
So Ohtani and Trout are failures?
This is Kevin Plawecki and some stupid cart, not Ohtani or Trout. Please. Overreact much?
I think the point is what difference does clubhouse presence mean if your in a lost season anyway
Baron – Saying Plawecki’s clubhouse presence didn’t help because they are in last place now is the overreaction, especially considering he was on the team last year when they came within 2 wins of the WS.
A player’s contribution to his team isn’t always reflected in box scores and FG, sorry.
Cosmo – I’m guessing you also don’t believe players on non-playoff teams should be considered for MVP votes?
Last year is history. This year, Plawecki and the Red Sox are trash. Admit it to yourself and move on. It happens to every team at one time or another, but life goes on.
Nope. You’re conflating two totally different issues. Plaw is a free agent anyway and their season is shot so who cares if he helps them win a game with his shining personality. If you’re saying that holding the clubhouse together now could help going into next year even though he’ll be gone anyway, well that’s a good point. But the counter point is also valid.
Baron – Apparently you didn’t read my posts from early this year when I was one of the few here who described this season as “dark days”, and said they’d probably do virtually nothing at the trade deadline because they’d be floating around .500 and because Henry viewed 2022 as yet another “building year”.
But that has nothing to do with Plawecki. He’s been a solid backup catcher with the Sox, but the time was right to cut him loose. I wouldn’t rule out the possibility of his returning next year as the backup again, if the price is right and management doesn’t think 2 of their 3 young catchers are deserving of being on the ML roster.
Methinks Fever Pitch Guy is just feeling sorry for himself and overly defensive because the Red Sox are trash and he can’t deal with it. All of their recent success (to their credit) makes fans feel entitled to expect it every year. Amazing how much like Yankees fans they have become.
Cosmo – Maybe you missed my first post under this article,perhaps because I had replied to somebody you muted, but my exact words in regard to this roster change were “this is what Bloom should be doing” and “let the kids get ML innings”.
I totally support Bloom on the move and giving playing time to the young catchers. All I’m saying is Plawecki was a solid backup.
Blue – I get it now, you’re a Sox hater.
Probably a Dodger fan, am I right?
Actually, I have long since outgrown hating teams, so you are wrong. It’s partly because I had a brief experience as part of the media, and through my interactions with players, managers, and others in the game, I came to appreciate their daily grind and how hard it is to win. So I view the game with much less bias and emotion than do many fans. No, not a Dodgers fan.
If the Red Sox are trash, what are the 13 other teams with a worse winning percentage?
suit – Exactly! Nobody would call a team 5 games under .500 while playing in the best division in MLB “trash”. Using that word implies a personal hatred, I wouldn’t use that term even to describe the Nats/Royals/Pirates/Tigers/Athletics/Reds.
As for expecting success every year, that’s what real fans do … it’s called believing in your team. Other than the 2020 joke of a season, I can’t remember the last time I started a season not expecting the team to contend. Hopefully next year will be no different.
OK, let’s not argue over semantics. They suck, as do several other teams. Is that better?
I can say the mets and braves suck because in their last 10 games they both are 6-4 while the Guardians are 8-2. Yet overall they have the better record. Hell i can even say the same about the dodgers because they are only 7-3 in their last 10.
Sucks is arbitrary and says absolutely nothing except feelings and has no actual backing behind. I use the term as well but mainly in the end it is against teams or players that i dont feel up to par. but that is my standards not a league wide or simply understood.
Fever is always right he’s got this righteous attitude and acts like he knows everything about baseball I agree plawecki is a mediocre nothing else plawecki offered nothing so fever can F off with your snide remarks
You’re wrong fever how do u know plawecki had anythjng to do with that gtfo with your love for plawecki the guy stinks always has
Fever is an annoying narcissist
You love to twist anythjng to be right all the time FEVER
Dumpster fires
Would you say more of a a narcissist than someone that replies themselves not once not twice but 4 times saying nothing on a post form a week ago?
It’s the way they put the messages smartone and who cares what day u reply like I give a flying f*** what u say when this had nothing to do with u
4 messages ya such a narcissist
You’re a trash comment on here as well since u responded to a thread 4 days ago too smartone
He didn’t throw out many runners because he had so many pitchers that didn’t keep runners close.
Wong & McGuire are a better tandem.
So two openings on the 40 man roster: Ryan .Webber just released by the Yankees.
Webber has learned how to pitch from the Yanks. Less than a 1 ERA in 10 + innings.
Not everyone has to throw 92 to 102.
The Sox need a new messenger as a pitching coach; Rich Hill might be the guy.
He has a high school level pop time
Not sure about this move. Do they want to outright Plawecki (which he could probably refuse because of the length of his service in the bigs, but why would he do that at this stage of the season?) or just drop him from the roster, in which case an injury to either Wong or McGuire, like taking a pitch on the hand in an at-bat, would necessitate bringing Ronaldo Hernandez up–are the Sox okay with that? It was clear Plawecki wouldn’t be coming back in 2023–the new rule changes that promote base-stealing made sure of that. This just seems unnecessarily premature, especially with an open spot on the 40-man roster already.
This is a move that Bloom has to make. It was clear that Cora was going to try and play all three catchers when he should of playing only Wong and McGuire. The DFA ensures that will happen from now on. The reality is they should be playing Wong 3/4’s of the time at catcher and then getting him in at DH the rest of the time. Wins don’t matter anymore get the most experience you can for Wong, Casas and now German that’s all that really matters. See what those guys have and help make your decision on what is needed in the offseason.
Bruin – Good point, I agree Bloom sometimes removes poor performers from the team because of Cora’s tendency to misuse and overuse them. I think that’s one of the reasons why the Familia experiment ended abruptly within minutes of that brutally managed loss to the Yankees.
However I don’t see JD being benched for Wong, that’s not something you do to a player who contributed as much as JD has the past 5 years, especially with him seeking another contract with a team.
I think Cora wants to show the management the type of players Bloom gives him to win with. I don’t think he likes Bloom at all. He picks a guy like Familia up who was released for a reason. He is done and finished. Bloom picks these guys up and thinks he is going to resurrect them like Lazarus. Bloom might be okay as a scout of talent but he is in over his head as a GM. A small market baseball franchise maybe but not Boston. This guy is in for a reality check this winter with this team and the holes he has to fill. The pitching free agent market is thin too. He is going to have to trade his prized prospects to improve this team.
Al – As always you make several great points.
Yes it was already reported about a month ago that Bloom and Cora don’t get along, because Cora doesn’t like the players Bloom has been providing. Supposedly if he isn’t provided a great team like he was by Dombrowski, he doesn’t want to manage and actually has an interest in a front office position.
As for Familia, it’s documented that Bloom has had an affection for him going back at least a year ago. He wanted Familia last offseason for his FIP, but as usual he backed off when someone else (in this case Dombrowski) strongly pursues the same player. Bloom doesn’t engage in bidding wars.
masslive.com/redsox/2021/11/red-sox-free-agency-ru…
Bloom does sometimes get it right, like he did with Pivetta and Wacha, but overall he’s definitely more miss than hit.
And yes, Bloom was never the Main Man in Tampa. He rode the coattails of Friedman and Neander. After this season, the Red Sox will finally pretty much be his team if JD, Xander, Eovaldi, and Devers all leave. This offseason will indeed make or break him.
Perhaps McGuire should be playing 3/4 of the time. He has a higher batting average right now, and a better caught stealing percentage. Time will tell.
I guess McGuire and Wong the rest of the way. Both have hit better but Plawecki is a better defender
I disagree that Plawecki is a better defender than McGuire. McGuire’s caught stealing is over 30%.
While throwing out runners is definitely part of defense, but there are other things such as stopping pitches in the dirt, catching fould tips, pop ups behind the plate, not having passed balls. Those probably happen more so than stealing in this years game. Next year will be a different story with all the new rules.
And I think McGuire and Wong can handle the tasks also. The new rules will indeed make it tougher on catchers. But give them a chance.
Grunge – I wouldn’t be surprised if Bloom tries to buy low by trading for Stallings, whom he came very close to acquiring prior to this season. The guy can’t hit, but is still an elite defensive catcher.
With 2 weeks to go is this really the thing to do? What is the point ? At least he knows the pitchers and get help the catchers a bit. Bloom never ceases to amaze me. When potential players or free agents see stuff like this I think it might dissuade them from coming to Boston.
I agree with you. Plawecki has been a great team player. He has lots of knowledge to pass on.
Ya so much knowledge cuz everyone is requesting plawecki for his “knowledge”
Because you’re absolutely NOT going to bring him back. Sure he may help the piTchures a little bit but you’ve got to look at these other catchers even if it’s just a couple weeks.
No problem with the move, should have been a little earlier but then the pitching staff knowledge really takes a hit. Pretty delicate situation, probably good timing.
Plawecki is a guy that should garner a fair amount of interest in free agency as a backup Catcher.
The Sox are apparently trying to open up 40 man roster spots ahead of the end of the season. I don’t think cutting him now dissuades anyone from signing with the team
I view this as an opportunity for another team to pick him up for a stretch run. I’d be at least a little surprised if he didn’t land somewhere this month.
I’m still shaking my head over the Vasquez trade. Terrible move. Maybe resign him next year or go for Wilson Contreras
Davey – Bloom had been trying to get rid of Vazquez for a while. He made Vazquez lose a million bucks last year, and came very close to replacing him with Stallings prior to this season.
Ignore the fact Cora overused him, Vazquez was disliked by most of the pitching staff for his game calling and poor defensive play.
Have you even bothered to observe how he’s been doing? With Houston he’s got a horrendous .544 OPS and has started only 18 of 43 games.
I applaud Bloom for making that trade with the Astros.
When looking at the McGuire/Vazquez/Wong moves as kind of a package, this was a slamdunk for the RS. It’s way too early to declare this a victory, but there is a reasonable chance that Wong/McGuire might be a league-average catching platoon for the next three years.
As I mentioned in the past, I’d have been okay with extending Vazquez for two years at maybe $12-15M/2, but that’s more a reflection of the catching market. From 2017-2021, Vazquez has been worth 1.5 bWAR/650 PAs. There is nothing special there. McGuire has been worth 2.1/650 and Wong 7.1, but obviously in a ridiculously small sample size.