Red Sox see Blake Swihart as still ‘not a finished product’
FORT MYERS, Fla. — If you squint, it remains easy to imagine Blake Swihart as a rare sort of catcher based on his ability to make steady, resounding contact that sends line drives all over the field, and his unusual impact on the bases.
There is a reason why, when the Red Sox signed Yoan Moncada to his record-setting bonus in 2015, most publications had the Cuban ranked behind Swihart as a prospect. There is a reason why, after Swihart’s strong performance in the second half of 2015, evaluators projected him as a player with the potential to become an All-Star.
It can be easy to forget all of that. Swihart, after all, was out of sight in the Red Sox catching equation in 2016, banished to the minors after just six games when the team decided it was better with a more defensively advanced option behind the plate in Christian Vazquez. Between that demotion, his return to the big leagues as a left fielder, and his season-ending injury suffered at that position, a future that seemed bright behind the plate became clouded last year.
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