Red Sox to Promote Blake Swihart

Last night, the Boston Red Sox lost more than just the game: they lost their second starting catcher of the season, Ryan Hanigan, who took a ball off of the hand. Red Sox manager John Farrell said last night that his finger is fractured and he will miss substantial and need surgery.

With the Red Sox being left with only backup catcher Sandy Leon, many wondered if the Sox would call up top prospect Blake Swihart. This morning, it was confirmed by Sean McAdam of CSNNE.com on Twitter that Swihart would be filling in for Hanigan on the big league club.

Even though Swihart had a monster Spring Training, the Red Sox had been reluctant to put him up in the big leagues because they wanted him to be fully developed and ready when he did join the big league team. After Christian Vazquez went down needing Tommy John Surgery, the Sox even traded for a backup catcher, Sandy Leon, instead of putting Swihart up with the Sox.

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That plan was a great idea by the Red Sox but with all of these catchers getting injured, the Sox have been forced to call Swihart up.

So far in the minors, Swihart is batting .392 with power numbers that are nowhere to be found, despite being present in Spring Training.

Swihart being called up this early is actually unfortunate for him and the Red Sox.

If the Red Sox can’t bring in a catcher from the outside, Swihart will probably be with the team for the rest of the year. The problem here is that now, he’ll have to fully develop in the majors and any holes they may find in his game, like for instance his defense, will have to be fixed at the major league level instead of in the minors.

Mar 12, 2015; Bradenton, FL, USA; Boston Red Sox catcher Blake Swihart (71) catches a pop fly over the Pittsburgh Pirates dugout during third inning of a spring training baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at McKechnie Field. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports

For a young top prospect like Swihart the last thing the Sox want for him is for him to get off on a bad foot and his career not hitting its full potential because of it.

Swihart could blossom with the Red Sox and turn into an everyday catcher and pan out to be the prospect he’s been touted as since March. The other scenario is that too many holes become apparent in Swihart’s game and he will struggle until he gets sent back down.

So, will Swihart work for the Red Sox?