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Philadelphia Phillies: Five players to reunite with Dave Dombrowski

By George Stockburger

BOSTON, MA - APRIL 15: Craig Kimbrel #46 of the Boston Red Sox celebrates a victory after the ninth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays with teammate Christian Vazquez #7 at Fenway Park on April 15, 2016 in Boston, Massachusetts. All players are wearing #42 in honor of Jackie Robinson Day. The Red Sox won 5-3. (Photo by Rich Gagnon/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA - APRIL 15: Craig Kimbrel #46 of the Boston Red Sox celebrates a victory after the ninth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays with teammate Christian Vazquez #7 at Fenway Park on April 15, 2016 in Boston, Massachusetts. All players are wearing #42 in honor of Jackie Robinson Day. The Red Sox won 5-3. (Photo by Rich Gagnon/Getty Images) /
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ATLANTA, GA – SEPTEMBER 26: Christian Vazquez #7 of the Boston Red Sox reacts at the conclusion of an MLB game against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park on September 26, 2020 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images) /

If the Philadelphia Phillies can’t get Realmuto, Dombrowski might get his old catcher.

In his introductory press conference, Dombrowski made it clear that the organization wants to bring back All-Star catcher J.T. Realmuto. He said it’s a unanimous call in the building, but with the pandemic slashing payrolls across baseball, the Phillies aren’t expected to pay top dollar for Realmuto.

That being said, Philadelphia isn’t completely out of the picture on Realmuto, and with the Mets signing James McCann there’s less competition to sign the 29-year-old backstop.

However, if the Phillies can’t get a deal done with Realmuto, their options at catcher are limited. This could cause Dombrowski to pivot back to his former club in Boston to get a deal done for Christian Vazquez.

After starting out as a light-hitting catcher, Vazquez has turned himself into a legitimate threat at the plate, hitting .278 over his last two seasons with 23 home runs in 2019.

Vazquez is also efficient behind the plate, throwing out 39% of base runners in his career (slightly better than Realmuto’s 36%) and he’s made only one error in each of the last two years at catcher compared to Realmuto’s 11.

While he’s primarily a catcher, the Red Sox have used Vazquez across the diamond. He’s played full games at first and second, as well as in emergency situations at third base.

Coming out of a last place finish in the cutthroat American League East, the Red Sox may be in a position to sell this offseason. While he’s not making $20 million like Chris Sale, Vazquez is the eighth-highest paid player on Boston’s roster making $6.25 million next season. He also has a $7 million club option for 2022 that can inflate to $8 million if he gets 313 plate appearances in 2021, something he’s done twice in six years.

Philadelphia could swap one of their many catching prospects or unload a young outfielder like Roman Quinn or Adam Haseley.

Signing Realmuto is priority number one for the Phillies, but Vazquez on a one-year deal with the option to keep him for two might be worth checking on if you’re Dombrowski.

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