Red Sox Pick Up Option On Catcher Christian Vazquez
BOSTON (CBS) -- The Red Sox will have Christian Vazquez back behind the plate in 2022. The team picked up its option on Vazquez for the 2022 season, the Red Sox announced Sunday night.
Vazquez is the longest-tenured member of the Red Sox, with all 614 of his major league games coming in a Boston uniform. A ninth-round pick by Boston in 2008, Vazquez ranks seventh in franchise history with 573 games at catcher. He matched a career high with 138 games played in 2021 and led the majors in innings caught (1,051.1), which was the most by a Red Sox backstop since Jason Varitek in 2008.
In addition to his defensive output -- gunning down 18 runners with three other pickoffs -- Vazquez hit .258 with six home runs, 49 RBI and 51 runs scored in 2021. He went 9-for-32 in 11 playoff games, including 6-for-16 (.375) with one homer and four RBIs in the Division Series.
That homer was of the walk-off variety, lifting Boston to a 6-4 win over the Tampa Bay Rays with a two-run blast in the bottom of the 13th of Game 3 in the ALDS.
— Christian Vázquez #7 (@Christian_7_7_) November 7, 2021
Vazquez is set to earn $7 million with Boston for the 2022 season.