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Pittsburgh Pirates: Christian Vasquez Should be a Free Agent Target
The Pittsburgh Pirates are once again in need of a starting-caliber catcher. Could they look to sign a free agent from the American League?
Jason Delay and Tyler Heineman played entirely too much for the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 2022 season. This has become somewhat of the norm under this current Front Office, a lack of quality big-league catching options. Outside of Jacob Stallings, the team has really had no quality catching come up through the system. Yes, now there is help in the minors, but at the end of the day, it would be nice to see the Pittsburgh Pirates spend some money on legitimate team needs.
Last offseason Ben Cherington tried to remedy this by signing veteran backstop Roberto Perez. This was after Jacob Stallings was traded away to Miami. Stallings was an obvious trade candidate at the time, and replacing him with Perez made a ton of sense. However, a ruptured hamstring would knock Perez out for the 2022 season. That is how the Pittsburgh Pirates ended up in this current position they are in at the catching position.
The Bucs do not have a lot of glaring holes with the amount of youth that can fill in over the next season. Catching is a position in that we learned that you can never have too much depth. So who should they look to sign and why?
So, instead of trying to wait it out until Endy Rodriguez and Henry Davis are promoted, why not sign a legitimate veteran to help provide experience to the position going forward? After all, the Universal DH helps get that extra bat into the lineup. Plus, it is rare to find an everyday catcher anymore.
The team should look to a free agent to be from the Houston Astros, Christian Vasquez. Vasquez is 32 years of age, which makes him two years younger than Roberto Perez. Obviously, 32 is not young but none of the veteran free-agent catchers are under the age of 30.
The current Astro backstop also has ties to Ben Cherington. Vasquez was drafted in 2008 by the Boston Red Sox. At the time Cherington was serving as Vice President of Player Personnel, a similar position to which he held in Toronto before coming to Pittsburgh. This of course means that Cherington was more or less one of the top people running Boston’s Draft at the time.
Chances are Cherington is familiar with Vasquez through the years in the Northeast. Maybe, this will be a reason for this Front Office to aggressively pursue him. Vasquez had a strong 2022 batting .274 and put together a 2 WAR season. He has always been noted for his ability behind the plate as well. Bringing him in on a two-year deal should not be out of the question.