Christian Vazquez Ready for the Show

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What was once his job could easily become his job once again relatively soon.

Tommy John Surgery may have set Christian Vazquez back. But it appears as though he is ready to catch in the majors once again.

The Red Sox optioned Cuban outfielder Rusney Castillo to Triple-A Pawtucket and calling up Vazquez appears to be the corresponding move.

In cold Pawtucket weather over the weekend, Vazquez gave the impression that he feels as though he is healthy and ready to go.

“I’m feeling good man.” he said. “I’m feeling great, on time and I’m seeing the ball well. I’m having some good swings.”

At the plate, the defensive-minded catcher said he was not trying to do too much other than make sure his timing is down. And with a new high leg kick, Vazquez has strung together quality plate appearances. He posted a .650 on-base percentage in five Triple-A games, drawing seven walks in 20 plate appearances. It could be a sign that he has improved at the plate, keeping in mind he posted just a .617 OPS in 55 MLB games in 2014.

It may be a positive sign for him to be hitting pro pitching and drawing walks in a small sample size, but he is a catcher and hitting is secondary for catchers.

Vazquez probably is not going to see the workload the Red Sox gave Jarrod Saltalamacchia in the summer months of 2013, especially with the catching depth they possess. But Vazquez said his body feels great. He also appeared slimmer and mentioned losing about 25 pounds in the offseason.

In Pawtucket, Vazquez took full advantage of working in a low pressure environment.

“I’m working on everything,” he said. “My catching, my arm, my hitting stuff. Overall, I’m working on everything.”

With Ryan Hanigan and Blake Swihart already on the big league roster, a position battle between Vazquez and Swihart will surely ensue. The Red Sox are 29-24 in Hanigan’s starts since the start of 2015 and Swihart has struggled to command the pitching staff.

Regardless of what comes of it, the Red Sox have an opportunity right now to keep all of their catchers fresh.