Well, it's not the ideal situation, but it's certainly not the worst one either.
The Boston Red Sox have their two catchers they want in the big leagues to start the season: Blake Swihart and Christian Vazquez. They decided they wanted to carry two catchers this year instead of three which means Sandy Leon got the boot. HOWEVER.... Leon will not be far away.
That's right, Leon, who is set to earn around $2.5 million this season, will remain in the Red Sox org. The team snuck him through waivers and no one bit. It's a little surprising no one wanted him as their backup catcher, but maybe the salary had something to do with it. Anyways, with the guaranteed money on the table for Leon, he accepted his AAA assignment with the PawSox--which means the Red Sox could call him up at some point this season, if they so wish.
Here's what Alex Cora told MassLive about Leon's decision to stay within the organization.
“You guys know how we feel about him. It’s just a matter of where we are right now roster-wise,” Cora said. “Glad he’s in the organization. He’s great. He’s going to go down there and work hard. We’ll make some adjustments offensively to see if we can get him back to where he was two or three years ago. Make a little more contact.”
Honestly, his bat isn't really what we should be worried about because the Red Sox have guys in their lineup who can hit. Leon was Chris Sale's personal catcher and Rick Porcello called him the best catcher he had ever thrown to. That has to count for something...
But yeah, with Leon and Juan Centeno, who caught in 105 MLB games (111 appearances) from 2013 to 2018, the team's catching depth is in good shape.