FORT MYERS, Fla. — Christian Vazquez says he is “100 percent’’ recovered from Tommy John surgery after he missed all of 2015, and he made a point to say he’d prefer to be in Cleveland with the Red Sox on Opening Day rather than in Pawtucket.
Vazquez hopes to make the Red Sox reconsider their plan to have him start the season in Pawtucket, with the team having said Blake Swihart will be the starter and Ryan Hanigan the backup.
This is an unusual situation, with the Red Sox having two young catchers who should be starters in the majors. They are different — Swihart being the “offensive catcher’’ and Vazquez the “defensive catcher’’ — yet both are making strides in their weaker area.
So how does it all end up?
“That’s not my decision,’’ said Swihart. “I can only play my best and perform the best I can, and hopefully I’m doing the things they want me to do and improving every step of the way. But I just need to take care of my own business and work with [coach] Dana [LeVangie] on the improvements they want me to make.’’
And if Swihart had to play another position just to get his bat in the lineup?
“I’d be up for anything,’’ he said. “I’ve played other positions all of my life. But they’re telling me I’m a catcher and right now that’s where I want to focus on.’’
Hanigan, 35, has pretty much stayed neutral on the topic. He’s fighting for his own playing time. He’s become the Mr. Fix-It for veteran pitchers like Rick Porcello who often went to him for help last season. Porcello’s last nine starts were far better than his first 20.
Hanigan said he worked a lot with Swihart last season on his defense and handling pitchers and will continue to do so. He calls Swihart “an excellent offensive catcher’’ who could be special in that aspect of the game.
But it’s obvious that Swihart needs to improve defensively. The biggest thing is the ability to block balls. Swihart had issues at times last season, but the Sox feel his problems are easily fixed with practice and experience.
“I just want to keep getting better at everything,’’ said the 23-year-old switch-hitter, who gained some upper-body weight, he said, to keep him strong during the season, when he tends to lose weight.
Swihart feels his switch-hitting will be an asset. Even though he was more productive statistically from the left side last season, he feels he’s a better righthanded hitter but just didn’t have the at-bats to build on anything.
He hit .274 overall, with 5 homers, 17 doubles, and 31 RBIs in 309 plate appearances. He hit .293 from the left side with 4 homers and 25 RBIs, and .225 with 1 homer and 6 RBIs in 80 at-bats from the right side.
Vazquez, 25, is known for his cannon arm. How did the surgery affect him?
“I’m throwing to the bases, and I feel that the power is there,’’ Vazquez said. “I’m going to throw again on Friday. Everything is good.
“I feel even though I missed a year I got so much experience watching the game. I remember talking to Matt Wieters [who also had Tommy John surgery] in Baltimore, and he told me, ‘You’ll learn more from watching on the bench this year than you will if you had played.’
“He was right. The game really came into focus for me. Then I played winter ball and DHed and got more of it there. I feel I have a lot more experience now.’’
Scouts think Vazquez will become a good gap hitter and probably hit a lot of doubles.
“I feel that I’m a good hitter,’’ Vazquez said. “I think I’ll show that to everyone when I start playing full time again. Defense is my thing, but I know I have to hit and I’m going to.’’
Vazquez doesn’t believe he needs the minor league time, but he said, “I’ll do whatever they want me to do. Like I said, I’d rather be in Cleveland on Opening Day, but if I have to go back to Pawtucket, I want to show I can play and come back up as quickly as I can.’’
Would he be frustrated in Triple A?
“No,’’ he said. “It’s part of my career. I went through this Tommy John at a young age and it was a long, hard process to make this comeback. I wish it didn’t happen, but it did, and I did my best to come back.
“I lost 20 pounds because I thought it allowed me to heal faster and be in the best shape to make my comeback. I just feel everything is ready to go.’’
Swihart and Vazquez acknowledge that eventually something has to give if both are deemed starting players. Will one get traded? Will Swihart change positions? Will they simply split the duties?
Eventually, veteran pitchers want to throw to the best defensive catcher.
David Price remembers watching Vazquez’s arm a couple of years ago and being wowed. He commented on how important catchers are to a pitcher, noting the extra pitches and outs that can be saved with a strong backstop.
Hanigan spent a year in Tampa Bay with Price and it may be that he becomes Price’s personal catcher.
“It’s too premature to even discuss that,’’ Hanigan said. “I just know what David brings to a team.
“When he’s not pitching, he’s making guys around him better. He did that with pitchers in Tampa Bay, and I’m sure he’ll do that here. He’ll take an Eddie Rodriguez and help him get to the next level.
“I’ve seen him do it. He’s such a great competitor. Every pitch is life and death for him, so he wants to be so precise with every pitch he throws and what he wants to do. He’s amazing to watch.’’
It’s such nuances that Swihart and Vazquez will have to get better with.
What is known is that the Red Sox have two potential All-Star-caliber catchers, who are 23 and 25 years old. That doesn’t happen very often. So now the question becomes, how does it all shake out for the benefit of the players and the team?
Nick Cafardo can be reached at cafardo@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @nickcafardo.
