PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. -- A little more than week before their season opener, the Red Sox' catching situation dissolved into uncertainty, with the ominous revelation that a Friday MRI on the right elbow of catcher Christian Vazquez "found something.''
The Sox were deliberately vague about those findings, with manager John Farrell maintaining that the club was still engaged in "fact-finding mode.''
Vazquez is scheduled to undergo a second opinion in the coming days, making it difficult to believe that the diagnosis is anything other than a dire one, which could lead to surgery.
"There's some findings in the MRI,'' said Farrell. "To what extent, that's not being determined right now. We're still in a little bit of a 'fact-finding mode' right now. There's no clear-cut plan going forward yet. Hopefully, in the coming days, we would have some more definitive information and then a follow-up plan after that.''
Asked if the MRI had detected ligament damage, Farrell, choosing his words carefully, said: "I was not told specifically what was going on there...If in fact it involves [that], or to what extent it's involved. We just know there's been some findings in the MRI. Before we get too far ahead of ourselves, that's why a second opinion will be [sought] and information compared.
"But clearly, the MRI suggests that there's more information that has to be had...We're still gatherting information.''
Farrell said the developments almost certainly means Vazquez will not be on the Opening Day roster on April 6.
"Unlikely,'' he said. "It's hard to see him being available Opening Day, yes.''
Vazquez first reported feeling soreness in his right elbow after a throw in a March 13 game. He later experienced some soreness in the triceps area, likely the result of altering his throwing motion in response to some discomfort in the area.
The catcher seemed to making progress in throwing drills, but more recently, had, in Farrell's words "plateaued,'' leading to the MRI.
"We kind of felt like everything's moving in the right direction,'' said Farrell. "He was making progress. The soreness and stiffness was
getting out of there. You would think after 11 or 12 days, if it was absnormal soreness, you'd think he'd get over that. [We decided] to check it out.''
Farrell said the Sox will seek a replacement for Vazquez from among "internal candidates. That means [Humberto] Quintero, that means [Blake Swihart] will catch some, as he's been. It means (Ryan) Hanigan will probably start more games behind the plate as we get into the start of the season. And that's probably the best I can tell you, right now.''
At the start of the season, Hanigan will now have a heavier workload than expected. Due to injuries and performance issues, Hanigan played 84 games last year and 75 the year before that.
But Farrell believes Hanigan is up to the task.
"Very capable,'' said Farrell. "You look at the last five years, it's been [usually] 80-85 games caught. To me, that's a very comfortable level. Now, how those games are distributed -- whether there's more games in the first half -- we'll see how the total number of games caught adds up. But if we're finding him in the lineup five days a week, I'm perfectly fine with that.''
Quintero profiles as more of a journeyman receiver, with 12 years experience in the big leagues for five different organizations: Houston,
Seattle, San Diego, Kansas City and Philadelphia. He's played 471 games in those dozen years, and has only twice played more than 60 games in a season.
Swihart, meanwhile, is the organization's top-rated position player prospect, but has never played in the big leagues before.
"We feel confident that, with the internal candidates, if we were to start the season tomorrow, we're more than equipped.''
Quintero was a non-roster invitee to spring training and would have to be put on the 40-man roster if he were to make the Opening Day roster. Swihart is already on the 40-man roster.
