Recently Released Red Sox Catcher To Sign On With Rebuilding Texas Rangers

The reserve catcher immediately caught on with a new team.

Scott Neville | Sep 19, 2022

Recently Released Red Sox Catcher To Sign On With Rebuilding Texas Rangers /

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It did not take long for the Red Sox's recently released backup catcher to find a new home.

Kevin Plawecki is expected to sign with the Texas Rangers just minutes after being released by Boston according to FanSided's Robert Murray. DraftKings' Jared Carrabis and MassLive's Chris Cotillo also were involved in reports that he would catch on with a new team right away.

He'll join Jonah Heim and Sam Huff in some form of a three-man catching rotation should all three remain on the big league club. The 63-83 Rangers are far from contention and will get an early look at Plawecki with an eye toward 2023.

Plawecki was designated for assignment on Saturday in a move that shocked his teammates and seemingly created a divide between the front office and players.

Plawecki hit just .217 with eight doubles, a lone home run and 12 RBIs in 61 games this season.

He finished his three-year Red Sox tenure with a .270 average, 20 doubles, a triple, five home runs, 44 RBIs and a .697 OPS in 148 games played.

The 31-year-old provided most of his value in the clubhouse and defensively. Plawecki invented the home run cart and made "Dancing On My Own" by Calum Scott the 2021 postseason anthem. The players blasted the song in the clubhouse following their 13-3 win over the Kansas City Royals on Sunday to pay homage to their former reserve catcher.

Multiple players spoke publically about how upset they were regarding the timing of the designation, including Nathan Eovaldi, who spoke more freely than usual. Southpaw Rich Hill was also vocal.

Nathan Eovaldi Doesn't Mince Words On Red Sox's Front-Office Decisions

While Plawecki did not possess much of arm, but he was a quality all-around defensive catcher and has been praised for his play-calling. Eovaldi's ERA with Plawecki (4.05) was much better than with Christian Vázquez (4.98) which was in line with the rest of their tenure together as well.

Plawecki can't officially sign with the Rangers until Wednesday at 1 p.m. ET.

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Published Sep 19, 2022

SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the Boston Red Sox for Sports Illustrated's new page "Inside The Red Sox." Before starting "Inside The Red Sox", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer. His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join the Sports Illustrated Media Group in his current endeavor as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Red Sox" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu