Despite sting of losing Vazquez, Sox have embraced new catcher McGuire

Aug. 14—From the outside, it's not hard to imagine new Red Sox catcher Reese McGuire's arrival being somewhat uncomfortable.

The same night McGuire was acquired from the Chicago White Sox, the Red Sox also traded away longtime starter and beloved clubhouse veteran Christian Vazquez, a move that deeply unsettled the clubhouse.

The remaining Red Sox haven't made any attempt to hide their disappointment at seeing Vazquez go, but if there is any lingering resentment over the deal, it hasn't been directed at McGuire.

Nearly two weeks into his time with the Red Sox, McGuire is getting settled in and has begun to establish his own place within the clubhouse. Though it'll be a while before he develops anywhere near the same rapport and knowledge of the pitching staff that Vazquez had, McGuire said his new teammates have been accepting and he's getting more comfortable in his new role each day.

"I've been welcomed," McGuire said. "I played with Christian Arroyo growing up a little bit with travel ball and Team USA so I knew him for a long time, and I knew Bobby Dalbec a bit from playing against him. Baseball is a small world so a couple of guys I've known definitely makes it more comforting."

"Obviously the events that led to him getting here hurt, we lost Vazqy, a guy who's been here for 15 years, but looking forward from that moment, Reese fits us perfectly," Arroyo said. "He's a good baseball player, he's got a good IQ when it comes to the game and he fits in great with our guys and in our clubhouse. He's been a very welcome addition."

Acquired in exchange for left-handed reliever Jake Diekman, McGuire was a 2013 first-round pick who is now in his fifth season as a big league catcher. He played his first four years in Toronto, where he regularly faced off against the Red Sox, and since his arrival he's regularly worked with club legend Jason Varitek, fellow catcher Kevin Plawecki, pitching coach Dave Bush and the rest of the pitching staff to get up to speed.

"He's learning the whole staff pretty well and individually we're all sitting down with him trying to get on the same page and figure out what we like throwing to different hitters and all that kind of stuff," said relief pitcher John Schreiber. "So he's been good."

Varitek, who serves as the club's game planning coordinator, said he's been impressed by McGuire since he arrived, calling him a bright young man with a lot of ability. He added that they haven't been shy about putting a lot on his plate and so far he's done a good job rising to the occasion.

"We've tried to jam as much information down his throat and he's handled all of it," Varitek said.

McGuire said working with Varitek in particular has been a treat, and he's been pleasantly surprised by how involved the longtime Red Sox catcher is behind the scenes.

"He's one of the hardest working coaches I've seen and I've only been here a week and a half," McGuire said. "Like today I saw him on the treadmill with his iPad in hand marking up some things as he's doing his conditioning, so when I saw that today I kind of smiled, like man I'm in a good place. Tek's been nothing but amazing for me and I really look forward to working with him more."

Though McGuire has historically been a non-contributor offensively throughout his career, he has always been well regarded defensively and has come up with some big hits since joining the Red Sox. Entering Saturday he was batting .467 with a .500 on-base percentage through five games, and he also reached on a bunt in the 10th inning of Friday's 3-2 win over the New York Yankees, which immediately preceded Tommy Pham's walk-off single.

Going forward McGuire said he's excited for this new chapter, and while he's respectful of how much Vazquez meant to his new teammates, he doesn't feel any pressure to live up to him.

"I've always had respect for Vazqy back there, competing against him, and I've learned a lot watching a guy like him," McGuire said. "If anything I want to come in and be myself, not be anything more, because I feel like what I can bring to this team is a winning mentality as well.

"It's nice to join a club that wants to win and is hungry to win and be better and show up to the ballpark looking for ways to get better," he continued. "We've got two months of baseball left and the way we look at it we hope we have three months of baseball left."

Sox bring in a Familia face

Needing all the bullpen help they can get, the Red Sox brought in veteran relief pitcher Jeurys Familia this week.

A 32-year-old righty, Familia is best known for his time with the New York Mets, particularly during the 2015-16 seasons when he recorded 94 saves, earned an All-Star nod and helped lead the Mets to the 2015 World Series.

Overall Familia has a 3.46 ERA for his 11-year career, but this season has not gone according to plan. In 38 games with the Philadelphia Phillies Familia recorded a 6.09 ERA while allowing opposing hitters to bat .338 with a .933 OPS. He was released by the Phillies on Aug. 6 and now the Red Sox hope they can help him rediscover his old form.

"The stuff is good, obviously he had a hard time there in Philly," said Red Sox manager Alex Cora. "We feel like there are a few things that we can adjust and maximize his repertoire."

Familia was officially activated prior to Saturday's game against the Yankees.

Bloom has chance to change narrative this offseason

Since Chaim Bloom arrived in Boston a certain dynamic has developed that's somewhat paradoxical the more you think about it.

On one hand, Bloom has generally taken what detractors call a small market approach, mostly making small moves outside of one lone big signing in Trevor Story.

Yet on the other hand, the Red Sox have continued to boast some of the highest payrolls in baseball.

How is that possible?

The reason for the discrepancy, and the reason why fans should have some hope going forward, is because over the past three years the Red Sox have been carrying a ton of dead money. Essentially, the club has spent a huge portion of its payroll on players who are either no longer with the team or who have not been available.

Chris Sale's $30 million per year over a three-year stretch he's barely pitched is an obvious culprit, but the problem goes deeper than that. The Red Sox have also continued paying David Price $16 million per year each of the past three seasons since he was dealt to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Mookie Betts trade, and until last offseason the club was still paying long-retired Dustin Pedroia $12.1 million as well.

But Price's money finally comes off the books this offseason, along with nearly $100 million in existing payroll from pending free agents. Bloom has never had anywhere near that kind of financial flexibility before, so it will be telling how he approaches this offseason.

If Bloom continues to take an incremental cost-conscious approach, then we can presume that truly is his preferred method. But he could also take a much bolder, more aggressive approach this offseason too with the purse strings loosened, and if so he may have a chance to rewrite the narrative that has followed him through his first three years on the job.

A lopsided trade with a trade

When a player gets traded there are a lot of logistics that have to get worked out, one of the biggest being where the player is going to live in their new city. Often to make things easier players who are traded for each other will just swap apartments, though sometimes that leads to some lopsided trades within the trade.

That was certainly the case for Red Sox manager Alex Cora, who originally came to Boston from Cleveland in 2005 in a deal for current Red Sox first base coach Ramon Vazquez.

"At the time in Cleveland we were renting a house. Four bedroom, a yard, it was huge," Cora said. "The price was the price, right? So I get traded for Ramon we go ok we just switch places. It was pretty similar as far as the price of the house and... his one bedroom apartment."

Uh oh.

"When I got here it was like the shower, the living room and that's it," he continued. "It was for the same price and he got the benefits of the house."

Cora shared the anecdote on Friday while talking about how the team's new trade deadline acquisitions have settled in. He said having the off day on Monday helped to work out all the logistics and that Tommy Pham, Eric Hosmer and Reese McGuire are now all ready to contribute from here on out.

Wallace pitching well in Portland

Methuen's Jacob Wallace endured a bit of a rough patch this summer after a strong start with the Portland Sea Dogs, but over the past three weeks he has been lights out.

Since July 22 Wallace has appeared in seven games, and during that time he's posted a 0.96 ERA in 9.1 innings while holding opposing batters to a .097 batting average and a microscopic .394 OPS. He's also limited batters to a .095 batting average on balls in play, and in his most recent outing on Aug. 10 Wallace pitched two perfect innings to earn the win in Portland's 10-inning, walk-off victory over the Richmond Flying Squirrels.

Overall Wallace is 3-2 with a 4.73 ERA, 55 strikeouts and a save in 40 innings on the season at Double-A. He currently ranks as the No. 59 prospect in the Red Sox system according to SoxProspects.com's latest rankings.

Email: mcerullo@northofboston.com.

Twitter: @MacCerullo.