Banner day cements Vazquez's bid for catcher

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Already the favorite to win the second catching spot for the Red Sox, Christian Vázquez appeared to all but end the competition with an impressive showing in Sunday's 7-2 win over the Twins.
Vazquez displayed the strength of his surgically-repaired right elbow twice by throwing out two runners. And he added a towering, three-run homer to left against righty reliever Ryan Pressly.
"He was lightning-quick behind the plate," said Red Sox manager John Farrell. "When you think about his ability to shut down a running game, and then to get Chris [Sale] out of a jam with an inning-ending pickoff at second base, his ability to impact a game from behind the plate was on display today.

"Third at-bat, he runs into a fastball down in the strike zone for the difference in this one. When you just look at the ability behind the plate, he's a special player defensively."
After a surprising season last year, Sandy León is expected to be Boston's starting catcher to open the season.
Vazquez, who is out of options, is all but certain to be the second catcher over Blake Swihart, who does have options.
Even if Vazquez does open as the backup catcher, there's a chance he will play more than most backups and perhaps even work himself into the starting role at some point.
The most impressive play by Vazquez was when he fired to second to pick off ByungHo Park in the second inning.

Judging by the ensuing fist-pump, Vazquez enjoyed that play quite a bit.
"A lot," Vazquez said. "That's my game, controlling the [running] game. If I don't do that, something can happen; a blooper, a run scores. It was good."
Sale certainly enjoyed it.
"He's got an incredible arm," said Sale. "He's quick. I came in after he threw the guy out at second. I was like, 'That caught me off-guard.' He's always watching -- not only him, but Sandy, too. I throw a pitch and I'll look up just to see his reaction. He's talking to guys, he's moving things around. It's good to see that. I know they're working their tails off."
In the fifth, Eddie Rosario tried to steal third but Vazquez threw him out by several feet.
At this time last year, Vazquez was still regaining his arm strength. This spring, he has thrown consistent lasers.
"I was aggressive last year, too, the only difference is I was not 100 percent," Vazquez said. "I had good days [and] bad days but this year, I feel great."
Defense has never been a question for Vazquez.
But this is: Can he hit enough to hold down a spot in the lineup?
In his 2014 rookie season, Vazquez had an OPS of .617. After not playing at all in 2015 due to Tommy John surgery, Vazquez had a .585 mark with the Red Sox and .713 at Triple-A Pawtucket in 2016.
"Last year it was kind of him learning his abilities all over again," said Farrell. "There were some struggles offensively, there were some struggles with the arm strength. Things weren't feeling as they would in time, which he's now feeling. There might have been some ebbs and flows with his own personal confidence.
"We feel like there's a guy with two years under his belt -- Triple-A and the big leagues -- and he comes in that much more confident a player."