Red Sox place catcher Ryan Hanigan on 15-day disabled list
BOSTON, MA - The Boston Red Sox today placed catcher Ryan Hanigan on the 15-day disabled list with a fractured right hand. To fill his spot on the 25-man roster, catcher Blake Swihart was recalled from Triple-A Pawtucket. Swihart will be available for today's game against the New York Yankees at Fenway Park beginning at 1:35 p.m.
Executive Vice President/General Manager Ben Cherington made the announcement.
Hanigan, 34, went 1-for-3 with a double in last night's game against the Yankees before being injured in the seventh inning. He has a .222 average (12-for-54) with two doubles, one home run, five RBI, and a .354 on-base percentage in 19 games in his first season with the Red Sox, hitting safely in each of his last five games and batting .282 (11-for-39) since April 14. The Andover, Mass., native has reached base in 15 of his 17 starts, with Boston going 10-7 in those games. In 577 career games with Cincinnati (2007-13), Tampa Bay (2014), and Boston (2015), he has hit .255 (416-1,633) with 59 doubles, 26 home runs, and a .353 on-base percentage, throwing out 33 percent (99-of-297) of attempted base stealers. Among active players with at least 500 career games behind the plate, he ranks first in catcher's ERA (3.64) and fielding percentage (.996).
For Swihart, who will wear No. 23, this is his first career major league stint. The 23-year-old switch-hitter began the season with 18 games for Triple-A Pawtucket, where he batted .338 (23-for-68), the 10th-best batting average in the International League, with three doubles, 11 RBI, seven runs scored, and six walks for a .392 on-base percentage. He has thrown out 3 of 10 attempted base stealers (30%) this year, and 75 of 175 (43%) since the start of the 2013 season. Swihart entered the year as the No. 1 catching prospect in all of baseball, according to Baseball America. He earned the publication's Minor League Catcher of the Year honors in 2014 after batting .293 with 26 doubles, four triples, 13 homers, and 64 RBI between Double-A Portland, where he earned team MVP honors, and Pawtucket, which he helped to the Governors' Cup championship. Signed as a first-round selection (26th overall) in the 2011 June Draft, Swihart has hit .287 (347-for-1,210) with 75 doubles, 15 triples, 22 home runs, and 170 RBI in 325 career minor league games.