Rangers officially sign former Red Sox catcher Kevin Plawecki
The Texas Rangers officially signed former Red Sox catcher Kevin Plawecki on Wednesday. The move comes after the Red Sox designated the veteran for assignment and then released him.
In order for the Rangers to add Plawecki to the 40-man roster, they placed Nick Solak on the 60-day injured list with a fractured foot.
The 31-year-old Plawecki spent three seasons with the Red Sox. During his first two seasons, he performed well at the plate hitting .341 with an .857 OPS in 2020. He would follow that up in 2021 hitting .287 with a .737 OPS and 102 wRC+ in 64 games.
Plawecki didn’t find the same success this season. He dropped tremendously to a batting line of .217/.287/.287, 61 wRC+.
The 6-foot-2 backstop was known as an outstanding clubhouse guy. While with the Red Sox, Plawecki helped bridge players together in the clubhouse, he discovered the home run cart with Jason Varitek and was responsible for the club’s playoff rally song.
The Red Sox clubhouse wasn’t happy with the news that Plawecki was DFA’d this past week.
Nathan Eovaldi spoke out against the move. “It’s extremely difficult. I felt like everything he has done for the organization and the player he is, it’s unfortunate to see him go, especially on those terms, with only three weeks to go in the system. I haven’t talked to Chaim or anybody else to get the true reasoning behind it. I was disappointed when I heard the news.”
With only a few weeks left in the season, Connor Wong and Reese McGuire will handle the catching duties for the Red Sox.
Follow Chris on Twitter @ChrisHenrique
For additional Red Sox, Bruins, Patriots, MLB and NFL content follow Beyond the Monster on Twitter @BeyondtheMnstr.