Red Sox avoid arbitration with C Kevin Plawecki with one-year, $2.25M deal

The Red Sox announced that catcher Kevin Plawecki has agreed to a new contract for the 2022 season, thus avoiding salary arbitration. The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier reports that Plawecki signed for $2.25M, which tops MLBTR’s projected for a $2M salary in Plawecki’s final year of arb eligibility.

Entering his third season as Boston’s backup catcher, Plawecki has hit .305/.364/.414 over 262 plate appearances with the Red Sox, an unexpectedly big step up from the .636 OPS he posted over his first 978 PA and five MLB seasons with the Mets and Guardians. While Plawecki hit better than 2020 than in 2021, his bat helped prop up production from Boston’s catching position last season in the wake of a down year from starter Christian Vazquez. Baseball Prospectus’ numbers rate Plawecki’s defense as pretty average across the board, while Fangraphs’ catching metrics give him -4 Defensive Runs Saved over his two years with the Sox.

Ryan Brasier also agreed to a deal with the Red Sox Tuesday, so Boston has six players remaining (Rafael Devers, Hunter Renfroe, Nick Pivetta, Alex Verdugo, Christian Arroyo and Josh Taylor) left on its list of arbitration eligibles.